Beauty: What can we learn from new skincare brands?

(This article is a translation of my last chronicle released in French Journal du Luxe)

How do the emerging skincare brands build their success? What winning strategy do they implement in terms of brand platform? It looks quite obvious that their success has a lot to do with the fact they are committed brands; and with the fact they are not “bullshitting” their customers (“you get what you see”)

We read these days many articles on the "next world" and " the new normal", intended to shed light on the unknown "post-covid 19" era. 

However, we have known since Tocqueville and "the Old Regime and the Revolution" that the ruptures, the sudden breaks are often of facade and that the revolutions frequently conceal the continuity;

This historical truth is also relevant when it comes to economics and marketing. The world of beauty and skincare is no exception. To better draw the fate of the skincare of tomorrow, let’s take a look in the rear view mirror ...

What can we see there?

New skincare brands enjoying increasing success for a few years (or sometimes just a few months).

Brands with a purpose telling us something about the consumer of today and tomorrow.

The 2030 megabrands are likely to be among those rising stars; so let’s have a closer look to better understand the beauty world of today and tomorrow.

Skincare: innovation leads the growth (too)

Skincare, despite an image that is less creative and less fun than make-up or perfume, has not lacked innovations in recent years: the rise of k-beauty, of so-called “bridge-products”, the success of masks, the boom of organic and vegan products, etc.: these are some of the many successful innovations that have shaken up consumers’usages and business globally.

What can we learn from this abundant creativity?

New brands are “committed” brands

Beauty at large and more specifically skincare are today at the forefront of the fight for more sustainability and more environmental protection: fewer harmful components, more and more natural ingredients, recycled, or recyclable or bio-degradable packaging: here are some “hot topics” for the whole industry today. 

The most visible new brands have been able to make this "new deal" a true brand commitment, a brand manifesto loudly claimed, like for instance The BeautyCounter. Or Biossance, which proudly defines itself as the leader in Clean Beauty ("We formulate clean, nontoxic skincare using the highest standards in the industry through our commitment to transparency and our blacklist of 2,000+ toxic ingredients").

Successful new brands have strong brand DNAs & sharp equities

In an overcrowded category, newcomers have no other choice than to assert their identity in a very visible and "loud" manner.

It is no longer possible to simply define your brand as a “clean” or organic brand.

To emerge in retail and in the minds of customers, it is now necessary to put forward a very “sharp” brand concept, which generally combines several strategic dimensions:

• The effectiveness (the reason to believe your  product delivers) : this is closely linked to the ingredients

            New brands can highlight a new active ingredient common to all products and formulas in the range (ie present in all products). This ingredient could be “ownable” by the brand such as the vegetable squalane used by Biossance (an oily active ingredient with a silky feel and with a strong hydrating power). 

            Other brands will choose to use several ingredients, each of them already well-known for specific properties related to the problem being addressed. SkinProud for instance uses only very well-known active ingredients such as:

- retinol (in Recharge - 0.5% retinol night serum)

- vitamin C (in Bright Boost - Multi-vitamin serum 2% vitamin C)

- hyaluronic acid (in Smooth Talk - Gel serum with 2% hyaluronic acid)

• the type of skin targeted

Everything can be considered, as long as this dimension is convincingly integrated into the brand storytelling:

- Skinproud puts forward a “universalist”skin vision, therefore aiming at all skin types, regardless of the gender of the user,

- Biossance, very logically, is primarily intended for dry skin, its key ingredient being recognized for its moisturizing properties.

To claim its affordability while remaining "modern" and cool

Those emerging brands make a strong statement on affordability & accessibility. For them, being affordable doesn’t not mean they are “uncool” or “cheap” but on the contrary is part of their coolness and hype.

While the super-premium segment (made of brands and ranges such as La Prairie, La Mer, Lanc?me Absolu, Dior Prestige and L’Or de Vie, l'Orchidée Impériale by Guerlain…) have grown very significantly during the last years, it looks like being “hip and affordable” could become the next trend in skincare, as already illustrated by the success of The Ordinary or SkinProud.

-The Ordinary has consistently claimed its concern for integrity, simplicity and transparency. And the brand has voiced against certain frequent practices in the skincare industry, including expensive prices for assets and technologies that have become “mainstream”. As for their own pricing policy, The Ordinary offers serums starting six euros. If you check French retailer Nocibé site you will discover that they sell 29 The Ordinary skus for less than 10euros, 16 skus between 10 and 30euros and one product only above 30e.

-As for SkinProud, launch prices in England are all less than ￡ 15.

Is “low-cost yet quality” the next big trend in skincare ?

A “new segmentation” of the skincare market could happen in the coming years. As it was the case a few years back within the make-up category which was shaken up by the rise of a new and very affordable offer (think for example of Kiko Milano). And as it was also the case in fashion/luxury with the success of brands like Zadig & Voltaire and the Kooples. They became big very fast, and were labelled “accessible luxury", a new segment cheaper than traditional luxury brands like Saint Laurent or Celine 

As a conclusion, we can emphasize the fact that, pre or post-covid, today’s consumers like brands that display a cause, a fight, a purpose. And we can also note that a skincare brand can be both trendy and cheap at the same time, i.e very attractive to consumers… Looks like a good news about “tomorrow’s world” !