The power of “mindful beauty”: COSSMA

Colour cosmetics in particular clearly felt the effects of the global crisis. In this interview, Tomás Espinosa reveals why he still looks to the future positively and why he even sees it as a great opportunity.

Interview with

Tomás Espinosa,
CEO Schwan Cosmetics,
Nuremberg, Germany,
www.schwancosmetics.com

COSSMA: Two years ago, you were appointed Chief Market & Business Development Officer, recently you became CEO of Schwan Cosmetics. Will you tell us about the secret of your success?

Tomás Espinosa: In my experience there are no secrets and usually no short cuts either. But, I can share with you an overview of a blueprint that we know brings good results. It is the knowledge accumulated by great minds that have been working for a family owned company for over 165 years and close to one hundred years of inventing cosmetics. In our industry it is all about talents. Besides having the best person for each function, it is equally important that the team shares the same vision and values. Second, without innovation you won’t make it. You need to have a deep knowledge of the consumer needs and behaviours and be able to identify changes in trends very early. You better listen, ask, learn, try, fail fast and start again. Mistakes and failures are part of the innovation process and we better learn from them instead trying to avoid them.

Understanding your customer business model and how to create maximum value for them is crucial for your own success. Moreover, one size fits all doesn’t work anymore. Each region has developed specific requirements so we need to acknowledge them and embrace these differences. Set strategic boundaries so you can focus on a few initiatives where you have the highest opportunity of success. Set clear objectives, monitor, and execute them. It requires vast amount of energy that is not only about hard work it is also about having a strong purpose that inspires and motivates. Having a purpose that the teams believe in is extremely powerful.

In total you have been part of Schwan Cosmetics for many years. What have been the biggest changes the company has made so far?

They are huge! Over the last ten years, the cosmetics industry has undergone major changes because of or thanks to the development of social media, digital technology in general, the rise of the Asia/Pacific region and, above all, the growing awareness of the importance of health and environmental preservation. Schwan Cosmetics has therefore evolved from a technology company, focused on incremental innovation, productivity, and high quality to one that also understands much better consumer needs and prevailing market trends. Adding the consumer view has changed the organisations structure and processes.

As never before we have invested in market and consumer know-how and we are using this knowledge in all the aspects of the product creation process. Our aim is to deliver products that give our customers a real competitive advantage in the markets where they operate. We have also improved our technical and

digital processes to be even more solution oriented.

Our goal for the coming years is clear: to state our commitment defined through the purpose of “Mindful Beauty”. To achieve this, all the Group’s resources are being deployed in this direction.

How would you describe the purpose of “Mindful Beauty”? What does it mean to you?

“Mindful Beauty” is the expression of the link we want to have with the consumer. It goes beyond the mere aesthetic aspect and forces us to better grasp the current drivers in terms of individualisation of beauty and respect for the environment. It demonstrates our commitment to developing colour cosmetics that meet the needs of consumers and the environment. It is about to being attentive to every single stage of the value chain we are working on, to make decisions and to engage in responsible actions to deliver on our promise to create solutions for the brands on a mission.

In your opinion, how has the current health situation, changed or going to change the sector and customer requirements?

This pandemic has and will undoubtedly continue to impact our entire industry. But it is also a period that has helped accelerate needed structural trends in our trade and made the market for colour cosmetics even more attractive going forward. This has allowed us to prove our resilience and reconfirmed that our purpose and strategy are the right ones going forward. Some of these trends have to do with shift of consumer behaviour towards colour and care and are creating new opportunities. The digitalisation of the economy was accelerated by this pandemic. A way had to be found to meet the needs of online consumers. The speed and agility of digital technology had to be harnessed along the value chain. From virtual shopping for interactive home experiences to augmented reality applications, virtual workshops, tests, and consultations the experience is now omnichannel.

We have also seen a change in values. Well-being has taken centre stage. Consumers are focused on health and safety. We also see this trend in colour cosmetics. Hybrid products combining both colour cosmetics and skincare properties, are starting to appear. With consumers, there is a new demand for more transparency on the ingredients in the formula the materials we use for the components and the origins of both. Customers are also asking for transparency and reliability of the supply chain and carbon footprint. Beauty has become more regionalised and the standardised perception of beauty is no longer the norm.

How do these changes affect the Group’s strategy, and how could they impact it?

For us, it’s crucial to understand our future consumers and to be able to accurately forecast their needs. This is the only way we can continue to develop truly innovative products. For this reason, the consumer awareness of health and sustainability issues has become key for us. For our industry, this means that consumers have moved from a product dedicated to colouring the skin to a product designed to care for the skin. In fact, consumers expect products to offer them the two options: Protect the skin and enhance its beauty through colour – in other words, to have perfection and protection at the same time.

Our teams have understood importance of this relation between skin care and colour cosmetics by creating a product experience that goes beyond the product itself. We want to enable consumers not only to look good but more importantly, to feel good. Our upcoming product line, which has been proven to protect lashes and brows while delivering on its colour function, is one example of this assurance we offer.

In broad terms, we see great opportunities in the development of hybrid products that can be tailored to individual needs. A multi-sensory product experience through our wide range of personal touches or proven skincare ingredients combined with colour.

In another product range, we focus on the scientifically proven effectiveness of the skincare ingredients associated with colour, e.g. in a lip serum stick or tinted serum stick.

When it comes to sustainability, what place does it take in your brand concept?

Our commitment to sustainability is deeply rooted heritage and in our purpose of “Mindful Beauty” we offer our customers sustainable and effective solutions. Above all, it is important to offer our customers only the products they really need. This helps us to focus even more on the consumer and to drive change. For us, sustainability goes beyond texture and packaging; we consider the entire supply chain, secondary packaging, and raw materials. It also means that we are careful to match customer needs with our product portfolio. We are transforming our portfolio into a clean and transparent one, developing sustainable solutions but without compromising the performance and quality.

Global sustainability naturally also means using resources responsibly. How do you achieve this in your company?

Sustainability is central to our business and we approach it in different ways. Our first objective, of course, is to work with those who support us in this change in the first place – our people. We are constantly looking for ways in which our team can actively contribute to our goals towards sustainable development. Our success depends to a large extent on their support and collective action. That’s why we want to empower our employees to be agile and provide colourful cosmetics and cultural credibility to our customers and consumers.

We have also created a dedicated team (SBI) in 2021. Within this team, clear sustainability goals have been set until 2025. A high-performance soft eyeliner pencil with 70% less plastic is an example of products to be developed with this in mind, whereby we have committed to reducing plastics in our products by 50%. Combining SBI, product development and innovation in this way ensures a consistent focus and challenges us every day to create a lasting change.

Where do you see yourself and the company in five years?

Working for a company with such a heritage and innovation track record is an amazing place to be and so I see myself as part of the Schwan Cosmetics family for a longer period.

As for the company, I expect that in five years the investments and initiatives we have started in the past two years will be materialised and our sustainability objectives for the time frame achieved. We will grow our market share in APAC we will expand our product portfolio in categories that bring high growth opportunities and consolidate our leadership in the liner’s technology. We foresee that the use of big data will accelerate our consumer knowledge and help identify opportunities early. It will also improve our new product development making it faster and more reliable.

Foremost our purpose of “Mindful Beauty” will become a mindset that will empower our teams globally to create and deliver the most sustainable products that bring joy and well-being to consumers. This common purpose will not only bring us closer together but also gives us a real power.