ndē Wild is an Indian-born hair, skin and lifestyle brand launched by the influencer Diipa Büller-Khosla. Here she discusses Indē Wild’s rapid retail growth, why Ayurvedic rituals are resonating with consumers, and what comes next for the brand. Inside Retail: For those who are unfamiliar with the brand, how would you describe Indē Wild? DBK: Indē Wild is a modern beauty brand rooted in Ayurvedic traditions and backed by science. It’s built on the rituals I grew up with, especially around hair and skin, but translated into formats that feel relevant for how people live today. At its core, the brand is about making those rituals more accessible, while still delivering real, visible results. IR: In what ways does Indē Wild differ from other beauty brands currently available in the US retail industry? How does this brand fill a white space in the market? DBK: What sets Indē Wild apart is that we’re building directly from tradition, instead of only taking inspiration from it. Globally, we’ve seen different cultures shape beauty categories for decades, such as French makeup, South Korean skincare and Japanese minimalism. Indian beauty has always had deep expertise, particularly in hair and scalp care, but it hasn’t been translated into modern, globally accessible formats at scale – that’s where we fill in the white space. We take these Ayurvedic rituals, anchor them in their original context and then use science and formulation to make them as effective as possible and easy to integrate into everyday routines. Ayurveda has always been rooted in lived, generational knowledge, often passed down within families or local communities. My own mother learned Ayurveda from her father and the plants growing in her garden. Not everyone has access like that. That’s why Indē Wild is different; it’s about bridging what’s always existed with how people live today, without losing its integrity. IR: Indē Wild is among a growing number of Ayurvedic-inspired or -based brands, including Ranavat, Fable & Mane and Squigs Beauty, capturing the attention of American beauty consumers. What factors do you think are contributing to the rise of the Ayurvedic-influenced market in the US, and how does Indē Wild tap into this growing consumer interest? DBK: Absolutely, and this shift goes beyond beauty. You’re seeing Ayurveda show up across wellness more broadly, whether it’s ashwagandha, turmeric lattes or holistic health practices like yoga and breathwork becoming part of everyday life in the West. Beauty is just a natural extension of that. I think consumers today are more curious about where their beauty routines come from and are looking for products that feel both effective and time-tested. In an era where there’s a new trending ingredient on HairTok every week, there’s comfort in trusting something that has worked for thousands of years. Ayurveda naturally offers that – it’s holistic, it’s ritual-driven, and it’s stood the test of time – the shift here is about accessibility. We’re seeing South Asians translating those rituals into formats that are easy to use and understand, coming from a place of tradition but still giving context for the new world, which is helping them resonate with a much wider audience. At Indē Wild, that’s exactly our approach – taking something so deeply rooted in our shared lived experience and making it relevant for a global consumer. IR: This March, Indē Wild hit a major milestone and launched in-store and online with Sephora US, after first partnering with Sephora UK in September 2024. How did this partnership initially come about, and what has the consumer response been like thus far? DBK: Sephora initially discovered us organically through our social media presence, which led to early conversations with their buying team. From there, we were invited to join the Sephora Accelerate program, and now we’re in 178 doors across the US! The response since launch has been incredibly strong, especially in a physical retail setting. At our Fifth Avenue pop-up in New York, over 5,000 people showed up, with our Champi Hair Oil selling out within the first hour and the full assortment selling out within two hours. We saw a similar response at our Los Angeles event, where we also completely sold out on launch day. What’s been really interesting is the speed of conversion. Once people can experience the products in person, touch, feel and understand the ritual, the connection happens instantly. It’s reinforced for us that while digital builds awareness, retail is where real scale and demand become visible. IR: Indē Wild identifies as the first “homegrown” Indian brand to debut at Sephora. Can you elaborate on what this means for you as an Indian-born entrepreneur and your mission to introduce your culture through your brand? DBK: When we say homegrown, we mean a brand that was imagined, built and scaled from India. Indē Wild didn’t just draw inspiration from our culture; it was created within it: shaped by our shared lived experience and community, and designed to carry those rituals beyond borders. Being the first homegrown Indian beauty brand at Sephora US creates visibility. It allows Indian beauty rituals to exist within everyday retail spaces rather than on the margins and signals that Indian beauty is no longer niche, that it has earned its place in the global beauty conversation. We’re proud to be part of that shift. IR: In addition to your brand’s growing DTC presence and Sephora partnership, how else do you plan to expand the brand’s reach in the US market? DBK: Our focus in the US right now is leading with education. While interest in Ayurvedic beauty is growing, there’s still a gap in understanding because it is such a nuanced system, so we’re prioritising ways for people to really experience the products and the rituals behind them. For us right now, expansion isn’t necessarily about more doors; it’s about building familiarity and trust in the product. That’s why we’re investing heavily in in-person experiences and community-led activations, where people can actually engage with the products, understand the rituals and see the results for themselves. We’ve seen firsthand that once people experience it, the connection is immediate. Once that connection is built, we’ll continue to expand both in terms of retail presence and distribution, but the goal now is depth over reach. IR: In addition to building wholesale retail relationships, what other developments can we expect to see from the brand in the coming year? DBK: Definitely more of what our community already loves, but pushed further. Hair and scalp care has been such a strong space for us, so we’re continuing to build there, while also evolving skincare as a category. We’ve never been ones to flood the market with SKUs, but we have some really exciting things we’ve been working on quietly that I can’t fully share yet. That said, they’re very true to our Ayurvedistry approach, combining traditional ingredients with modern science to solve very specific consumer needs, and I’m so excited for our community to experience it! IR: What goal points do you hope to carry out with Indē Wild over the course of the next year and over the next five years? DBK: Becoming the first homegrown brand at Sephora US is definitely a feather in our cap, but the next goal now is to become the top-performing brand here. In the next year, the focus is on strengthening our presence in the US and continuing to build awareness through both retail and community. It’s about making sure that as more people discover the brand, they also understand it. Over the next five years, the ambition is to build Indē Wild into a globally scaled beauty brand that represents Indian beauty at the same level we’ve seen other cultural beauty movements achieve. We’re playing an important role in shaping how these rituals are understood and adopted globally, and that is something we’re taking very seriously. Further reading: Why Sephora and Olive Young are building a K-beauty-powered retail alliance