Hybrid beauty in Europe: COSSMA

2020 marked a pivotal turning point for the beauty industry. Emilija Balsyte, Research Analyst at Euromonitor International, shares insights on the hybrid beauty product landscape in Europe, the impact of COVID19, major drivers, and top multi-functional product categories.

The changes in the beauty industry is spurred not only by the global COVID-19 pandemic and its associated challenges – including reduced spending on beauty products, supply chain disruptions, logistical hurdles, and plummeting in-store sales, which accounted for a significant portion of 87% of beauty sales in Europe in 2019 – but also by a noticeable shift in consumer behaviour. In recent years, concepts like ‘less is more’ and the ‘no makeup makeup look’ have gained considerable momentum within the beauty sphere. Consequently, there has been a discernible surge in the demand for hybrid beauty products that prioritise simplicity and efficiency.

Hybrid beauty products deliver noticeable sale results post-pandemic

Hybrid beauty products encompass items designed to serve more than one function and provide versatility, typically classified into two categories: multi-use and multi-purpose. The former category includes products ranging from lip to face to eye cosmetics, often appearing as blends of makeup and skin care, such as lip, cheek and eye cosmetics, while the later category is formulated to deliver various benefits to the skin, including moisturisers with sun protection or hyaluronic-infused concealers or lightweight serum foundations and tinted moisturisers. While combinations of hair and bath care products are witnessing a decline in popularity, hybrid makeup and skincare innovations – such as BB/CC creams and lip and cheek blush creams – are increasingly drawing attention within the European beauty market. While total beauty and personal care value size increased by 19% since 2020, lash and brow make-up, blushers/bronzers/highlighters, and BB/CC creams – top multi-use categories in color cosmetics – delivered 35%, 34% and 33% growth respectively.

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Europeans’ response rate to selecting multi-functional beauty

Considering 2020 as a key year characterised by heightened social media usage and its profound impact on consumer purchasing behaviours and motivations, coupled with an increased emphasis on consumer education regarding healthy skincare routines and beauty products offering not only conventional but also advantageous functionalities, Europeans have exhibited a 14% rise in their propensity to prioritise multi-functional beauty products offering multiple benefits since the pre-COVID-19 years. Another factor bolstering interest in multi-use or multi-purpose products is the post-COVID-19 effect, often linked to a shift in consumer priorities towards natural look favoring less makeup over effective and high-quality skin-friendly ingredients. During the pandemic years, consumers became accustomed to wearing minimal or no makeup at all, instead focusing on indulging themselves in skincare routines.

Generation Z consumers in Western Europe drive growth of hybrid beauty

Among Western European countries, namely the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, there has been a notable increase in the response rate towards selecting multi-functional beauty products, despite Poland, an Eastern European market, emerging as a top market with the highest response rate for such products. This suggests that while Western European countries may have been less accustomed to utilising hybrid beauty products previously, their interest is now experiencing the most significant growth primarily driven by Gen Z consumers.

Skin and makeup hybrids among top multi-functional beauty categories

Cosmetic primers, BB/CC creams, and facial toners emerge as the leading multi-purpose beauty products, witnessing the most substantial increase in response rates among Europeans in selecting hybrid functionality as influential product features, while highlighters, brushes, bronzers, and lip glosses – all experiencing significant value increases within the beauty market in recent couple of years – stand out as the top multi-use products, overseeing a growing consumer interest. The former category is significantly influenced by consumer demand for skin-friendly skincare. These products often serve as hybrids of multiple skincare items, incorporating sun protection factor (SPF) and vegan ingredients as hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid or niacinamide – the most demanded facial care components in 2023. Lip oils, which garnered significant attention in the beauty realm in 2023, indicate a shift in consumer preferences towards not only seeking a glossy effect but also prioritising hydration and care when purchasing lip products. Likewise, the demand for tints – beauty products containing pigments that enhance brightness and even out tone – has been prominently observed on social media and within industry activities. Numerous brands, spanning from mass-market to premium, are integrating lip, cheek, or skin tints into their product offerings, reflecting this heightened consumer interest.

New product formats appear as a top future initiative of beauty players

44% of beauty industry players globally considered new formats and formulations as the most important aspect of product launches in 2023, while almost 50% are expected to concentrate on such product development and innovations over the next few years. Recent product launches include jelly tints containing vegan collagen and aloe for skin soothing and refreshing effects, lip products with SPF to shield not just facial or body skin but also lips from ultraviolet (UV) light, setting makeup sprays that double as toners due to their hydrating and refreshing properties.

Consumer education and shifting priorities shape future of hybrid beauty

Given the rising consumer consciousness surrounding skinfriendly ingredients and the demand for personalised products tailored to specific skin types such as acne-prone, redness-prone, aging, or sensitive skin, the beauty product landscape is anticipated to undergo significant evolution.
Furthermore, as consumers increasingly prioritise time-saving beauty products that offer quality over quantity, and with dermo cosmetics and premiumisation emerging as fundamental beauty trends both in Europe and globally, there is a growing expectation for beauty products to offer a multitude of benefits and functionalities. This shift is likely to extend beyond skincare to encompass makeup, haircare, and various other product categories, fostering the expansion of multi-use and multi-purpose products to cater to diverse consumer needs and preferences.