InCosmetics Global – the beating pulse of the beauty and personal care industry, is widely recognised as the main global stage to share insights, build connections, and inspire the occasional spark that fuels future strategies. This April, our team attended the show in Paris and brought back a selection of insights and curiosities to share with our customers and partners.
Focus on ingredient trends: 2021 vs 2023
Among the lively discussions and activities, a few marketing presentations really stood out, including Kline + Company’s titled: 2024 and beyond: Where is the personal care ingredients market at, and where is it headed?
Building on their expertise as advisory consultancy and market research firm, Kline reflected on the major challenges that ingredient brands faced in 2023 before providing their own outlook for the 2024 trends to watch. In one of the sections of his presentation Nicola Matic, vice president Chemicals and Materials, took the time to review the most popular trends in 2021, and compared them with 2023 market data to show how (and if) they actually realised in the market.
The sulphate-free trend for example was expected to drive product reformulation in the years following 2021, however, many beauty and personal care brands ended up defending their SLEs positioning instead of reformulating, due to the cost effectiveness and functional performance of this foaming ingredient.
Similarly, 2021 was meant to mark the death of silicones, which, instead, turned out to be slower than predicted, especially in hair and antiperspirant applications that create a water-resistant film with the typical smooth glide and dry feel.
Colour cosmetics beat the market predictions too. The strong rebound expected after the challenging COVID years didn’t materialise – could 2024/2025 mark the resurgence of color in the cosmetics industry?
Asia & Nutricosmetics: what’s the secret behind the modern days El Dorado?
Nutricosmetics are gaining ground as a popular aspect of beauty routines, presenting beauty brands with a sea of opportunities to generate synergies and support consumers with solutions for beauty from inside and out. For B2B marketers in the ingredient space, Asia has always been a region to keep an eye on, as many major trends born in the region, then trickle down at global level.
Asia Cosme Lab’s presentation at the Marketing Insights theatre, guided us through a review of Asian consumer insight with a focus on China, Japan and Korea. Asia-Pacific currently represents a staggering 50% of the global nutricosmetics market, with these three countries at the vanguard of this consumable-cosmetics crossover.
The concept of ‘beauty from within’ isn’t novel in these countries; it has been intricately woven into their cultural lexicon and traditional medicine. However, what’s constantly evolving is how this concept marries with modern applications. Consumers are not just consuming, they are looking for a full sensorial experience, meaning new textures and formats are driving innovation, enhancing not just the efficacy but also the pleasure of consumption of beauty and personal care products.
At the same time, applications with very focused benefits are gaining traction. For instance, in skin care products, the focus is increasingly sharp on managing one specific beauty aspect. In anti-ageing products for example, we can see a shift towards specific eye or sun care claims, rather than generic anti-ageing positioning. Interestingly, there’s a rising trend of incorporating immune system support claims within beauty products.
Sustainability beyond certifications
Sustainability is a long and complex journey, which all ingredient manufacturers will have to embrace, one way or another. Sustainability certifications are the obvious place to start to gain official recognition of a brand’s eco credentials, but it’s clear that many ingredient manufacturers consider those to be almost table stakes, as they also focus on building a sustainable story with its own unique angle.
Crafting the sustainability story of an ingredient can be a task as challenging as necessary. Consumers increasingly expect beauty brands to take responsibility for the environmental and social impact of their products – so ingredients manufacturers have an important role to play when developing ingredients that not only meet the product sheet specifications for sustainable products, but also support the sustainable commitments and values that brands represent, Whether focusing on simplified manufacturing for reduced energy consumption, regeneratively produced and upcycled raw materials, or green chemistry and technologies.
Our final thoughts
InCosmetics Global 2024 was more than a tradeshow; it highlighted the industry’s capacity for resilience and innovation. B2B marketers in the beauty and personal care ingredient sector are now tasked with leading change, ensuring quality, and promoting conscious consumption. The insights and key moments from this event will guide us as we partner with our customers.
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