Clinical Gaps In The Beauty Industry

While the beauty industry is becoming more diverse, and many products catered to specific needs are being developed, there is a fall in their market recently. Especially among teens, the trend is starting to decline, as many top companies are reporting a loss in spending. This may be attributed to the fact that there are rising concerns about the effect of regular use of cosmetics on the skin, and the emergence of green trends and safety-oriented products that appeal better to everyone. Here are a few clinical gaps that the beauty industry has and can change their strategy better catered to them.

Green cosmetics

A reason for the decline of the beauty industry can be attributed to the increasing concerns about skincare and routine. While cosmetics do make one look better, and appealing, and some even use them as a comfort tool, there is no denying the fact that skin cosmetics have toxic side effects. It may lead to long term skin issues, and one may find themselves using the cosmetic to cover that issue. This creates a sense of fear and aversion to using the cosmetics at the cost of affecting one’s skin.

Due to the explosion of social media, an issue raised will reach out to many people, compared to the past. Therefore, people nowadays are resorting to green cosmetics, in other terms, noninvasive skincare, such as Ayurveda, which consists of natural products compared to chemicals used in the cosmetic industry.While companies have started to analyze this gap and rolled out new “greener” products, the lack of trust and increased skincare among teens is something that these companies should gain over time.

Along with the clean cosmetics, there is also a rise of the old and traditional skincare routines, such as body and face massaging using rollers, invented in Japan. Many indie companies have caught on to this trend and have increased their market share, and this is one area that the big guns of the beauty industry should analyze closely.The trend of natural looks, meaning with no make-ups, is also growing a lot among teens and adults. Many people are resorting to not use any cosmetics on their skin, and support how they look naturally.

Lack of creativity

When the skincare and beauty industry started in the 19th century, it was a big deal. It quickly became a success, and became a routine, starting from the western countries, and eventually covering the whole world. But over the years, lots of companies have caught on to this trend. There is an over-saturation of the market when it comes to the beauty industry, and this confuses the consumers to select a product they want. One must resort to doing basic research and compare the different products regularly before deciding, as most of the top companies offer the same product. The lack of creativity among the top companies is one reason why there is a new emergence of indie companies that offer new products at a much lower price.

Talking about price, that is also a reason why the beauty industry is seeing a fall in its market. There is a major issue with the pricing. While normal cosmetics do not cost a lot and are affordable by many, safer organic cosmetics cost much more than their chemical counterparts. Being expensive does not mean the product is better. This makes people resort to new companies that have caught on to this trend and sell organic cosmetics at a lower price.

Diversity gaps

One of the major problems underlying the beauty industry is the diversity gap among the products. Not all skins are the same. Darker skin reacts differently to a cosmetic when compared to lighter colored skin. For example, companies often advertise their cosmetic products to be efficient against removing dark spots. But the fact is that what is a dark spot is subject to the color of the skin. Most, if not all this marketing is focused on lighter skin tones, and this may not be appealing to most of the consumers. There is a difference between “making the skin whiter” and “making the skin lighter”. Plus, if they market their products to be effective on lighter skin tones, then there will be an increasing safety concern. There will be doubts on whether the product is safe for other skin tones, or did the company even researched all skin tones.

There is a lack of trust among the consumers that the companies research their products, their effectiveness, and the possible side effects only on the skin tone that they advertise it for. This results in the product being focused only on a specific group of people, eventually reducing the market size. Companies need to research more on diversity and cater their products to as diverse of a consumer base as possible.

Many top companies have started acting on this diversity gap, and have aptly changed their marketing captions, and advertising. They have started to remove the word “fair” from their products and are focusing on lighter skin tones than white or fair skin tones. But there is still a lack of trust among the consumers, and it will take some time before they get back the consumers the industry has lost.

There is a steady decrease in the beauty market over the years. Companies have started acting by analyzing the clinical gaps, and some have even acquired green products by supporting indie companies. Competition paves the way for innovation, and more companies will eventually result in the innovation of new products. Actively interacting with the consumers, providing service for as many diverse consumers as possible, and the ability to focus their strategies based on the ever-changing trends among the consumers is the way a company can gain a competitive advantage.

Facts

1. Estee Lauder started focusing on being a beauty company that had choices for diverse consumers

2. The beauty industry has an estimated worth of $532 billion in 2021

3. Piper Jaffray reported a 21% year over year decrease in 2020

4. According to Euromonitor, the estimated market increase of beauty and care products compared to 2016, in 2021, of the major players.