ISLAND Beauty, a skincare brand co-founded by singer-actor Shirley Setia that pairs Korean ingredients with formulations made for Indian skin, has raised Rs 2.58 crore from early-stage investor AJ VC.
/indianstartupnews/media/media_files/2026/06/17/desktop-728-x-90-1-2026-06-17-17-20-35.png)
The startup said the funding will go towards product development, brand awareness and customer acquisition. It did not name the round or disclose a valuation.
Over the next three years, ISLAND Beauty plans to widen its product portfolio, strengthen its market presence and build awareness of barrier-focused skincare among consumers.
What ISLAND Beauty sells
ISLAND Beauty was founded in 2023 by Shirley Setia, Jinsoon Lee, Mayank Jain and Sakshi Jain. The brand describes Lee as a Korean skincare expert.
The startup sources its ingredients from South Korea and develops its formulations in India, with Indian weather and local skincare needs in mind. Its products are built around the skin barrier, the outer layer of skin that holds in moisture and keeps out irritants, and are meant for daily use.
At the centre of the range is what the brand calls its Core Barrier Matrix, which combines two components, CBM-A Repair and CBM-B Defence.
According to ISLAND Beauty, CBM-A uses a ceramide lipid layer to help repair and hydrate the skin, while CBM-B uses an ectoin-based “stress shield” designed to protect it from environmental stressors.
The current portfolio covers cleansers, toners, serums, moisturisers and lip care. Its Dew Drop Barrier Repair Glow Serum contains 50% Korean rice water and 5% niacinamide.
The brand sells through its own website, where single products are listed at between Rs 749 for the Melt On Lip Repair Balm and Rs 1,699 for the Dew Drop serum.
The Clean in a Melt Cleanser is priced at Rs 899, the Purity in a Drop Toner and Essence at Rs 1,199 and the Morning Dew Barrier Moisturiser at Rs 1,499. It also sells bundled sets at a discount and offers a seven-day return policy, subject to its terms.
A celebrity founder who wanted more than an endorsement
Setia, a singer and actor with a large online following, launched ISLAND publicly in July 2025, on her birthday. At launch, the brand offered a three-step routine that combined fermented Korean rice water with Indian ingredients such as turmeric.
She has said the brand’s calm, minimalist approach came from her own experience with sensitive skin, breakouts brought on by travel, and using too many products.
“I didn’t want to just endorse something. I wanted to build something I truly believed in,” Setia said at the time of the launch.
“With ISLAND, I wanted to bring the best of global skincare, especially Korean rituals, but make it truly our own,” she added.
The K-beauty market in India
ISLAND Beauty is entering a segment that is growing quickly. India’s Korean beauty market was worth about $0.4 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 25.9%, according to a report by Datum Intelligence and Kindlife.
The same report estimates that the number of K-beauty buyers in India will grow from 11.9 million in 2024 to 27.2 million by 2030, with each buyer spending about $33.3 a year in 2024. The study surveyed 2,018 beauty buyers across 30 cities between 24 February and 15 March 2025.
Moisturisers and serums, two of ISLAND Beauty’s core categories, are among the most-tried K-beauty products in India, the report found, with 47% of adopters having tried moisturisers and 45% serums.
