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Press release · WCRC Intelligence Unit · Beauty & Personal Care · Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026

Nykaa leads WCRC's 2026 D2C beauty table as India supplies 20 of 24 trusted beauty brands

A WCRC analysis of 24 beauty and personal care brands across its India, America and Australia & New Zealand Most Trusted D2C rankings finds that authenticity and clear labels win more trust than celebrity alone.

By WCRC Intelligence Unit · Published 13 November 2026 · For immediate release
Beauty & Personal Care: WCRC Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 industry analysis cover

13 November 2026. Nykaa is the most trusted direct-to-consumer beauty brand across WCRC's three 2026 Most Trusted D2C rankings, with a WCRC D2C Trust Score of 85.65. It ranks #2 in India's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026.

The analysis, published today by the WCRC Intelligence Unit, brings together the 24 beauty and personal care brands ranked in India's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (20 brands), America's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (1) and Australia & New Zealand's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (3).

The top three come from three different markets: Nykaa (85.65, India #2), Adore Beauty (84.13, ANZ #9) and Rhode (82.70, US #10). Mamaearth (80.96) and Plum (80.72) complete the top five, both from India.

This is a young industry. Half of the 24 brands were founded in 2018 or later, and the oldest brand in the group, Adore Beauty, has sold beauty online since 1999. The youngest, Hyphen, was founded in 2023.

Large consumer groups are buying in. Nykaa owns Dot & Key (79.76), Marico owns Beardo (76.96), Emami owns The Man Company (69.58), and in the US, e.l.f. Beauty completed its acquisition of Rhode in August 2025.

“In beauty, trust is bought one honest label at a time. The brands at the top of this table promised genuine products or clean formulas and kept that promise as they grew. A famous face can start a brand, but it cannot hold one up on its own.”

WCRC Intelligence Unit

The leaders in each ranking

  • India Most Trusted D2CNykaa #2 · 85.65
  • US Most Trusted D2CRhode #10 · 82.70
  • ANZ Most Trusted D2CAdore Beauty #9 · 84.13

Read the full report: all 24 brands

Notes to editors

  • The analysis covers India's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (20 brands); America's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (1 brands); Australia & New Zealand's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026 (3 brands).
  • Revenue figures are as per company filings for the latest available financial year.
  • Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for these rankings.
  • Ranked brands may licence their WCRC badge for marketing use. Contact consulting@wcrcint.com.

About WCRC. WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting) is an independent research and consulting organisation. It publishes brand rankings including the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, regional and national Most Powerful 100 Brands rankings, and national Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings, through its sites wcrcint.com, wcrcleaders.com and mostvaluablebrands.com. The WCRC Intelligence Unit publishes research briefings and industry analysis.

Media contact. WCRC Intelligence Unit, consulting@wcrcint.com

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Disclaimers

  1. Who was considered. Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for the underlying rankings. Brands that do not publish their financials have not been assessed or ranked. Not being in this analysis says nothing about a brand's quality.
  2. Source of every fact. This analysis uses only the facts published in WCRC's 2026 rankings named on this page, each checked twice against independent public sources. Scores, ranks and facts are as published in those rankings.
  3. Comparing scores. Brands from different rankings in the same family share one scoring method, so their scores can be read side by side. Scores marked provisional are WCRC desk assessments awaiting validation by the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit.
  4. Independent opinion. This analysis is WCRC's independent research and opinion, based on publicly available information as of November 2026. It is not an endorsement of any brand.
  5. Not a valuation or advice. Scores measure brand strength. They are not a financial valuation, and nothing here is investment, financial or purchasing advice.
  6. Revenue. Revenue is shown as per company filings for the latest available financial year. Where only group revenue is published, the group figure is shown and labelled. WCRC has not audited any figure.
  7. Trademarks. Brand names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here for identification only. Their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by WCRC.
  8. Use of the badge. Ranked brands may use their WCRC badge only as provided, unaltered and linked to their ranking page. Any other use of the WCRC name, badge or data needs WCRC's written permission.
  9. Rights and AI. © 2026 WCRC. All rights reserved. WCRC's scoring methods are proprietary. Copying, text and data mining, and use of this content to train artificial intelligence models are not permitted without written permission; WCRC expressly reserves these rights, including under Article 4 of EU Directive 2019/790.
  10. Corrections. To report an error or ask for a review, write to consulting@wcrcint.com. Corrections are made promptly.