Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Product Development 6
Pricing 38
Customer Experience 60
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2020 was a redefining year for
beauty tech. As consumer values
and expectations shifted, big beauty
corporates and startups alike have been
forced to adapt. From “waterless” beauty
products to virtual try-on, here are the
trends and tech that will continue to
transform the sector in 2021 and beyond.
More than a year later, Covid-19 continues to shape the space, but
brands are now better equipped to deal with the seismic shift in
consumer values and expectations.
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Along these lines, sustainability and a focus on environmental
impact has taken on urgency at major beauty players looking to
appeal to an increasingly eco-conscious population: Some, like
L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, have announced goals to reach carbon
neutrality, while others have begun innovating in more specific
areas, like reusable packaging and refillable business models.
Synthetic beauty ingredients are also getting attention.
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Product Development
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Many are addressing personalization with a variety of different
technologies and approaches, such as:
Source: Shespoke
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AI also presents a big opportunity for brands looking to further
personalize processes, especially in areas like skincare analysis.
Skincare brand Proven, for example, says it feeds consumer data into
its AI platform — which contains information on more than 100,000
products, 8M+ testimonials, 4,000+ scientific publications, etc. — to
provide the most effective ingredients for users. Atolla also uses AI
capabilities to customize facial serums for consumers by using data
collected through quizzes and tests (measuring oil, moisture, and pH
levels) that are then processed by the company’s algorithm.
Source: L’Oréal
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L’Oréal-owned ModiFace also allows customers to try on makeup
virtually. The ModiFace app uses AI to scrape and analyze images
and descriptions of products from brands and social media posts to
produce a more realistic augmented reality (AR) projection on users.
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But the benefits of personalization, including serving those missed
in mass-market product offerings, will push brands to strike
a balance between preserving privacy and innovating for new
revenue streams. Look for brands to continue to develop hyper-
personalized offerings in order to differentiate themselves from
competitors and cater to consumers more effectively.
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BIG BEAUTY INCUBATES ITS OWN DISRUPTORS, RAMPS
UP ACQUISITIONS
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• Beauty conglomerate L’Oréal (which set up the first beauty
startup accelerator in Africa in 2018) offers a variety of
internal initiatives to support its commitment to new brands
and technologies, such as the Open Innovation Program, the
Women in Digital program, its Technology Incubator, and the
launch of corporate venture capital fund L’Oréal BOLD.
Source: Glossier
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Beyond incubators and accelerators, big beauty has been busy
with a slew of acquisitions over the past year to expand customer
acquisition channels, such as influencer marketing or better
e-commerce infrastructure, and double down on burgeoning
trends like natural beauty, including:
It’s never been faster to launch or grow a new brand with the
proliferation of beauty incubators and growth of e-commerce and
D2C channels. “Big companies like Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and P&G
are really an amalgamation of lots of brands, and when they roll up
all those brands, they hit a revenue number. That revenue number
and that earnings number defines how well they do is and who
in the market buys that stock,” Luxury Brand Partners CEO Tevya
Finger told Glossy.
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Currently, beauty juggernauts are looking to indie brands to
experiment in newer markets and nascent trends. In-house
incubators offer a way for conglomerates to build relationships or
even gain equity stakes in these companies — paving the way for
future acquisitions as it becomes clear which early-stage brands
will mature and which will fizzle out.
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INCLUSIVE BEAUTY BECOMES TABLE STAKES — AND NEW
NICHES CREATE HUGE OPPORTUNITIES
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Source: Sephora
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Since Unilever’s $1B acquisition of Dollar Shave Club in 2016, M&A
of men’s personal care brands has spiked, with deals including:
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In Asia, men’s skincare and makeup has been a burgeoning trend
for years now, with the US catching up only fairly recently, which
some attribute to “quarantine boldness.”
Source: IC
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Gender-neutral beauty products
Source: Fluide
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“As a culture, we are realizing that gender is no longer a fixed
concept,” said Sam Cheow, senior vice president of corporate
innovation and product development at the Estée Lauder
Companies, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
People of color
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“Because a founder is of color does not mean that their business
has to be focused only on people of color,” Keenan Beasley, the
founder and CEO of beauty incubator Supply Factory Brands, told
Glossy. “Our design target for our Sunday II Sunday brand is the
multicultural woman, but products are still great for all women,
which is where we started at.”
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• AbsoluteJOI is a skincare brand that makes products for
women of color. Its founder Anne Beal has said that its core
customer group is women in their 40s and up, and that the
skincare company boasts a return customer rate of 30%.
Source: State Of
Beauty brands are also looking to babies and children for untapped
opportunities, with examples like:
• Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company, which got its start in baby
care, recently went public, raising more than $412M in its debut.
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Luxury skincare brands such as Pai Skincare, Dr. Barbara Sturm,
and others have expanded into baby and children’s skincare
products.
Social media has become a critical way for teenagers to find the
trendiest products in line with their clean beauty needs and beyond
— “edutainment” for beauty and skincare products.
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Source: Hyram Yarbro
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BEAUTY GOES GLOBAL … AND LOCAL
K-beauty hit the United States in 2011 when Sephora began carrying
Korean skincare brand Dr. Jart+. Since then, Western shoppers
have clamored for Korean beauty products, with items like sheet
masks and snail cream becoming commonplace in beauty stores.
Cosmetics exports from Korea surged 15% in 2020, thanks to
growing demand from the US and other Asian countries, per the
Korea Customs Service and the Korea Cosmetic Association.
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“For instance, they understand what works best for Asian skin.
They are also quick to pick up the current beauty trends that
Chinese consumers are drawn to, and are fast in launching
products that leverage those trends,” Nanyang Technological
University associate professor Elison Lim said in an interview
with Insider.
Source: Florasis
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• Brazil represents one of the fastest-growing global markets
for beauty and personal care. For example, D2C cosmetics
brand Sallve recently raised $21M at a valuation of $116M.
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Manufacturing & Distribution
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Furthermore, the process of growing ingredients in a lab reduces
the “devastating impacts of farming, fishing, extraction, or the
involvement of intermediaries which can drive up the price and
carbon footprint of raw materials extracted from the earth in
lengthy, global supply chains,” said sustainability consultant and
All Earthlings founder Sarah Jay in an interview with Coveteur.
Source: Geltor
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AI also presents a big opportunity for brands looking to
further Beauty conglomerates have been active in developing
biotechnology partnerships as well.
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NEW SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING PROTOTYPES AND
BUSINESS MODELS TAKE OFF
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The EU, for example, has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by
2050, and the European Green Deal aims to shift to completely
reusable or recyclable packaging by 2030. Nine states, including
California, New York, and Maine, have enacted statewide plastic
bag reduction laws or bans.
Source: Myro
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In-store refills have yet to pick up — especially after the Covid-19
pandemic — though there is opportunity here. The Body Shop
launched its refill stations globally in March 2021, allowing
consumers to refill shower gels, hand soaps, shampoos, and
conditioners in stores. Chile-based Algramo, which expanded to New
York in August 2020, also offers opportunities for refilling household
products, though beauty and personal care is likely a future
opportunity thanks to its partnerships with Unilever and Nestlé.
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Source: Paboco
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‘WATERLESS’ BEAUTY AS THE NEXT BIG ECO TREND
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• Seed-stage startup Susteau (formerly OWA Haircare)
inked a deal with Sephora to launch its waterless haircare
products online and in stores for the retailer. These kinds
of concentrates blend with the water already being used in
the shower or sink. Susteau has applied for a patent for its
powderless shampoo.
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Some companies are also introducing waterless or water-reduced
initiatives to salons. Glosslab, for instance, has developed a waterless
manicure that it offers to clients in its own salons on a membership
basis. The company raised a $4M seed round in May 2021.
Source: L’Oréal
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Pricing
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While some consumers saw an increase in their disposable income
during the pandemic, for many shoppers, the economic uncertainty
of the pandemic has driven a renewed focus on products that carry
more value at cheaper price points. Amid this shift, beauty has
largely held its place in shoppers’ lives, attracting spending even
when other product categories have taken a hit.
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Companies like Deciem are using transparent pricing models
and established, science-backed ingredients that are cheaper to
manufacture — ultimately driving the price of products down. In 2020,
Deciem nearly doubled sales to $460M, primarily through its skincare
brand, The Ordinary, which has developed a strong cult following.
Source: Racked
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Marketing & Merchandising
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While beauty supplements aren’t a new concept, an increasing
number of startups are targeting the market with products that
promise beauty benefits such as weight loss, clearer skin, and
stronger hair.
Source: Nutrafol
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Going forward, expect a greater focus on the connection between
gut health and beauty as the microbiome gains momentum as a
wellness topic. Beauty Chef, a startup that has raised $6.8M, is
already marketing its products by linking beauty to gut health.
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Conversely, some brands are looking to offer consumers an
alternative to doctor visits for certain issues. Topicals and Musely,
for example, are targeting skin conditions like eczema that would
normally require a trip to see a specialist to get a prescription.
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Despite their momentum, companies tying beauty to overall well-
being face challenges around perceptions of effectiveness and
trust. Though brands commonly cite clinical studies alongside
their products, consumers may become skeptical if they don’t
notice a difference in a real-world scenario, especially for products
positioned as having a direct impact on health. Companies going
after the space will have to calibrate their messaging carefully —
and prioritize transparency — to successfully engage customers
while managing expectations.
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BIG TECH CAPITALIZES ON BEAUTY
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Big tech offers online beauty retail channels
Source: Amazon
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In 2019, the company launched in-app checkout for shoppable
posts and has since rolled out features such as augmented reality
shopping, in-app reminders for new product drops, and even
shoppable videos — expanding its e-commerce role for beauty
products being promoted by brands and influencers.
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Livestreamer Jiaqi Li promoting beauty products on Alibaba’s platform. Source: Alizila
Voice assistants will help bring beauty into the smart home
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Source: Sephora
Beauty hasn’t historically been a key focus area for big tech, but
these giants will inevitably continue to extend their influence in
the sector.
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VIRTUAL TRY-ON ENABLES PRODUCT DISCOVERY AND
ENGAGEMENT
While the technology has existed for some years, the Covid-19
pandemic has solidified virtual try-on’s place in the beauty industry,
as customers seek personalized recommendations they can try on
safely, often while shopping online from their own homes.
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Beauty brands from L’Oréal to Smashbox to Benefit Cosmetics offer
virtual try-on via tech by ModiFace (acquired by L’Oréal in 2018),
while social media platforms like Facebook and Youtube have
integrated virtual cosmetics try-on into ads and influencer videos.
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• Biotechnology company Amyris acquired Beauty Labs,
developer of AI-powered apps for beauty brands looking to
offer intelligent, personalized recommendations and virtual
try-on, in April 2021.
Beyond skincare and makeup, hair and nail color also present use
cases for virtual try-on tech. Hair color has seen a notable boost
in the past year as lockdowns have prompted new forms of self-
expression, per Sally Beauty Chief Merchandising Officer Pam
Kohn. Hair color brand Madison Reed, which grew sales by 130%
and nearly doubled its customer base in 2020, offers live virtual
try-on on its website for customers to explore different shades.
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Source: L’Oréal
Going forward, expect to see beauty brands and tech giants alike
turn to virtual try-on to gather shopper data and make more
personalized product recommendations.
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INGREDIENT TRANSPARENCY TRUMPS CLEAN BEAUTY
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For example, in April 2021, private equity giant Carlyle Group took
a majority stake in cosmetics company Beautycounter in a deal
valued at $1B. The Colorado-based beauty brand emphasizes
ingredient transparency and restricts over 1,800 ingredients in its
formulations (compared to the 30 restricted by US regulations).
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An efficacy facts panel from a product label. Source: Codex Beauty
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However, ingredient transparency doesn’t only mean making it
clear what ingredients are included, then educating users on how
effective they are — it also means providing details on the ways
those ingredients are sourced and moved.
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Customer Experience
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Demand for these services is not limited by geography. For
example, Glamera, which offers on-demand spa and makeup
services, is based in Egypt. Urban — which connects users
with skincare professionals, nail specialists, and more — is
headquartered in England. Both companies raised funding in
Q3’20. Meanwhile, unicorn Zenoti, which raised $160M in Series D
funding earlier this year, provides services management software
for salons in over 50 countries.
Source: Zenoti
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Customers can book a wide variety of services that would typically
require going to a specific location. For example, companies like
Heyday, FaceGym, and Skin Laundry offer on-demand facials.
Others, including Glamsquad, send stylists directly to people’s
homes or offices.
Nail care is also increasingly coming out of the salon and into the
home. For example, California-based ManiMe uses 3D scanning
and printing technology to create customized press-on nails that
are shipped to the customer. Meanwhile, Coral is creating a fully
automated device that provides at-home manicures.
Source: ManiMe
• Tria Beauty offers products for laser hair removal and light-
based skin treatments that users can administer themselves.
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Source: Tria Beauty
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NEW APPROACHES TO OMNICHANNEL FOR BEAUTY TAKE
HOLD
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Source: Shiseido
Source: Shiseido
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The virtual Shiseido store uses virtual reality (VR) technology
to let customers browse the first, second, and basement levels
of the flagship location. The website provides the same product
information and customization options as the physical store.
Source: Bergamo
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Quality online customer service can help shoppers feel more
comfortable buying new products online. And new in-store pickup
options connect the online and offline shopping experiences. Many
beauty brands — including Ulta Beauty, Bluemercury, and Sephora
— have begun offering curbside pickup to limit germ spread
during the pandemic. The service also works well for customers
purchasing products they already know and love. With the added
convenience and the short wait times — some brands have orders
ready in as little as 30 minutes — expect the option to be available
long after Covid-19 subsides.
Customer journeys that combine the online world with the offline
are here to stay. The role of the physical store is still important, but
its focus has shifted to experiential retail. Expect to see livestream
shopping becoming more popular in the US after already taking
off in China. Ultimately, the beauty brands and retailers that will
come out on top will be the ones that create a unified view of the
consumer’s online and offline behavior.
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