Be U Natural reaches 25-salon landmark with new opening in Lucknow
Company-owned salon chain marks a decade-long journey from its first salon to a 25-outlet network; sets sights on deeper city clusters and Tier-II markets
Lucknow, 4 October 2026: Be U Natural, the Indian unisex salon chain known for its aspirational-yet-affordable positioning, has reached the milestone of 25 salons with the opening of its newest outlet at Ashiana in Lucknow. The landmark marks an important stage in the company’s journey from a single salon in 2015 to a multi-city network built entirely on a company-owned and company-operated (COCO) model.
The new Be U Natural – The Heritage salon at Ashiana is the brand’s third outlet in Lucknow and its 15th in Uttar Pradesh, making the state its largest market. The salon was inaugurated on Sunday, 4 October, at its location in Sector-L, Kanpur Road Yojna, Khazana Market, Ashiana.
Founded in November 2015, Be U Natural began with the idea of making high-quality professional salon services accessible to a wider section of Indian consumers at affordable prices. Over the years, the company has sought to occupy the space between neighbourhood salons and high-priced luxury chains, combining professional services, hygiene and a standardised customer experience with value-driven pricing.
“Reaching 25 salons is emotionally important for us, but we see it more as a starting point than a destination. What started with one salon in 2015 was never conceived merely as a salon business. The larger idea was to see whether premium-quality services, strong hygiene and a professionally managed customer experience could be delivered at affordable prices — and then whether that model could be replicated,” said Deepak Sharma, Founder & Managing Director, Be U Natural.
Unlike salon chains that have relied heavily on franchising to expand, all 25 Be U Natural salons are company-owned and company-operated. The company believes the COCO model gives it greater control over service quality, hygiene, recruitment and training, pricing, customer experience, product usage and complaint resolution, while enabling operational changes to be implemented consistently across the network.
The approach has also shaped Be U Natural’s expansion philosophy. Rather than pursuing outlet numbers alone, the company has focused on developing an operating system capable of managing salons consistently at scale. Technology and data form an integral part of this system, with the company using its own ecosystem for CRM, POS, customer communication, memberships, complaint management, performance tracking and management reporting.
“My biggest learning is that opening a salon is relatively easy; building an organisation that can run 25 salons consistently is the difficult part. When you have one salon, the founder can personally solve almost every problem. At 25 salons, that is impossible. You have to replace individual heroics with systems, data, processes and people who can make decisions without the founder standing next to them,” Sharma added.
Be U Natural’s 25-salon footprint now extends across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh and Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 15 salons, including three in Ghaziabad, two each in Noida/Greater Noida and Kanpur, three in Lucknow, and one each in Meerut, Prayagraj, Agra, Fatehpur and Unnao. Outside Uttar Pradesh, the network includes salons across Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, Mohali, Zirakpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Daryaganj in Delhi, Chandigarh and Lonavala.
The company’s journey also gained national visibility after Be U Natural was featured on Shark Tank India Season 3. As it enters its next phase, however, the company says its expansion strategy will remain centred on sustainable operating scale rather than growth for growth’s sake.
Uttar Pradesh will continue to be a key focus, with Be U Natural looking to deepen its presence in existing clusters such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad/Noida while selectively evaluating Tier-II markets including Bareilly and Gorakhpur. Delhi NCR is another priority, particularly East Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida/Greater Noida and other markets that can be efficiently managed as dense regional clusters. The strategy is centred on what the company describes as “density before distance” — building operational depth and brand recognition in selected markets before expanding further outward.
“From Salon No. 1 to Salon No. 25, the journey has been less about learning how to open salons and more about learning how to build an institution capable of operating them consistently. The customer ultimately comes back because of the experience delivered by the team. Locations, interiors, technology and marketing matter, but people remain at the heart of this business,” Sharma said.
As the network expands, Be U Natural also plans to strengthen its training and talent-development ecosystem for beauty professionals, while continuing to invest in technology-led operating systems and professional beauty products. The company is also building Agami Professional, its in-house professional hair-care brand, as part of its broader beauty ecosystem.
With the 25th salon, Be U Natural is positioning the milestone not as the culmination of its expansion journey, but as the foundation for its next phase — aimed at demonstrating how an Indian salon company can combine affordability and aspiration with standardisation, technology and disciplined operations at scale.
