New beauty trend: keep calm and stay healthy
Cosmetic and food industries are going the same direction
In our way of life, no matter it is urban or not, in developed countries or not, we are more and more subject to accelerating lifestyles. With new consumers’ expectations of better quality of life, it becomes obvious that a wide range of actions may be planned in the next years to improve our lives. For example, active consumers are asking for better food ingredients, less processed products, and organic-derived raw materials. With regards to cosmetic products, we observe the same preoccupations. People are expecting more transparency from the brands, and consumer-friendly ingredients.
Healthy living, a megatrend
Clean beauty is leading the market since it is a megatrend in several other industries. It focuses on a new vision of beauty, through a holistic point of view. We talk more about prevention than treatments or cares. Such as in Asian medicinal approaches (Ayurveda, Chinese Traditional Medicine, etc), the body and the mind are taken into account in a global process. We may say that inner health is intimately linked to outer beauty.
Beauty and health have always been linked, one is stemming from the other. What the user expects is more reliable products, less toxic ingredients, natural products with same benefits on the body. Nonetheless, communication and brand transparency are also of prime importance, to ensure consistency between corporate mission and product marketing. Mind the gap !
Beauty consumers are empowered
They are no longer passive or subject to what the industry sells on the market. Nowadays, they know how to read ingredient listings, benefits from some mobile applications to help them appreciate the perceived quality of a cosmetic product. For example, the French consumers association (UFC-Que Choisir) launched recently a free mobile app « Quel Cosmetic » to scan and evaluate more than 6000 cosmetic products. This app is based on the consumer’s will of research, understanding safety / potential risks of a product and detecting harmful ingredients. In the same way, Yuka app scans processed food products.
Natural beauty
A recent study from Mintel showed that beauty products will be more inclusive, more natural and local, and will be more personalized in the future. Among the next moves of the cosmetic industry, natural beauty is one of the main trends. With increasing awareness of climate changes, the industry will have to improve its approach in terms of sourcing. More natural and sustainable ingredients are expected by the consumers, for a better respect to people and the planet. The consciousness is stemming from personal benefits (safety) and then subsequently, from altruistic goals. Local sourced ingredients will represent a great opportunity to develop more sustainable supply chains. According to Mintel, this will become strategic for the next years of the beauty industry.
Values first
It won’t be enough to sell a great cosmetic product. To conquer the consumer, brands must display a real personality and a reason-why directly linked to personal values of the user. Brands have to develop their own personality, in a sincere and lively way.
Research and development can rely on more and more technologies, accesses and worldwide networks to develop sourcing supply chains and production processes that lead to responsible product design. Purchasing division plays a key role too in the choice of ingredients that meet user’s expectation the most.
Please find more and see some demonstration various stands, during your visit at Cosmetic 360 17-18 October 2018 in Paris.