Wellness, AI and Regenerative Beauty Will Shape 2030

According to a new report from Mintel entitled, “Beauty 2030,” over the next decade, the term “anti-aging” will be replaced with longevity ecosystems. Beauty buzzwords like personalization and sustainable beauty will evolve into autonomous and regenerative beauty, respectively.

Inside the Bathroom’s Lab Transformation

Greater discernment about ingredients has moved consumers into seeing value in detailed product reviews that recount personal experiences and tutorial-guided creator content— all of which factor into purchasing decisions.

This expansion of personalization has led to “hyper-targeted” routines, creator-led launches and accelerated trend adoption. Per Mintel, 63% of consumers are interested in a personalized version of the products they use every day. What’s more, 43% of consumers buy from foreign brands, with 31% believe them to be more effective.

Analysts liken these developments to the bathroom shelf’s transformation into a lab of sorts, as clinical skincare, active ingredients, bond repair, supplements and the skinification of makeup and sun care turning everyday rituals into performance systems.

Analysts foresee future innovation through testing, procedures and ingredients with the availability of biological age testing; skin longevity markers; microbiome-based skincare; hormone aware beauty; post-procedure beauty systems; and beauty medical device convergence taking center stage.

AI as Beauty’s ‘Copilot’

In September, a roundtable discussion was held at MakeUp In New York about the future of beauty with Sarah Jindal, VP of insights, beauty and household, Americas, and fellow panelists Amanda Kahn, GM, US, Neom Wellbeing, and Krupa Koestline, CEO, Capsum KKT.

Mintel said analysts say AI is metamorphosizing into beauty’s copilot.

According to Mintel, AI search is on the rise with 28% of consumers agrees aged 18-34 use AI platforms to look for trustworthy information on beauty, compared to 17% of overall consumers. Analysts say future shoppers will scour for routines, programs, tracking and outcomes – “not just another bottle on the shelf.”

The panelists said AI will move from recommendations to real-time management.

Kahn said she envisioned wearable tech dominating autonomous beauty routines in the next 10 years.
“[In a] smart home environment, you could get up in the morning [and] your AI copilot is going to look at your biometrics, weather forecast, look at your calendar and see what events or meetings [are] coming up and make recommendations for how you want to start your day – what supplements you might want to take,” said Kahn. Through that wearable device, [will] check in with you during the day [and] measure heart rate and stress levels, recommend aromatherapy [and provide] on-demand information that is continuously updating itself.”

Kahn also noted a device that attaches to your toilet bowl to help analyze one’s health.

“At some point in the future, all this tech will live in our home and help us to really understand and manage up to-the-minute,” she said. “Everything that’s going on with our environment around us and be able to use the AI tools to make recommendations for a supplement, a change in your diet, a product that you might want to leverage. Just bringing it all together and making it easy and accessible is the trick and the challenge.”

While AI will play an important role in product recommendation and streamlining healthy lifestyles, it will be back to the future, so to speak, when it comes to retail.

Experiential shopping will never be obsolete, said the panelists.

“In the retail space, we are in free-standing stores, and we do a great job of bringing the brand to life,” said Kahn.

Neom is a two-decade-old wellness brand cofounded by Glamour’s former editor Nicola Elliott after tinkering with aromatherapy and essential oils to treat anxiety and burnout.

The company is reportedly one of the largest wellness brands in the UK, and is found in nine out of 10 homes, said Kahn. The company, which launched in the US last year, sells home fragrance and bath and body. Neom’s Perfect Night’s Sleep magnesium body butter is one of its bestsellers.

According to Kahn, Noem was founded upon “micro moments of wellness powered by 100% natural fragrances” that help consumers on their journey to better sleep, less stress, and more energy.
For Kahn, wellness is making beauty much broader.

“It’s not just your morning skincare regimen anymore or your afternoon beauty touch-up. It doesn’t have to be defined by hair, nails, makeup or skin. And the possibilities are endless,” she said.

Regenerative Beauty

With the urgency of climate change, experts say sustainability will remain a leading trend in the beauty and personal care space.

Per Mintel, top of mind for consumers will be products that contribute to long-term environmental preservation; responsibly sourced and ethically produced raw materials; minimalistic and eco-conscious packaging to reduce environmental waste; use of green or renewable energy in the manufacturing process; refill programs to promote reusability; and products that prioritize transparency in ingredient souring and production.

Mintel’s analysts predict sustainability will evolve from “reducing harm” to yielding a “positive impact” with a move towards “regenerative” beauty with lab-grown and climate-adaptative ingredients as well as circular packaging systems.

But it can’t be to detriment of consumers’ wallets. According to Mintel data, over half (51%) of consumers say they will only choose sustainable products if they cost the same as non-sustainable options. Less than half (43%) of sustainable beauty shoppers do so because they expect better product quality or performance; and 26% of luxury beauty shoppers say it’s worth it to pay more for products with lab grown or bioengineered ingredients.