New Delhi, 30 May, 2022.

Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech, the leading hair & beauty training institute in India, ropes in Ananya Panday as their Brand Ambassador. The brand has chosen Ananya due to her long-standing relationship with Lakme Academy and Lakme Salon. Appealing to a young, Gen Z audience with her quirky, cute and charming demeanour, Ananya is a recognised youth icon in India.

The INR 25,000 crore professional beauty and wellness industry in India, which includes salons, spas, parlours, men grooming outlets & skin clinics,amongst others, has grown at a CAGR of 12% over the last decade. The industry is extremely fragmented, but it is believed to have over one million outlets employing almost 15 million people, of which nearly 65% are women. For a young country like India, with nearly 700 million individuals below 25 years of age, the beauty and wellness industry has the potential to generate livelihoods in small towns without promoting mass-scale migration to large metros.*According to the latest report offering in Research & Markets India's Beauty and Personal Care Market is estimated to be USD 24.53 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 33.33 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.32%.

Focusing on professional training and providing opportunities in the space, Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech, with over 130 centres in 100 cities+ across India, is considered a pioneer and has added tremendous value in not only upskilling thousands of students with their industry-relevant curriculum, but also giving them hands-on experience of becoming professional artists beautifying their future and that of the industry as well.

Actor Ananya Panday said on the association, “I am thrilled to announce my association with Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech, because it gives me an opportunity to join them in their initiative of beautifying the future of millions of young Indians with world-class education and career opportunities. Beauty and wellness is such an important part of our lives now, especially after the past two years, and these Lakme Academy trained professionals are truly helping us be the best versions of ourselves. I encourage everyone with a dream to succeed in the beauty industry to head straight to Lakme Academy and start building their careers.”

Pushkaraj Shenai, CEO & Executive Director, Lakmé Lever, said, “With her infectious energy and on-trend personal style, Ananya Panday is the perfect fit for Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech. We want to encourage more young people from all corners of the country to build their dream careers with us and we are confident that Ananya will help us deliver that message. We look forward to a long and fruitful association with her."

Pooja Mukundan, Brand Head, Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech, said, “We are delighted to bring Ananya Panday on board as the Brand Ambassador for Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech. Ananya has been a brilliant student all through her academic life and decided to follow her dreams of making it big in Bollywood. Similarly, Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech believes in upskilling and beautifying the futures of millions of aspirants with rewarding careers in the beauty, hair and skin segment. The students who have trained with us have been placed with the best brands in the industry or have gone on to become entrepreneurs, and we hope to keep introducing and giving opportunities to new talent.”