With a global reset, the post-pandemic world represents a quantum leap into a “new normal.” Consumers rethought their pre-pandemic choices, and post-covid-19 changes in consumer behaviors are around for the long haul.^1,2

Consumers are increasingly aware of sustainability and paying attention to other considerations such as brand ethics and corporate social responsibility. Conscious consumers^3,4 make purchasing decisions based on core values. Consumers can effect change by switching the products they buy. They want to be key players in their health, wellness and lifestyle, and have a positive environmental, social and economic impact, too. Consumers expect more from brands than ever before.

Greenwashing Is Over
Greenwashing describes the practice of companies not accurately representing their products via exaggerated or overblown claims of eco-friendliness or sustainability in an effort to capture market share.⁵
With the lack of regulatory or common agreed definitions as well as the use of various buzzwords, Greenwashing has been prevalent in the cosmetic industry, and besieges natural beauty shoppers at seemingly every turn.⁶ Thankfully, consumers can access information much more easily and instantaneously. Misleading information gets detected immediately, and conscious consumers stay away from such brands.

Whatever brands showcase, “the reality is in the details.” What today’s consumers expect encompasses specific detailed brand actions beyond general statements. Here are five key consumer expectations and highlights of specific considerations.

Brand Values
Product safety and efficacy are definitely expected but not enough. Consumers want to know brands’ ethical values and for what they stand. They want real experiences; to buy from purpose-driven brands with values that are aligned with their beliefs and lifestyle. Brands must show authenticity; 88% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.⁷ Consumers look for brands that deliver on their promised values and play a meaningful role in society, putting planet and people considerations as critical as products.

While authenticity can be defined as a holistic consumer assessment determined by several aspects,⁸ brands must be primarily committed to honesty, integrity, full transparency and consistency. They must “walk the talk.” The best way to get the brand values across is to tell the story of the company in a genuine way, to stand out with emotional messages that resonate with consumers.⁹ Integrity and consistency are key to credibility and building trust. Today, trust is a new dimension of priorities: traditionally developed at product level, it is now also developed at company level.¹⁰

Today’s consumers won’t hesitate to change brands that fail to match their values. Consumer demands about brand values is not only about what they do, but also extend to whom the brand works with, such as suppliers and business partners.

Naturality & Sustainability

Natural cosmetics sales are growing 9.76%,¹¹ to reach $54 billion in 2027. That’s much faster than the overall market with a CAGR of 4.75-5.1%.^12,13 “Contains natural ingredients” is the most important attribute consumers look for when deciding which brands to purchase, the second one being “respects the environment.”¹⁴

Today’s consumers demand products to be safe and sustainably sourced and produced.

Sustainability, with its environmental and its social aspects, is a force in the beauty industry. Today, 76% of consumers plan to buy cosmetics that are made sustainably, and it is even more prevalent with Millennials (80%) and Gen-Z shoppers (86%),15 64% of Americans are willing to pay more for sustainable products, and products marketed with sustainable claims grew 7.1x faster than those without such claims.16,17,18 The pandemic has put sustainability into hyperdrive, and it is a boardroom priority.^19,20

Key aspects for brands to consider from product ideation include:

• Naturality. Many aspects are to be considered in the product life cycle, from sourcing of the natural ingredients, their manufacturing practices, the consumer use, and its end of life. It is important to “think green” at every step of the production chain with a holistic eco-conception approach.²¹ It’s no longer just about natural and organic, it’s about the wider green issues.22 It begins with cultivation: are chemically-produced pesticides and fertilizers used? Are any recognized guidelines such as the WHO good agricultural and collection practices used? Also, not all botanicals are extracted equal.²³ Critical considerations include: yield, field location, solvent, manufacturing site, waste and social responsibility.
• Biodiversity. It is a key driver of ecosystem functioning and is declining fast due to human pressures.^24,25 The biodiversity crisis is global, and halting biodiversity loss is a social and economic imperative.26 Its preservation is an integral part of product design and a key criterion in ingredient supplier selection.²⁷
• Circular beauty. The beauty industry must move away from the linear approach and embrace the circular economy. It is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like biodiversity loss and waste.²⁸ “Waste is not waste until we waste it.” One-third of all produced foods (1.3 billion tons) for human consumption is wasted every year.²⁹ Eco-valorization and upcycling food waste is an opportunity to create new products using minimal energy while reducing the footprint on the planet.³⁰ Upcycled ingredients is the No. 1 trend to watch for 2022 in Americas.³¹
• Zero waste beauty: This movement seeks to revise the resource lifecycle to ensure that nothing goes to landfill. LOLI Beauty (Living Organic Loving Ingredients) a pioneer in zero-waste skin care, recently raised capital.³²
• Biodegradability and aquatic toxicity assessment. Cosmetics’ and their ingredients’ end of life is getting increasing scrutiny, and their biodegradability needs to be addressed, even for natural cosmetics.³³ Blue beauty is about protecting the oceans from cosmetics ingredients and plastics with “ocean safe,” “reef safe” claims. Advocates of blue beauty say some ingredients should be avoided in product formulations because of potential effects on the environment.³⁴ Initially seen with sunscreens, these claims are now seen with skincare and haircare.³⁵
• Full traceability and transparency. They ensure that company standards are reflected throughout the supply chain, “from seed to skin,” and in every product they sell. It builds trust.³⁶
• Effective beauty. The search for ever more optimal efficiency: it is about how efficiently the phytochemical of interest is extracted, its concentration in the botanical. Not all botanicals are extracted equally!
• Social responsibility; fair trade, fair wages and benefits to local communities. Consumers want to make sure that their purchases have no negative effect on farmers or local communities.

Brands must be accountable for their product design, sourcing, manufacturing practices and end of life. For this, brands must review suppliers through a series of criteria, such as well-recognized certifications (e.g., Cosmos, UEBT, RSPO, Ecolabel) and comply with the code of conduct. Brands can also take initiative in establishing their sustainability standards. Pierre Fabre’s Green Impact Index summarizes the impacts of a cosmetic on society and the environment using a simple A, B, C or D scoring system.³⁷

Major beauty corporations announced in 2021 a collaboration to co-develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system.³⁸ The aim is to meet consumer demand for greater transparency about the environmental impact of cosmetics. Cocokind packages include a list of sustainability facts, such as carbon footprint, calculating the emissions throughout the product lifecycle.^39,40
There is also B Corp certification. Companies are evaluated by a third party on their impact on their workers, customers, community and environment.⁴¹ In January 2022, 26 certified B Corp companies across 8 countries and 3 continents formed the B Corp Beauty coalition to bolster the beauty industry sustainability standards.⁴²

Consumer Experience
Global digital transformation enables newcomer access, thus a multitude of brands vying for the attention of consumers. To get through, brands must ensure a consumer experience that is useful, enjoyable and seamless across in store and virtual shopping platforms. Customer engagement is a journey, not a destination. The ability to guide the customer through this journey is key. It’s up to the brands to deliver greater relevancy through both a strategic offering and content experience in order to engage consumers.

Beauty is multicultural. In a world of 7.9 billion people with many different specificities, multiculturalism must be recognized and celebrated. Today’s consumers require brands to understand their specific needs and provide them with the specific solution. The definition of beauty continues to evolve as consumers become more well-versed in their beauty needs and acknowledge that one size does not fit all.⁴³ For instance, 70% of consumers say it’s important for brands to provide personalized experiences; 47% of US beauty consumers said that they have looked for/bought from brands with diversity or inclusivity in the last 12 months.⁴⁴ As countries outside the US and EU gain purchasing power, their influence on demographics follow. Diversity and inclusivity are key in the beauty industry and have become an essential part of successful, highly relevant brand messaging.⁴⁵

Inclusive beauty considers all people and takes into account their various needs. With different ethnicity, culture and rituals, diversity shapes the market and variety is now the norm. Thus, product requirements vary according to a multitude of variables, such as skin and hair types, dermatologic characteristics, age, gender and genderless styling, religious beliefs, local climate conditions, specific medical conditions and acceptable price-point. Brands must cater to many different consumers. Such diversity must be integrated in the whole product development process, such as in the test panels, clinical studies involving various skin and hair types.

Fenty Beauty has been a driver toward more inclusive beauty solutions, with “Beauty for all.” Founded in 2017, the company is now a household name. Cocokind launched in 2015 with the motto “conscious beauty for all.”⁴⁶ Unilever eliminated the word “normal” for all of their beauty brands packaging and advertising, advocating for a more inclusive vision of beauty.⁴⁷

The future of consumer experience will be based on ways the brands can personalize their experience and create authentic connections. Real life photos, videos and user reviews are key.¹⁵ They enable consumers to relate (or not), get an opinion about the products, and support their purchasing decisions. In a recent survey, 58% of consumers (64% of Gen-Z) left an e-commerce store without purchasing a product because the site didn’t contain any customer reviews or photos.

Innovation Accelerates
Continuous innovation is key in consumer brand loyalty. In today’s fast-paced market with shorter product lifecycles, the need for speed is greater than ever and requires accelerated NPD to meet ever-changing consumer demand.⁴⁸ Streamlining processes is essential for rapid access to market. Today’s consumers re-evaluated their lifestyles with new priorities such as “skinimalism.”⁴⁹ Consumers focus on more simple ways in many areas of their day-to-day life, including cosmetics they use with skin fasting; i.e., simpler formula and simpler routines while providing an optimal sensory experience. Also, consumers are more concerned about eco-design, paying more attention to the ingredients in formulations; their origin, how they are produced, their efficiency and their end of life. Millennials (62%) care about INCI lists.⁵⁰ Consumers also pay attention to brands that are incorporating new technologies into their product offering, such as bringing some levels of personalization. Beauty tech encompasses devices that have in common to customize product application to each individual. Obagi launched a skin care device providing protocols customized for individual skin care needs.⁵¹

For brands, fast time to market is at the core of survival. It is not about fixing parts of outdated models and processes but adopting new mindsets and developing new operational models to deliver continuous innovation for long-term value.


Digital Transformation
The beauty industry has moved online, the pandemic creating a digital beauty space “on steroids.”⁵² Consumers review brand websites and monitor social media platforms. The pandemic forced accelerated actions and installed a new way for consumers to engage with the brands and shop. Digitalization keeps consumers engaged and connected to them and their products, and provides a personalized approach. It has been supported by advances in smart -phones and -devices; capabilities that make the information available at one’s fingertips, anytime, anywhere. It is also an important part of innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) allows brands to take advantage of the opportunity in the era of customer experience for customization. Although “beauty tech” is not new, the pandemic fostered brands to invest heavily in it, and technology is becoming an integral part of beauty. Brands engage consumers via augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. They are transforming the e-commerce experience, shifting their websites from being transactional to experiential platforms.⁵³ An effective interaction in the digital space can make the shopping experience faster and more convenient. For instance, many brands produce YouTube tutorials offering personalized online skin diagnostic tools, virtual product advisors and live chats to help guide consumer purchasing decisions. Other digital tools growing increasingly popular are mobile applications that allow users to virtually try on products before buying them.

Consumer expectations from brands and their products are evolving. The pandemic caused a massive shift in consumer behaviors and priorities. The table stakes are a heightened consumer demand for a holistic approach from brands that align with their values and lifestyle. To deliver a transformative experience in this new normal, brands must review their organization to be best aligned to meet ever-changing demands from beauty shoppers—or risk losing them. 

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About the Author
Pascal Yvon, PharmD., MBA, is head of botanicals, Croda, Inc. [email protected], www.crodapersonalcare.com

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