In Part Four, our final article in our series on The Benchmarking Company’s annual PinkReport, we are taking a closer look at how brands can use packaging and messaging to tell their natural/organic story, as well as a quick look at wellness trends overall, and what that actually means to consumers.
Telling the Natural/Organic Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) Story
Telling your natural or organic story to consumers is a critical part of succeeding in the category at all, but what does that mean exactly? Does a simple image of a leaf on a skincare package signify that your product is natural to her? Or does she require the words “clean,” “plant-based”, or more specifically, the presence of the USDA Organic Seal? To start, here are the top five words which both natural/organic BPC buyers and non-buyers associate most with natural and organic BPC products.
Figure 1. Please indicate the top 5 words/terms you associate with natural beauty/personal care products.
| Natural/Organic BPC Buyer | Non-Buyer | |
| #1 | Clean (34%) | Hypoallergenic (36%) |
| #2 | Hypoallergenic/Pure [tied] (33%) | Clean/Plant-based [tied] (33%) |
| #3 | Plant-based (32%) | Pure (32%) |
| #4 | Gentle (27%) | Gentle (25%) |
| #5 | Healthy (26%) | Safe/Antioxidants [tied] (23%) |
Of the 46 word options presented, most garnered fairly equal percentages between buyers and non-buyers of natural/organic BPC products. The only exception was the word expensive. Eighteen percent (18%) of non-buyers associated the word expensive with natural/organic BPC products, versus 7% of buyers.
What Does She Expect from a Natural/Organic BPC Package Design?
When perusing the shelves for a natural/organic BPC product, buyers are first looking for key ingredient(s), followed by proof that the product may be organic (in the form of a certification logo, etc.). And, they expect the product packaging to have a clean design with natural imagery. Non-buyers are less concerned about certification logos, but expect a nature-inspired design and clearly stated key ingredients.
Natural Beauty Buyers More Apt to Embrace Concepts of Wellness
Once upon a time, wellness referred to feeling healthy or, not being sick. Today, wellness has a much broader definition and can mean anything from what we put on our skin to what we eat and put into our bodies to how we soothe our souls. Categories under the wellness umbrella include natural and organic, field-to-face, topical skin and body care, ingestibles, community…
Click here to see all of the charts & graphs and the rest of the story.