Suncare has shifted from a peripheral category to a core focus within Indian skincare innovation, with its share of launches rising sharply. Sunscreen usage remains relatively low, however, indicating that the category is still in the habit-building stage and needs to strengthen its everyday relevance.
While brands are driving suncare education, understanding around sun damage remains fragmented. Sunscreen users link sun exposure to visible and sensory concerns such as dullness, uneven tone and sensitivity, while non-users continue to associate it primarily with tanning. This creates a dual opportunity: build relevance through visible, relatable cues to drive trial with non-users, and upgrade engagement with targeted, correction-led benefits for users.
Multi-step layering is beginning to feel heavy and impractical, meaning routine simplification is emerging as a key growth driver. This creates headroom for sunscreens to expand beyond protection, incorporating skincare and makeup benefits to deliver multifunctional value.
Lastly, trust is emerging as the category’s defining battleground. Increasing regulatory scrutiny alongside rising consumer scepticism fuelled by influencer-led testing and global performance debates is driving brands to build credibility with evidence-led communication.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Suncare product usage
- Consumer understanding of sun damage
- Key benefits and features driving sunscreen purchase
- Attitudes towards suncare products
- Willingness to pay for enhanced suncare benefits
- Opportunities to expand sunscreen’s benefits beyond SPF
The next phase of India's suncare category growth will hinge on translating sun damage into visible outcomes, simplifying its usage and strengthening trust through verifiable performance.
Twinkle Behl, Research Analyst – Beauty and Personal Care, India
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
- sunscreens (for the face and body)
- face/body/foundations/base makeup with added SPF
- de-tanning products
- soothing gel (eg Aloe vera)
Collapse All
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- What you need to know
- The outlook for India’s suncare category
- Suncare captures a growing share of India’s skincare launches
- Graph 1: skincare product launches, by sub-category, 2021-26
- Sunscreen penetration remains low in India, with younger women emerging as its primary users
- Graph 2: usage of suncare and after-sun products in the past 12 months, 2026
- Graph 3: usage of face/body sunscreens, by gender and 5 agroups, region and SEC groups, 2026
- Suncare sets its sights beyond skincare
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INCREASE SUN DAMAGE’S TANGIBILITY TO DRIVE GREATER SUNSCREEN USAGE
- Translate ‘sun damage’ into specific, recognisable consumer concerns
- Understanding of sun damage is experience-led among users, but limited among non-users
- Now: solidify sun damage, making it more recognisable to encourage trial among non-users
- Address uneven skintone to advance brightening/glow positioning
- Now: spotlight tone correction in sunscreens to address sun-induced uneven tone and dullness
- Tap into post-sun-exposure sensory discomfort
- Graph 4: share of sunscreen launches with a soothing, calming or cooling claim, 2021-26
- Now: elevate sensory sun damage cues to strengthen sunscreen’s relevance beyond UV protection
- Early signs of ageing are weakly linked to sun damage, despite strong prevention perception
- Graph 5: agreement that using sunscreen consistently can help prevent visible signs of ageing, 2026
- Next: tap into the link between rising temperatures and skin ageing
- Graph 6: willingness to pay more for sunscreen with a heat-shield protection benefit, 2026
- Next: leverage heat ageing to deepen and differentiate anti-ageing claims
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REDUCE LAYERING BY EXPANDING SPF ROLES
- Indian adults prioritise multifunctionality in beauty products
- Layering fatigue fuels demand for multifunctional suncare
- Graph 7: agreement with select attitudes towards suncare, 2026
- Demographic profile of Indians who prefer multifunctionality in suncare formats
- Multifunctionality opens up an SPF opportunity to take on moisturisation roles
- Graph 8: agreement that sunscreen can be a suitable replacement for moisturiser in daily routines, 2026
- Now: innovate sunscreen formats with credible moisturisation benefits
- Tinted sunscreens: Mintel spotted the opportunity as early as 2024
- Graph 9: share of tinted sunscreens in the total sunscreen launches, 2021-26
- Indian D2C brands lead the tinted sunscreen wave, with mass brands now following suit
- Now: position sunscreen as a seamless makeup-prep step
- Tinted sunscreens pave the way for next-gen SPF-makeup hybrids
- Graph 10: willingness to pay more for features/benefits in sunscreens, 2026
- Now: tap into SPF foundations and higher-coverage hybrids
- Next: enable easy SPF reapplication through makeup-setting sunscreen sprays
- Awareness of sun-related hair damage supports the expansion of SPF into scalp and haircare
- Graph 11: willingness to pay more for features/benefits in sunscreens, 2026
- Expand SPF claims to provide effective hair protection
- Graph 12: share of hair product launches with UV protection claim, by sub-category, 2021-26
- Now: detail the effects of sustained UV exposure on the hair and scalp
- Now: normalise hair/scalp SPF as ‘essential protection’
- Next: establish a hair and scalp UV protection regime
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BUILD TRUST WITH CLINICAL TRANSPARENCY
- Sunscreen users prioritise proof and skincare benefits over SPF
- Graph 13: on-pack claims considered when buying sunscreens, 2026
- Now: proof of performance can set sunscreen brands apart
- Now: transparent clinical validation can become a competitive advantage
- Now: enable instant access to SPF certifications and clinical validation via QR codes
- Graph 14: willingness to pay more for features/benefits in sunscreens, 2026
- Next: offer lab-tested, biological protection at a cellular level
- Now: expanding into next-level skin-safety-validating lab tests
- Graph 15: sunscreen product launches, by product-tested claim category, 2021/26
- Now: highlight multiple clinical proof layers, ranging from SPF efficacy to skin health validation
- Now: drive category leadership with niche, evidence-backed claims that scale
- Future: create future-proof formulations designed to adapt to evolving regulations
- Key takeaways
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APPENDIX
- Report definition
- Abbreviations
- Generations
- Consumer survey methodology
- TURF analysis
- Social data research methodology
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