Global Beauty and Personal Care Trends 2019

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This article is a summary of a report from Mintel regarding what the important trends are in beauty and personal care industry in 2019. This article gives lots of “what you need to do now” advice to manufacturers of Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) products.

Who is Mintel?

Mintel is one of the world’s leading market intelligence agency, with offices around the world. They provide data, market research, market analysis, competitive intelligence and product intelligence. They combine this information to provide insights and recommendations to interested parties.

Sub-Zero Waste

The title of this report is “Sub-Zero Waste” and all of the trends are related to sustainability. The first statements of this report are quite stark: “If brands don’t change their approach (to sustainability), they won’t exist in the future” and “this is not a trend, it is a movement”

What Should Beauty and Personal Care Manufacturers Do Now about Sustainability?

The report advises that there is an opportunity now to gain “first-mover advantages”. It recommends that manufacturers should invest in zero waste solutions now and that they should prioritise this investment over current profits.

How to Lead the Way

According to the authors, you don’t need to compromise on quality or luxury in order to make your products more sustainable. Innovation in sustainability can take the form of upcycling, product refills, product life extensions, making the product and packaging recyclable or reusable, changes in elements of the supply chain etc.
Also, you may also need to invest in educating your consumer about how to maximise the sustainability of your product and packaging.

The report goes on to give many examples of the above type of innovations. It also makes the point that many smaller, independent brands (i.e.indie, native brands) who have built their business practices around ethics and sustainability will have an advantage over larger, global brands who are trying to catch up on the sustainability front. The report states that there has been a backlash against brands that have purposely created a limited shelf life or promoted overconsumption.

The Sustainability Movement is Happening Worldwide.

The report shows results from consumer surveys in the US, Brazil, the UK, Spain, China and India which demonstrates that concern for sustainability in beauty and personal care products is happening globally. There is also a graphic showing that it is estimated that sustainability will be “mainstream” worldwide within 5 years.

Examine your Supply Chain

Your customers are paying more attention to their impact on the planet than they ever did before. This means that they will be interested in the sustainability of your entire process, including where and how you sourced your raw materials and the welfare of the people in your supply chain. Therefore, your brand needs to be transparent i.e. your consumer needs to be able to easily find out about the above-mentioned elements in your supply. Your website and social media need to provide easy access to this information. Blockchain allows consumers to scrutinise the entire manufacturing process.

Providing this transparency will increase customer loyalty and trust.

For example, Dollard Packaging is a member of Sedex – The Supplier Ethical Data Exchange. Sedex is a not-for-profit membership organisation for businesses committed to the continuous improvement of ethical performance within their supply chains. Although Sedex is not a standard-setting body and doesn’t approve or certify our policies and standards, being a member means that we are willing to share information and to use this information to help manage and improve ethical standards within the supply chain.

Another example is the US LOLI Beauty brand. It makes products made from natural ingredients and packaged in reusable glass jars. It became the first personal care brand to be a member of Made In A Free World, a technology platform that helps brands assess the risk of people trafficking in their supply chain.

Educate your Consumer On Sustainability of your Products

Sustainable beauty and personal care products may have different properties and may need to be used in a different way. Eco-friendly brands often create videos to show consumers how to use the sustainable version of their product. In this example, the video shows the viewer how to use the Ethique shampoo bar.

See how Unilever is promoting an eco refill that reduces plastic waste by 75%. There were also educational videos on how to use the refill which needs to be added to water in the reusable trigger spray bottle.

The article goes on to give numerous examples of how brands of all sizes are taking steps to make their products and processes more sustainable.

Examples of Sustainable Activity by Beauty and Personal Care Brands

-La Bouche Rouge Paris offers refillable/reusable packaging made from leather.

-Glambot offers consumers a space to buy and sell used beauty products. The brand verifies and sterilises products prior to resale, allowing consumers to sell items they don’t use without the guilt of waste, and allowing buyers to enjoy luxury products at lower prices.

-Ethique, the Australian beauty products brand, manufactures shampoo in a bar which comes packaged in a sustainable box.

-Some brands are using food waste as ingredients for their products which is a “sub-zero waste” practice.

-Unilever and L’Oréal have pledged to use 100% recyclable, reusable, and compostable plastic by the year 2025.

-Avon has already achieved 95% of its goal to send zero waste to landfill.

-Garnier has a “Rinse, Recycle and Repeat” program to encourage consumers to recycle their empty beauty products.

-The Kao beauty brand shows consumers how their waste refills packs are upcycled(see below) and have extensive information on their website about sustainability.

Kao upcycling process

You can download the full report here.

If you would like assistance in making your packaging more sustainable, please contact us on 01 847 0044.

See our blogs on sustainability here.

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