Online Exclusive: Mintel Predicts Global Beauty Trends for 2010

The Givenchy Radically No Surgetics Radical Youth Recovery Program is a prime “mix-it-yourself” example.

Watch for packaging innovation ranging from nomad formats to untraditional materials—and speed and convenience reign supreme.

By Steve Katz, Associate Editor

Innovation can be defined as a new way of doing something, and it can apply to ways of thinking, methods, processes and products. Innovation can be incremental, or it can emerge suddenly. For something to be truly innovative, it should result in positive change or have the ability to make something new or better.

Mintel International Group Ltd., with headquarters in London and Chicago, is a company that assists others in strategic business decision making, by providing thorough market insight into key worldwide trends, with the goal being increased productivity and profitability. Mintel’s Beauty Innovation division focuses intently on the world of beauty and personal care products, and its research and insight run the gamut from prestige and niche products to mass-market introductions.

Nica Lewis, director of Mintel Beauty Innovation—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors.

Recently, Mintel released its global beauty trends predictions for 2010. Nica Lewis, director of Mintel Beauty Innovation—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors—points out that while 2009 presented a host of challenges due to the global economic downturn, the new year is poised to feature a number of new, innovative ideas, as well as build on previous trends. She says, “While 2009 brought challenges for the industry, beauty brands and suppliers have continued to seek creative new ways to merge science, nature and sustainability for better results and more eco-friendly formulas and packaging. In 2010, we will see more consolidation in the beauty industry and the evolution of old trends, as well as new ones, as consumer confidence returns.”

Innovation in science, technology and environmentally friendly products were thematic of Mintel’s 2009 forecast, and Lewis expects these concepts to remain and expand. “The Techno Beauty and Eco Loco beauty packaging trends are still going strong. Although new beauty launches with eco-friendly packaging claims have dipped slightly, they are being replaced by a greater emphasis on all around eco-friendliness, where packaging, contents and concepts all are in sync,” she says, adding that this is meeting demand for greater authenticity and truth in marketing.

The eco-friendly theme that Mintel predicts centers around results-oriented products, with less emphasis on environmental certification. Calling it “Nu Natural,” Mintel says the focus will shift more toward results, efficiency and safety.

“In 2010, beauty products will evolve from today’s trend towards organic ingredients, revisiting attributes like authenticity, provenance and local production,” according to Mintel. It’s expected that claims like “free from” and “sustainable” will appear in products that simultaneously contain synthetic actives like peptides, hyaluronic acid, ceramides or collagen. In addition, Mintel predicts beauty manufacturers will further explore simple formulas, such as infusions and fluids, but they’ll formulate them with a new generation of phytochemicals, anthocyanins and fermented actives.

As ingredients are becoming increasingly innovative, so, too, is the packaging. Lewis says there’s a distinct trend toward products that have characteristics that make life easier for the consumer. “Convenience is queen!” she says. “Time and speed claims are more prominent in new beauty product launches, and the packaging is key to enhancing convenience and meeting our need for speed,” Lewis adds, noting that there are now more “nomad” formats for beauty products featuring on-the-go or mix-it-yourself functionality.

The Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo features a 360° swivel mirror compact.

Lewis points to a few recently launched products that provide good examples of innovation in convenience. She says the 360° swivel mirror compact of the Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo enhances the product’s function and ease-of-use. An instance exemplifying the demand for innovative on-the-go products can be found in the new L’Occitane Repairing Travel Kit for Dry and Damaged Hair. It has two 75ml PETG bottles with litho printed labels and flip-top plastic caps, and 2 x 8ml litho printed foil sachets in a reusable beige suede zip pouch. And the Givenchy Radically No Surgetics Radical Youth Recovery Program with double encapsulation technology domed capsules is a prime “mix-it-yourself” example, Lewis says.

During 2009, Mintel says there was a renewed emphasis on protection, one of the basic functions of skin care, hair care and color cosmetics. This year, the firm is expecting an expansion of this, dubbing the trend “Pro-Tech’t”–incorporating both marketing and packaging technology. Mintel points to verbiage that borrows from computer technology to be used to describe functionality, such as “firewalls,” for example. And it’s expected that packaging will expand beyond traditional glass and plastic to materials like neoprene and concrete.

Mintel also expects growth in immune-boosting and skin-defending claims, as well as new products that contain ingredients from extreme environments such as the Arctic, Alpine or desert. Consumers can expect more healthcare actives to appear in 2010’s beauty products, thus forging a stronger link with “nutricosmetics.” Building on this, Mintel expects what it calls “Mood Beauty” to emerge onto the beauty products landscape. “In 2010, consumers will be able to enhance their mood through makeup and skin care, going beyond aromatherapy and simple use of scent. ‘Mood Beauty’ creates a new beauty space, intersecting psychology and well-being with beauty products that offer psychological benefits and ingredients that act on people’s neurotransmitters. Expect manufacturers to make use of textures, temperatures or sounds that affect the mood, as well as innovations like makeup that ‘switches on and off,’ ”the report says.

Mintel’s 2010 forecast for innovation in beauty products and packaging has a focus on technology. Technology is a broad term, and so is the expected innovation.

Calling it “Turbo Beauty 4G,” Mintel predicts manufacturers capitalizing on advances in biochemistry for higher-tech beauty products. In addition to the aforementioned “mix-it-yourself” solutions, consumers can also expect more quasi-medical results packaged in at-home kits that offer alternatives to cosmetic surgery and non-invasive procedures.

“In 2010, products will increasingly include medical- or pharmaceutical-grade actives and next-generation nanotechnology. In addition, clinical testing to substantiate claims and results will move from prestige into “masstige,” the report says, referring to an emerging group of products designed to be affordable for general consumers but positioned as luxury.

Last year, one of Mintel’s predictions included a theme on technological innovation the company dubbed “Techno Beauty.” The trend pointed to more products being designed with high-tech gadgets in mind, like cellphones and MP3 players. This year, Mintel forecasts that the recent social media boom will play an increasingly prominent role in the marketing of beauty products.

Websites such as Facebook and Twitter have provided an unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers to connect personally with customers. Here, current and potentially future customers can interact with brands in a myriad of ways. Website visitors or “followers” of brands with a social media presence can learn–in real time–of product launches, company news, sweepstakes and giveaways, and can even have the opportunity to network with fellow users of a given product. Mintel expects that, in particular, beauty manufacturers will start marketing anti-aging products to “digital natives” – people of a generation that have grown up with digital technology such as computers, the Internet, mobile phones and MP3s.

Mintel can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mintelnews or online at www.mintel.com.