TBC takes a Retrospective Look at Natural & Organic Beauty from 2008 to Today – Part One
By: Denise Herich
Quick – think of every buzzword that connotes “natural” beauty and personal care. Sustainable, eco-friendly, botanical, bio-natural, herbal, oils, clean, green? Do those words alone, along with an image of a flower (or – gasp – a marijuana leaf!) cause consumers to gravitate toward certain products when perusing online and brick and mortar shelves? What weight do consumers place on transparency of ingredients when considering a natural or organic product? Are they willing to pay more for natural or organic beauty and personal care products than traditionally-made goods? And where does the concept of wellness fit into this buyer’s life?
There’s no doubt that it’s hip to be natural. Beauty and personal care products with a natural or organic claim are continuing to cause excitement among consumers who want to live a more holistic lifestyle, with the industry redoubling its efforts to create product lines that are cleaner and greener. According to data presented by Nielsen, sales of personal care brands making natural claims grew 9% last year. A similar trend was seen in natural beauty care, which also grew 9% in 2017.
For The Benchmarking Company’s 2018 PinkReport: The New Age of Naturals, we take a look at how far wellness and natural or organic beauty and personal care products have evolved over the past decade, and what that evolution means to brands in terms of guiding marketing plans. Data for the study was derived from an in-depth quantitative online study of more than 4,000 US men and women, conducted in April 2018. Where possible, we’ve benchmarked data from this study against our original Age of Naturals PinkReport, published in 2008, to see how far consumers have come in their understanding of what constitutes a natural or organic beauty or personal care brand, how their buying behaviors have changed, and the brands that have moved the needle the farthest over the past decade. The report also cross-tabulates every question by generation (Generation Z [young Millennials ages 18-24], Millennials [ages 25-38], Gen Xers [ages 39-53], and Baby Boomers [54+]) so that brands can best understand how to communicate with each audience.
More than 300 natural or organic skincare, haircare, makeup, and bath & body brands were covered in this study, as well as every major retail distribution channel
In part one of this article, we will get to know today’s natural/organic beauty and personal care consumer, including what she expects from her natural/organic products and her knowledge of the differences between natural, organic, and traditionally-created products. In part two, we will explore natural/organic shopping habits and purchase triggers, products she’s buying, along with the male consumer point of view on natural and organic personal care. Part three will take a peek at wellness trends, cannabinoids as a beauty product ingredient, and which categories and brands are leading natural and organic beauty today. Finally, in part four we will touch on the makings of an effective natural or organic personal care or beauty brand product story, package design associations, and tips from the pros on marketing and branding in the natural and organic space. This four-part series includes charts, graphs, and consumer data found nowhere else.
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