es her journey to becoming the first homegrown Indian brand to launch into Sephora and her mission to increase representation of this form of beauty within the industry. Inside Retail: Prior to launching Indē Wild, can you give us a brief background on your professional career and how that led you to becoming a beauty brand founder? Diipa Büller-Khosla: For me, Indē Wild was never really a matter of if; it was always a matter of when. I was born and raised in India, so growing up around Ayurvedic rituals for the mind, body and soul was just normal to me. My mom, who our community knows as Momi, is both a dermatologist and an Ayurvedic practitioner, so science and tradition always co-existed in our home. I actually studied international human rights in the Netherlands, and that was my first real experience of living between cultures. It was very much an East-meets-West moment, and I started to notice how little of what I grew up with was represented in global beauty. At the same time, I was building a presence on digital platforms and quickly saw the power of storytelling and community. I saw how powerful that space was in shaping conversations. Through content, I also got to see the beauty industry up close and behind the scenes, and over time that evolved into wanting to build something tangible that reflected both my culture and my perspective on beauty. That’s what led me to start Indē Wild. Inside Retail: How did you first come up with the idea for Indē Wild? DBK: It really came from my own life, and I think that’s why it resonated so well with so many others, because in a lot of ways it’s the story of a million South Asian kids. I grew up with these rituals, especially around haircare, through my mom, who’s both a dermatologist and an Ayurvedic practitioner. It was always just normal for me. But when I looked at global beauty, I didn’t see that world represented in a way that felt modern or accessible. So Indē Wild was about taking something I knew worked and translating it in a way that other people could connect with too. Inside Retail: What were the toughest challenges you faced in the initial stages of launching and running the brand? What strategies did you incorporate to overcome these issues? DBK: One of the biggest challenges early on was building something global from India, especially across multiple markets at the same time. We were learning everything in real time, from formulation to supply chain to what it actually takes to scale a brand internationally. As first-time business owners, I always joke with my husband that we did an MBA at Google because we had to learn as we went. Then, more recently, the shift from being a digitally native brand to retail, especially at a scale like Sephora US, comes with its own learning curve. What works online doesn’t always translate in-store, but in our case, that challenge actually worked in our favor. Once people could touch, feel and experience the products, the connection was much stronger than anything we could communicate digitally. For us, the way we’ve navigated that is by staying very close to our community and being willing to adapt quickly. We’ve always treated building the brand as an ongoing conversation rather than something fixed, and I think that was one of the smartest things we could have done for the business. Inside Retail: What have been the biggest highlight moments of running the business thus far? DBK: There have been a few, but right now the Sephora US launch is the one that comes to mind. Walking into the Fifth Avenue store and seeing Indē Wild on the shelves for the first time was surreal. Honestly, what made it a real highlight was the community showing up the way they did. Seeing thousands of people come out in the New York cold, waiting for hours, that’s the kind of moment that really stays with you. We’ve built this community from the ground up over years, and a small part of you never really understands the scale; you don’t believe the number on a screen is real. Then you launch in a city that isn’t your own and 5000 people show up for you and you realize it’s no longer just something you built, it’s something that has been a long time coming. Inside Retail: How does your background as a social media influencer and content creator impact the way you approach building the brand? DBK: It’s had a huge impact. Coming from content, you’re constantly listening, you’re in direct conversation with your audience, and that really shapes how you think about building products. Especially today, most D2C brands that succeed understand that alongside their own niche, you need to operate a media vertical as well, and I think that specifically is where my background in content pulls the most weight. For us, community isn’t just a marketing channel; it’s part of how we build. A lot of our product decisions, even down to formulation and packaging, come from those conversations that we have with them in over 65 focus groups across continents. It also makes you very aware of authenticity and the fragility of consumer trust. People can tell instantly if something feels forced, unnatural or untrue, so that’s something we’re always very conscious of as we grow. Inside Retail: In what ways do you believe your experience has given you an advantage in this hypercompetitive retail sector? DBK: I think the biggest advantage is that we understand our consumer very deeply. One person or team didn’t build this brand in isolation; we built it in constant dialogue with our community. That gives us a much clearer sense of what people actually want, versus what we think they want, and in a space as competitive as beauty, that level of connection really matters. I also think 10 years of working behind the scenes in the beauty industry introduces you to the best in the business, the most creative and talented minds in everything from formulation to design – the ones you can grow alongside, learn from and build with. That is definitely such an advantage, and I’d be remiss not to acknowledge it. Inside Retail: What is a piece of advice you would give to the day-one version of yourself on your founder journey? DBK: Back yourself up. You don’t need to have everything figured out to start; you learn by doing. I think I spent a lot of time early on wanting things to be perfect, and you realize over time that that kind of clarity only comes from actually building. Inside Retail: What is your current favorite SKU? DBK: I’ll always have a soft spot for our Champi Hair Oil. It’s the product that feels the most personal to me, and it’s the one I hear my favorite stories about. Every so often, someone will share how using it helped them rediscover the champi ritual, and it almost feels like this shared sense of girlhood. It’s the same story my mother had decades before me, the same one I grew up with, and the one I share with my daughter now. It’s something so many others are experiencing in their own way and even seeing how far it’s travelled, from my mother’s garden to the shelves of Sephora US, it’s definitely the one I’m most proud of. Further reading: Can the Hugo Boss shrink-to-grow plan survive a poor Q1?