Transparency in skin care

The veracity of promises and claims made by skin care brands is a hot topic as consumers have become more knowledgeable and discerning in their product choices. 

According to GlobalData’s 2017 Q4 global consumer survey, only 30% of Europeans believe that beauty/grooming brands are trying to portray a realistic and achievable beauty standard in their product marketing. This comes as no surprise, given the widespread practice among beauty brands to inflate the results of their product offer as an accepted marketing tool. “It can also pose a real risk in damaging trust in the brand, should users struggle to replicate those results at home,” maintains Jamie Mills, senior analyst, GlobalData. 

Do consumers believe anti-ageing claims?

Anti-ageing continues to be a widely used term in skin care, especially in the US where, according to Mintel, 62% of women use “anti-ageing” skin care every day. In some Asian markets, anti-ageing claims are less overt and the language for skin care products is more nuanced. Mintel illustrates this point by stating that just 27% of facial skin care launches in China have anti-ageing claims compared to 55% of UK skin care launches.

In neighbouring South Korea, reducing fine lines/wrinkles is a stronger claim. Meanwhile, in Western markets, brands and media are only slowly changing their way of talking about ageing. “Last year, Allure magazine announced that it would no longer use the term ‘anti-ageing’ in a bid to change the way growing older is discussed,” states Jo Lawler, global skin care analyst, Mintel. “Removing the term ‘ageing’ altogether could be a more effective way to communicate with older audiences,” she says by suggesting that beauty bloggers and vloggers of all ages can be used to show how the same products can be used by women of all ages, shifting the focus from age to end result.

Simplifying the complexity of skin care claims

Consumers are looking for an alternative to the impossible and glossy images purporting to be the result of cosmetic usage. In its interrogation of the Global New Products Database (GNPD) Mintel has found that vegan is the currently trending claim  in skin care, growing from 7% of all NPD in 2017 to 10% this year. “There is an opportunity for brands to tap into this trend, especially with the new “free from” regulations that are due to come into effect in July 2019,” states Lawler. “Vegan claims will not be affected by this legislation, so there may be a huge increase in this claim.”

Mills believes that the significant shift towards natural ingredients makes basing claims on complex and clinical sounding formulations increasingly difficult as consumers seek out familiar, recognisable ingredients having naturally beneficial properties. 

“Many brands leave the ingredients to do the talking for them, by focusing on simplified product and claim messaging,” she says. Some, such as indie brand NO B.S., follow a quite radical approach, whose philosophy is that to look good, the skin needs the tender love and care of plant-based ingredients. By eliminating many of the elements adding cost to premium brands, such as gimmicky packaging, extravagant marketing and middleman markups, NO B.S. is able to focus on producing effective formulations at an affordable cost. 

Another example is The Ordinary, an evolving collection of treatments offering familiar, effective clinical technologies positioned to raise pricing and communication integrity in skin care. Its website states: “The Ordinary is born to disallow commodity to be disguised as ingenuity.” Products are grouped by ingredient type, such as differing strengths of retinoids and vitamin C. Price points are typically ten times lower than many premium positioned skin care products.  

However, not just indie brands are looking to simplify the complex world of beauty formulations. Mills highlights Garnier’s Skin Active range that claims to be 96% naturally derived while also calling out key actives front of pack. And P&G is also making a move towards greater transparency by announcing its intention to disclose the ingredients in its fragrances by the end of 2019. 

“Nevertheleszlt their entire story, brand and product range on transparency and the ‘clean’ ethos,” states Mills.

GlobalData and Mintel will present at next year’s In-Cosmetics Global Marketing Trends presentations in Paris, from 2-4 April 2019.