Natural & Organic Beauty (Part Un): Knowing Your Consumer
natural & organic beauty (Part Un): getting to know you
According to Nielsen, personal care and beauty brands claiming to be "natural" grew 9% in 2017. Today's consumers demand "clean" products to enhance their lifestyle. Retailers are answering the call, flooding the marketplace and consistently interrupting the latest trends.
This GCI.com 4-part series explores how consumer research has shaped natural and organic landscape in the last decade.
what the people say
The 2018 PinkReport study left no stone un-turned by including consumers from each generation - Gen Z (ages 18-24), millennials (ages 25-38), Gen X (ages 39-53), and baby boomers (age 54 +) - to impart consumer intelligence to brands about these target markets. Over 300 natural and organic brands and major distribution channels in the beauty and personal care space were the subject of the study.
A whopping 68% of consumers purchase some natural and organic products - up from 49% in 2008.
61% of consumers who don't buy clean products say cost is the #1 factor. 48% said the same in 2008. Interestingly enough, and reflective of the current market flooding, only 11% of non-consumers don't purchase natural and organic because they don't know where to purchase. This was the was the #1 factor in 2008 for non-consumers.
transparency
- 91% of consumers want transparency on ingredient labels for natural and organic products.
- 82% want no animal-tested products.
- 76% want eco-friendly products.
- 72% say fair wages for ALL employees is important.
- 71% want socially and environmentally responsible products.
it's a safety issue
Consumers of natural/organic beauty and personal care products believe them to be safer than products formulated with synthetic ingredients.
Nearly a quarter of consumers believe DIY products sold are safer than store-bought brands, but 44% believe natural/organic products undergo consistent, rigorous testing. 42% believe the same of synthetic-formulated products.
natural/organic Buyer persona for the beauty and personal care segment
Consumers in this segment of the market are family oriented, passionate, health conscious, busy, and frugal.
candles: the new turkey and stuffing
Roasted leather, root beer float, cucumber infused mojito? Candle scents are no longer beholden to strawberry and vanilla notes. Luxury and personal care brands discovered a gap and are jumping at the opportunity to fill it, offering candles with creatively combined accords to cash in on the "experience economy".
For millennials, staying in is the new going out, and the inspiration for such experiences. Simply put, people are transforming their chill time into more than just a night in - they desire to fill their space with sensory evanescence. They want create or recreate moments of joy, sex, love, inspiration, coziness, freedom, relaxation, or adventure.
Highly fragrant multi-sensory candles allow us to do what wearing a body fragrance can't. We're let out the box and free to delight our olfactory senses, filling the air with an eclectic scent we wouldn't dare wear. Suspend it in wax and set it against a dancing flicker and your space can become as vivid with nostalgia as your imagination.
Using your products can become a repeated, heightened experience when set against the background of an intimate, exclusive scents created exclusively for your brand.
Sensory candles are increasing in popularity. They add luxury to any space and touch deep desires best experienced at home. Who knew a candle could have so much power?!
See full article here: Perfumer & Flavorist
3 surefire ways to woo your audience and grow your brand
Being authentic and innovative in your branding can be like trying to "smize" and work your best hip swing in toe-blistering stilettos, as you bite the inside of your lip and "sashay shante" across the crowded room...all eyes on you.
You want to be noticed, but what if people laugh at you when you're trying to be attractive? Your story is genuine and unique, but what if it doesn't resonate with your audience? Isn't it better to be safe and do what the "others" are doing?
Your segment in the marketplace is standing-room-only. While you fight for space - a little sliver of the wall to lean against - other brands are living in their truth and sitting in a cushioned seat.
When you're pandering, your audience knows, and will quickly click to your competition.
Your audience wants a heart connection. Your story won't trigger just anybody, but it will attract your audience.
Skin, Inc. is right on the nose with 3 ways to help your tribe find you and love you.
1. Everyone loves a good story. Tell yours. The why of your company is what your audience wants to know. Not just any why, but how it matters to your visitors. How do they fit in there? What is the reason to believe in your brand?
Tell your story - authentically, honestly - and you'll draw your tribe like a magnet. Your unique why can be a social view reflected in your brand, innovative formulation, or maybe your brand addresses the deepest, unfulfilled desire to be accepted, important, or envied.
Your story cannot be replicated. Go with that!
2. Uniquely Yours. This is where innovation gives your brand a turbo boost. Efficacy will always be fundamental, but the newest consumer generations love an experience! Textural skin care is trending - Powder-to-foam, color-changing formulas, and jelly masks for example. "Wow" them while keeping it real.
Gen Z or Millennials may not be your audience. Serve your market by learning what they want. Keep them delighted and they'll be loyal.
3. It's Personal. Personalize your offerings to solve individual problems within your audience. You may not be as specialized as the bespoke niche, but by listening and hearing them, you can create buyer personas and solve their problems, converting them into forever customers or clients.
Stay up for the next issue of THE BEAU-tea.
