Data from Euromonitor has revealed that the Indian beauty and personal care market is cooling fast, with growth pegged at 13.6 percent in 2015 – a five-year low.

The Rs74,700 crore market accounts for almost a quarter of India’s FMCG market, but spending has slowed after two years of drought.

Multinational brands are fighting back, with discounts and marketing campaigns designed to fuel demand, as well as ushering in smaller pack sizes to up the affordability of their products, and it’s working, according to Euromonitor, “Overall awareness and usage of beauty and personal care products increased, largely due to the large scale promotion of brands in this area throughout India.”

However, with homegrown company Patanjali going from strength to strength, and the herbal category gaining ground, could this be a sign that, far from cooling, competition is merely hotting up in India as the market matures?