Beauty Consumer Trends to Consider Before Brand & Go-to-Market Planning
The beauty and wellness industry is continuing to evolve rapidly, with technological advancements and changing consumer preferences driving a shift towards greater personalization, connectivity, and authenticity.
Today's consumers want and expect products and services to cater to their individual needs and preferences, with a key focus on sustainability and inclusivity.
If you’re ready to launch a stand-out health & beauty wellness brand, connect to learn how I can catapult your brand awareness and develop a powerful presence that aligns with consumer trends in your niche.
Personalization, connectivity, and authenticity are key focuses for today's consumers, with sustainability and inclusivity making the shift from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘need-to-have’. If you're a health and beauty wellness startup, it's essential to understand these four core trends before creating your brand positioning, messaging, or go-to-market strategy.
The Expectation of Personalization
Personalization is increasingly important in beauty and personal care as consumers become acclimated to products and services that are tailored to their individual needs. This includes everything from customized skincare routines to personalized fitness plans to customized formulas. With the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, companies can now use data to create personalized recommendations and experiences that cater to each individual's unique preferences. As this technology becomes more ubiquitous, so do consumer expectations.
Connectivity is a great way to get feedback on how to grow your personalization efforts. Creating a safe space on social media for consumers to share their own experiences and provide feedback can generate invaluable insights into how to personalize your offerings. Ask yourself this…Do you have a personalization strategy or roadmap on the horizon? If you’ve been in-market for some time, do you have a process for extracting potential personalization insights from your audience?
2. Communicating Values Authentically: From Trends to Norms
Authenticity is another key factor as consumers continue to seek out products and services that align with their values and beliefs. The promise of natural ingredients, cruelty-free products, and transparent business practices is 100% expected by consumers today. Stating these value tenants won’t set you apart or help you stand out. It’s the baseline.
Consumers are also increasingly aware of the impact their purchasing decisions have on the environment and society as a whole, and they expect companies to match these values.
Because all wellness brands promote these “expected values”, it’s more important now than ever to find an authentic, differentiated way to communicate why you believe what you do.
Beyond being savvy and articulate in your messaging, you must be trustworthy, consistent, and genuine. Revealing your genuine authenticity is where you should begin.
The burden to prove your values are authentic and not contrived is the job of your brand strategy. You are now operating in a competitive “values” market. If it’s hard to stand out and break through the crowd, ask yourself this: Are you operating at a value deficit? How can you construct a distinct narrative around shared beliefs with your customers?
3. Logistically Effortless Sustainability Models
Sustainability has increasingly become a top priority for personal care & beauty companies. While most wellness brands have developed a sustainability strategy in some form or another, a sustainability model should be created as part of your holistic brand strategy process. Depending on the brand, this typically includes eco-friendly packaging, waste reduction, and using sustainable materials in product development.
Offsetting carbon emissions is another popular sustainability approach. While important and impactful - it's no longer a strong enough stance to stand on its own. Consumers expect brands to go the extra mile by encouraging them to participate in the sustainability process.
Enlisting customers' participation is how you create a deeper layer of trust, value, and connection with your consumers. Brands that make recycling, refilling, and upcycling logistically effortless - will continue to dominate and rise above the competition.
While you don't need a robust program today, it's important to consider if any logistical options make sense for your brand to move towards over time. Ask your team this: Do you have a plan for the future, and are you committed to elevating sustainability as a core value of your brand?
4. Intentional Inclusivity
Inclusivity has become synonymous with beauty and personal care since COVID. Inclusivity means intentionally creating products and services that cater to people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities and being mindful of cultural differences and sensitivities.
While inclusivity is not a new trend, it's here to stay. As a health & beauty wellness startup, you need to show how you are intentional in the way you incorporate this value both internally and externally. Do you have an inclusivity statement that showcases your commitment to diversity and inclusiveness?
The beauty and personal care industry is in a period of rapid transformation, with greater personalization, connectivity, and authenticity driving consumer behavior.
By embracing these core tenants and prioritizing customer needs around these pillars, your startup will stay ahead of the curve, break through the noise, and build long-lasting relationships with your audiences.
If you want to shore up your brand strategy or go-to-market plan, we are experts in helping health, beauty, and wellness companies transform and generate demand. Set up a discovery call with me to learn how we can take your branding to the next level of visibility and generate demand.
