Daniela Ciocan, Founder, Unfiltered Experience04.09.20
Our professional and personal lives have been altered like we have never imagined; deserted street sets from sci-fi movies are now real-life images seen in major cities like New York, Milan and Paris.
Our lives moving forward will bear the scars of this epidemic and the impact will be felt on our behavior as consumers vis-à-vis consumer goods including beauty products.
The social distancing or better said physical distancing forced us to modify our habits (hello Zoom!) and the scarcity of certain products (toilet paper anyone?) brought on the realization that we can do with less and also that less is good for our wallets and for the planet.
In change lie opportunities, and these are a few that will most likely emerge in the ‘new normal’ we will see in the coming months and years.
The Year of the Minimalist
Let’s face it WFH (work from home) requires no time investment in your appearance – no need for serious hair styling, full makeup or dressing up. Do you really need fake eyelashes to visit your home office? The pared down approach to grooming will give rise to more natural beauty looks.
- Less made-up = less makeup and more natural looks, including natural hair texture and color.
- Less materialistic needs – we’ve all “Marie Kondo’ed” our closets and homes and realized how much stuff we’ve accumulated.
- Low maintenance – looks that require less time and money
- Less Is More – Asian rituals with FULL ON regimens will be replaced by more simple care regimens with fewer steps.
This has already been a big trend with Millennials but after we’ve seen the clear skies in China, the dolphins in the Venice canals can we really ignore the impact our choices make on our planet?
- Heightened awareness of materials used for packaging in consumer goods products including beauty, clothing, cleaning products, etc.
- ‘Second life’ clothing/furniture
- Goods made out of recycled materials (eg: sneakers and sportswear made from recycled plastic collected from oceans)
Consumer interest in products they use will be more prevalent, and yet new product discovery will still be done through social media.
- Less personality, more authority – The new generation of influencers will be the professionals with knowledge and authority on a subject who can convey to consumers the REAL difference in a new product.
- Authentic Connections - LIVE sessions and STORIES convey the real personalities of the social media influencers, and their connection to their community will become stronger
Transparency will be the core principle driving buying decisions, and clean beauty will graduate from a trend to a widely adopted standard for beauty products.
- Less Ingredients, Simpler Formulas – Smart formulas will have fewer ingredients chosen for their function that synergistically work with each other.
- Clean beauty -- Less chemicals with names that can’t be pronounced and have unknown origins and more organic plant-based ingredients
- Organic Beauty – Not just for yoga and spa lovers
- Supply chains reassessment - The shutdown in China spotlighted the need for local manufacturers as either ‘backup’ in case of emergency or as a regular ongoing adjustment in production.
- Suppliers will be vetted – With quality control in question and now with possible contaminants,
- ‘Made in the USA’ will bring reassurance to consumers.
- International shipments – Imports are unpredictable and natural disasters are one more thing to consider when placing important large orders from abroad.
- Safety – Are the products I am buying safe, where were they made and under what conditions and by who?
By association, consumers align their purchase choices with companies that speak to their values.
- Do GOOD – Give-back programs help promote the image of a brand in the eye of the consumer. During the crisis, beauty companies jumped in to provide goodies for care workers and were rewarded with social media love and praise (ie, Skin & CO a skincare and body care company born in Italy is giving 30% of product sales to hospitals in the Umbria region in Italy)
- It Takes a Village – All businesses have a choice to engage with their local community and help where needed.
- Respond to crisis – Manufacturers re-adjusting their production to help with shortages (ie, hand sanitizers: LifeTherapy, a small Indie brand from Chicago created hand sanitizers and donated to care workers)
Change is progress and progress helps us all move forward. Let’s all embrace change for a better tomorrow.
