2021

Global Beauty
and Personal
Care Trends

What brands need to know

for continued success in
2021 and beyond
Forward
10 years of success in predicting the future.
As experts in what consumers want and
why, Mintel Beauty & Personal Care
is uniquely suited to predict the future
of consumer behaviour. In fact, we’ve
accurately predicted the consumer
and market trends that have shaped
the global beauty and personal care
industry for over a decade. Do you have
a favourite or memorable beauty trend?
Chances are, you heard it here first.
With more than 3,000 brands that
have developed winning strategies
based on our insights, timelines, and
recommendations, our reputation is
well-earned and speaks for itself.
And we continue to lead the
conversation today.
In the pages that follow, we’re offering
you a topline look at our 7 Trend
Drivers—a living, growing prediction
model that adapts with the unforeseen
and supports the fluid acceleration or
deceleration of trends according to
the reality of individual markets.
Then we take a look at the four
consumer drivers that are most relevant
to the global beauty and personal care
industry this year: Wellbeing, Value,
Technology, and Surroundings. Jane Henderson
Global President,
Mintel Beauty &
Innovative, insightful, forward-looking, Personal Care
and full of recommendations that you
can act on in the next 12 months. But
this is just a starting point; a foundation
and direction for how you should evolve
product innovation, product positioning,
consumer acquisition, repeat purchase,
and brand strategies.
The data and expertise we have
available to Mintel clients are extensive
and exhaustive. I welcome our clients Curious about the consumer
to log in now to see what’s new. If personas that will determine
you’re not a Mintel client, but interested the industry’s winners, losers,
to know more about our beauty and innovators, and top sellers over the
personal care research and trend next 12 months? The 2021 Global
forecasting, visit the Mintel Store to Beauty and Personal Care Personas
purchase reports online today or get launch February 2021 for Mintel
in touch to speak with one of my sales clients. Speak to your Account
colleagues. We’d love to hear from you. Manager today to learn more.
3

Let’s start with

the foundation
of our trends
4

Mintel’s 7 Trend The Trend Drivers are a framework for understanding the

Drivers and their

fundamental themes that influence consumer choice and
change, explaining and predicting the key behavioural

supporting pillars
changes likely to impact consumers in the years ahead.

Identity
Understanding and
Wellbeing expressing oneself and
Seeking physical and one’s place in society.
mental wellness.
• Individuality
• Physical • Heritage
• Fitness • Community
• Nutrition • Morals
• Psychological

Surroundings
Feeling connected to the
Value external environment.
Finding tangible and • Ethics
• Equality
measurable benefits from
• Sustainability
investments.
• Localism
• Quality
• Budget
• Convenience
• Premium

Technology
Rights Experiences Finding solutions through
Feeling respected, Seeking and technology in the physical
protected, and supported. discovering stimulation. and digital worlds.
• Empowerment • Adventure • Communication
• Respect • Playfulness • Digital entertainment
• Protection • Pleasure • Early-adopters
• Self-expression • Nostalgia • Media
5

4 Beauty and
Personal Care
Trends for 2021
 6

WELLBEING 3 key takeaways

for continued
Beautiful Mind
success in 2021
The concept of total wellness
has become integral to beauty
routines; as stress and mental Highlighting the use of beauty
health take over the conversation, routines as a way to combat stress
and anxiety and bring normality
brands have an opportunity to build during uncertain times will drive
normality through routines with long-term value for consumers.
consciously created products that
keep consumers protected, bring
Brands that ‘broadcast’ their
value to purchase decisions, and stringent safety guidelines will
rebuild trusting brand relationships. instill confidence and attract new
customers seeking assurance in
their desire to reconnect with
retail experiences.

Create strategies for third-party

experts to validate and educate
consumers about the future of
holistic wellness with self-care
that touches on the mind-body-
spirit connection.
 7

VALUE 4 key takeaways

for continued
Beauty (Re)Valued
success in 2021
Consumer priorities have shifted
in light of lifestyle changes due
Experiences will become more valuable
to COVID-19. As spending comes than tangible products as many
under scrutiny, product functionality consumers re-evaluate what is essential
to survival and the investment-vs-time
and purpose drives usage. Value is proposition drives new behaviours in the
measured in quality, convenience and professional sector.
purchase impact rather than currency
as consumers trade up and down
Redefine what value means, beyond just
across categories. Luxury takes on a cost, through purchase impact as well as
new definition as consumers evaluate convenience with an emphasis on quality
as a way to get consumers to trade up.
the money vs time proposition.

‘Flexitarian’ behaviour will become more

extreme as shoppers trade up and down
across categories.

Tune into what really resonates with

consumer groups in a clear and
unambiguous manner in order to reduce
customer acquisition costs and increase
lifetime value.
 8
TECHNOLOGY
Channel Changers
How consumers discover and
purchase products have shifted
permanently with technological
integration paving the way for
the future. Robust ecommerce
strategies will allow brands to win
with a true omnichannel approach
that pushes the boundaries,
engages all of the senses, and
offers new layers of digital
experience to guide shoppers.
3 key takeaways
for continued
success in 2021
Loyalty and lifetime customer
value will be driven through
multiple, sophisticated, and
personalised digital touchpoints
that focus on capturing individual
lifestyle needs.
Develop strategies that drive
commerce to own-brand sites
that advocate authenticity,
as well as challenge big
marketplaces that have yet
to provide clear supply chain
transparency.
Leverage the professional sector
to create a true omnichannel
strategy and advocate brands’
product promises from the
perspective of trained and
trusted professionals as part of an
enhanced beauty experience.
 9

SURROUNDINGS 4 key takeaways

for continued
Beauty Eco-lution
success in 2021
As consumers emerge from COVID-19
confinement, the relationship to their Brands will continue to collaborate
with and support local businesses with
surroundings has shifted, forcing them an authentic and long-term strategy
to re-evaluate purchase priorities as many consumers accelerate
shifting purchase patterns to their own
with eco-ethical considerations neighbourhoods with less focus on price.
driving more conscious purchases.
Safety and efficacy go hand-in-hand
as consumers look to the concept Create the next evolution of ‘clean’
by marrying ethics with safety to cater
of total protection regardless of to the conscious and careful beauty
where they live. consumer focused on avoiding undue
risk inside and outside the box.

As consumers move into and out of big

cities and small towns, the products and
services they have access to will shift
along with their priorities.

Invest in more diverse touchpoints that

ensure optimal product discovery,
especially as repeat purchase rates
waver across many brands.
10

Now you know a bit

more about the trends driving
the global beauty and
personal care industry in 2021.

What about the

consumers behind
the trends?
11

2021 Global Beauty and

Personal Care Personas
Identifying and managing audiences is more critical 2021
to business success than ever before, so we have
developed 10 personas that enable beauty brands
Global Beauty and
to dive deeper into the micro needs, behaviours, and Personal Care Personas
emotions that prompt a consumer to buy. We have
analysed the wide range of consumer needs, distilling
them into actionable insights for brands to build
powerful and relatable stories to compete in today’s
complex marketplace.

Gain a deep understanding of your beauty consumers

in order to grow customer acquisition and repeat
purchases. Mintel’s 2021 Global Beauty and Personal
Care Personas reveal how to successfully connect
with the 10 most important consumer groups, including
insights and recommendations related to:

• In-depth persona descriptions on the global and

local scale.

• Top trends that resonate most with each group.

• Products each persona group finds interesting,

including motivations for trading up/down.

• Product discovery and purchase journeys, including

what ‘voices’ (ie peers, influencers, medical
professionals) resonate and why.

• Narratives to which each group responds, including

what prompts the decision to buy—or not.

Coming soon for Mintel clients

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If you’re curious about how the 2021

Global Beauty and Personal Care
Trends will shift, evolve, accelerate,
and decelerate over the next
12 months, and how beauty and
personal care businesses should plan
for the future, we have the answers.

If you’re a Mintel client, log in to

view our 2021 Global Beauty and
Personal Care Trends and stay tuned
for the release of our 2021 Global
Beauty and Personal Care Personas,
including what brands must consider
when thinking strategically over the
next 12-18 months.

If you’re not a Mintel client,

please get in touch.

mintel.com
 © 2021 Mintel Group Ltd. All rights reserved.
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