All Made Up

Recently, female celebrities and non-celebrities were taking off their makeup and sharing their bare faces with the world in pictures they snapped on their smartphones. These “no-makeup selfies” were all for the sake of bringing awareness to an important cause. Attention was garnered and money was raised. However, at the end of the day, the women went right back to their favorite beauty care products. In fact, not much has slowed down the growth of this category over the years.

According to “Shopping for Beauty Products — US,” a December 2013 report from global market research firm Mintel, annual growth is expected to increase slightly over the next few years, reaching a whopping $40 billion in 2018.

Better beauty

Some categories offer stronger opportunities than others when it comes to store brands. Take skincare, for example.

“There’s an increasing interest in skincare, fueled by the aging population,” says Diana Pistolis, executive vice president for Toronto-based The Beauty Company Inc. “Women and men today are looking for products that nourish the skin to put life back into what has been years of neglect.”

Demand for better ingredients across various categories also is growing.

“[We are] definitely seeing a big push to natural and organic ingredients,” says Steve Berry, president of Greenblendz, Auburn Hills, Mich. “Consumers are asking [for] and demanding better ingredients.”

But savvy consumers aren’t willing to forgo performance in favor of natural ingredients, says Laureen J. Schroeder, global director of health, beauty and baby for Daymon Worldwide, Stamford, Conn. They want their natural products to perform as well as clinical-strength items.

“However, clinical strength is not without risk,” she warns. “The perfect combination is to meet in the middle with the best of both worlds: nature meets science.”

According to Schroeder, some of the biggest current beauty trends involve products that have multiple benefits or are multipurpose — such as BB or CC creams and argan oil. Other trends involve areas that had not seen much innovation until recently — such as anti-aging hair care and “spa-to-home use.”

Another significant trend today, Schroeder adds, is consumers’ lack of brand loyalty compared to their loyalty years ago.

“These are savvy shoppers who have tried salon, department store and drugstore brands and have seen similar results,” she says. “There is no brand loyalty.”

Only results can truly win these brand-agnostic consumers over, Schroeder points out. And a national-brand-equivalent strategy (NBE) often cannot meet the needs of all beauty consumers.

“Developing an exclusive beauty brand provides a unique offering for a retailer and an alternative beauty choice for the beauty consumer,” Schroeder explains. “In fact, niche brands have a certain cache to the beauty consumer and often communicate the latest and hottest ingredients and technologies in the marketplace.”

Berry agrees that relying on an NBE strategy alone is a bad idea.

“National brand equivalents still are the fallback position with many retailers,” Berry explains. “[However,] ‘as good as’ does not cut it anymore.”

And retailers have their work cut out for them when it comes to developing truly unique products shoppers want. They will need to team up with their suppliers in the name of innovation.

“There needs to be a dedicated team to work with manufacturers on new and creative products and ideas,” Berry advises. “It’s crucial to pick partners to establish real products and brands.”

Pretty packaging

It’s also crucial for retailers to put a good amount of thought into beauty care products’ packaging. A pretty package is critical in winning the sale.

“We have seen a shift to more prestigious, highly decorated samples,” says Marcia Flauding, West Coast sales executive for Dallas-Based Fusion Packaging, “and brands often request sample-size products that closely mimic their full-sized versions because it helps with brand loyalty and product recognition.”

Additionally, retailers should consider growing their selection of refill options, which are expected to increase in demand in the near future.

“Refills I believe will become more prevalent in the coming years,” Berry says. “All the packaging components hurt the price point and on consumables, a refill makes sense.”

And family branding — in addition to grouping products from various categories together — is key to truly developing a proper beauty care brand and getting that brand’s message out, Berry notes.

Versatile merchandising

As for merchandising, beauty care is a versatile category that lends itself to alternative sales vehicles such as subscription services and sampling.

“One area we have really seen take off is with beauty sampling,” Flauding says, “such as the monthly sample subscription services that allow consumers to try out a customized selection of high-end beauty products of which they may not be aware.”

Other successful tactics include “in-pack” promotions with cross-merchandised products that are typically high-frequency purchases, Pistolis says.

“Consumers will read what’s included or added to a product they choose to buy, [making them] a captive audience,” she explains. “[The result is] instant credibility for the new product it is shared with.”

Couponing also is a tried and true means of promotion that encourages trial. But not all couponing approaches are as equally effective for this category.

“Couponing for in-store trial is more successful than on-pack,” Pistolis says, “as it drives traffic into the store, allowing the product’s story to be told through self-educating displays or sales help.”

Do go beyond NBE in your beauty care program.

Don’t neglect performance in favor of natural ingredients consumers want both

Do consider offering multipurpose beauty care products under your own brands.

Don’t underestimate the power of a strong sampling program.