Has the Beauty Industry Become Boring?

This past weekend, I took a nice walk and ended up at the Sephora on Chestnut and 17th Streets. I originally went in to smell the Salt & Stone Deodorants and decide which one to buy (here’s the one I ended up getting). In the back of my mind, I knew I would probably walk out with more than I intended. But that was not the case! After walking through all of the brands and testing different products for over an hour, I found nothing that excited me. This shopping experience made me realize that I have been bored with the beauty industry for some time now. It feels as though most launches are just reworks of existing products and there are very few novel formulations. I mean, how many lip butters do we really need? You can’t seriously tell me there is a quantifiable difference between the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm and the Kylie Skin Lip Butter in Vanilla Caramel. 

Courtesy of Kylie Cosmetics.

Courtesy of CNN.

To make matters worse, each tiny bottle seems to now cost an arm and a leg. My personal theory is that smaller beauty companies that used to have the freedom to innovate are now being acquired by large conglomerates like L’Oréal and Coty. The demand to cut costs and increase profits is forcing these smaller companies to focus on products they know will sell. 

Now, I was concerned that my opinions were simply my own so I turned to the most reliable source of public opinion: Reddit. What I found is that I am not the only one upset with the current state of the Beauty Industry right now. In the forum r/BeautyGuruChatter, the consensus is that the market feels oversaturated and brands aren’t targeting what consumers want. Some gaps include mini products at an affordable price, foundation mixers to match in-between skin tones, and refillable products that are convenient to refill. In the forum r/MakeupRehab, many users were annoyed with the impact of TikTok and the focus on microtrends in the makeup space. On top of this, viral products tend to be priced fairly high and the average consumer is feeling the squeeze of inflation in the United States.

For those of you who still don’t trust me (rude!), I also found some actual market research to support my hypothesis. Across all Consumer Packaged Goods (food, drink, household, health, beauty, personal care, and pet care), only 29% of launches are new products”. For brands that already know what products make money for them, “reformulations and range extensions are a safe investment as consumers are already familiar” with these products. As I had suspected, small and medium-sized brands capture around 45% of growth in the CPG market, with large brands capturing 25%. To continue to increase revenue, these large brands must turn to increasing their prices. However, consumers are struggling to keep up with brand price increases due to inflation and are thus turning to store-brand alternatives. 

All of this research begs the question, What can be done to encourage beauty brands to innovate again? According to a recent NIQ report, beauty brands that focus on innovation “are 2.5 times more likely to see overall sales growth” so there is an economic benefit! While rising costs due to inflation are not an issue specific to personal care products, there is a culture in the industry to chase after an acquisition or prioritize profit margins above all else. As consumers, we can empower smaller brands to continue to be creative in their formulations by investing in their products. Additionally, brands are paying attention to what's being said online. Using apps like Instagram and TikTok to share your voice and call for more innovative products can have a profound impact on which avenue companies decide to take. The next time a product goes viral, take a second to think if it's actually new or if people are just talking about it. 

Featured image courtesy of Global Cosmetic Industry.