In spite of easing inflation, business costs are likely to remain high in the UK beauty market. However, as prices stabilise, there could be increased new product development (NPD), meaning new ingredients could come to market. This will provide welcome newness for consumers, as the proportion of total NPD accounted for by genuine new products has dwindled in the UK BPC market in recent years.
Limited understanding of beauty/grooming ingredients poses a threat. Confusion could see people using the wrong ingredients for their skin or hair type, for example, impacting results. This could lead to apathy, distrust and frustration, which could lead consumers to abandon ingredient research, and even drop out of certain BPC categories, or move away from certain brands/products.
Simplifying the research process to ease confusion is therefore a significant opportunity. Within Food and Drink, there is a general understanding of what ingredients are beneficial for overall health. For example, vitamin C is associated with immunity, whilst calcium is known to benefit bone health. There are opportunities to ensure that BPC consumers are equally aware of ingredient benefits by gamifying research to boost both enjoyment and engagement in BPC ingredient research.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- The impact of easing inflation on ingredient trends in BPC
- How brands can encourage and cater for ingredient research
- Differences in attitudes towards ingredients by beauty/grooming category
- NPD and marketing of ingredients in beauty/grooming
- Consumer attitudes towards select hero ingredients
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report was written by Maddie Malone, Beauty and Personal Care Analyst at Mintel. Maddie joined Mintel as a Beauty and Personal Care Analyst in 2021, writing reports and articles across various Beauty and Personal Care categories. She has over four years’ experience in insight roles at other research agencies, across food, personal care and retail property.
Brands can maximise on the BPC ingredient opportunity by simplifying the research process and reducing confusion.
Maddie Malone
Beauty and Personal Care Analyst
Report Scope
This report examines the UK market for ingredients in beauty/grooming. The below categories were included in the consumer survey:
- facial skincare products (eg moisturiser, cleanser), colour cosmetics (eg foundation, mascara), haircare products (eg shampoo, conditioner), bath or shower products (eg shower gel, bath salts), bodycare products (eg hand cream, body lotion), suncare, shaving and hair removal products (eg shaving gel/foam, hair removal cream), deodorants, fragrances (including body sprays), oral care (eg toothpaste, mouthwash)
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities relating to ingredient trends in BPC
- Simplify and personalise the research process
- Relieve ingredient anxieties
- Ease ingredient confusion and caution
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market predictions
- Keep pace with changing regulation
- What consumers want and why
- ‘Skinification’ trends drive cross-category research
- Graph 1: extent of ingredients research when buying beauty and grooming products, by category, 2024
- Respond to fears around skin irritants
- Graph 2: reasons for researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Confusion hinders ingredient research for women
- Graph 3: reasons for not researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, by gender, 2024
- Multifunctional perceptions could threaten experimentation
- Graph 4: % of respondents who associate addressing multiple concerns with each of the following ingredients, by age, 2024
- Medical experts are trusted
- Graph 5: sources of information considered trustworthy when researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Ingredient researchers spread their efforts far and wide
- Graph 6: behaviours related to researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
- Utilise Instagram to educate and inform
- Pay attention to emerging ingredients in NPD
- Lead with transparency in NPD, retail and marketing
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Market Dynamics
- Macroeconomic factors
- Consumer confidence for the year ahead
- Graph 7: the financial confidence index, 2016-24
- Growing teen population will heighten the importance of social media
- Naturals are still favoured in facial skincare
- Graph 8: I would choose one facial skincare product over another if it contained…, 2024
- Those with skin conditions are ingredient aware
- Combine trending and patented ingredients
- Graph 9: I would buy one haircare/styling product over another if it…, 2024
- Prepare for ingredient scrutiny
- Rethink retinol formulation
- Silicone restrictions pose challenges
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Extent of ingredient research
- Ingredient research is prevalent
- ‘Skinification’ trends influence cross-category decisions
- Graph 10: net of ingredient research when buying beauty and grooming products, by category, 2024
- City dwellers are keen researchers
- Graph 11: net of ingredient research when buying beauty and grooming products, by category, by area, 2024
- Lead with scent in deodorants and SBS
- Graph 12: extent of ingredients research when buying beauty and grooming products, by category, 2024
- Combat the damaging narrative around suncare on social media
- Graph 13: net of ingredient research when buying suncare products, by age and gender, 2024
- Simplify research missions for parents of young children
- Graph 14: ingredient research in all beauty and grooming products bought, by respondents with young children in household, 2024
- High earners invest time in ingredient research
- Graph 15: repertoire of ingredient research when buying beauty and grooming products, by household income, 2024
- Reasons for researching ingredients
- Respond to fears around skin irritants
- Graph 16: reasons for researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Eco and ethical claims remain important to consumers
- Combat confusion around natural ingredients
- Cater for goal-orientated consumers
- Reassure minority groups of ingredient effectiveness
- Graph 17: reasons for researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, by ethnicity, 2024
- Facilitate ingredient navigation in store
- Take learnings from Duolingo
- Barriers to ingredient research
- Confusion is a barrier to ingredient research
- Provide easy access information in store
- Graph 18: reasons for not researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Be inspired by food and drink labelling
- Hero ingredients can be kept simple…
- …but streamlined routines will drive a desire for multifunctionality
- Democratise professional information
- Younger consumers rely on claims in beauty/grooming
- Graph 19: select reasons for not researching ingredients when buying beauty and grooming products, by age, 2024
- Trusted sources for ingredient research
- Medical experts are trusted
- Graph 20: sources of information considered trustworthy when researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Ingredient avoiders trust professional advice
- Graph 21: sources of information considered trustworthy when researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, by reasons for researching ingredients, 2024
- Collaborate with specialist ingredient decoder websites and apps
- Maximise on trust in parent-fluencers
- Graph 22: trust in social media influencers/personalities when researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, by parental status, 2024
- Usage of specialist ingredient websites and apps
- Ingredient checkers are increasingly sought after
- Graph 23: Google searches for ‘ingredient checker’, 2014-24
- Beautypedia is a go-to for ingredient research
- Graph 24: specialist ingredient websites/apps used when researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Leverage AI to allow personalisation in ingredient checkers
- SKINSKOOL appeals to the UK consumer
- Academic sourcing makes INCI a trusted go-to
- Beauty boxes allow apps to captialise on credibility
- Research behaviours
- Familiarity is important
- Ingredient researchers spread their efforts far and wide
- Graph 25: behaviours related to researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Cater for time-strapped workers
- Graph 26: select behaviours related to researching ingredients in beauty and grooming products, 2024
- Reassure users around new ingredients
- Ease concerns by making patch tests the norm
- Ingredient associations
- Limited understanding around niacinamide persists
- Graph 27: attributes associated with select beauty and grooming product ingredients, 2024
- Tap into men’s desire for multifunctionality
- Graph 28: agreement that select ingredients address multiple concerns, by gender, 2024
- Promotion of vitamin C lacking, despite strong associations
- Graph 29: proportion of BPC launches containing select ingredients*, 2018-24
- Introduce vitamin C to shaving
- Manage user expectations
- Make collagen more accessible
- Align probiotics with inflammation concerns
- Graph 30: social media posts in the UK containing the word ‘skin’ and ‘inflammation’, 2022-24
- Attitudes towards ingredient efficacy and testing
- Confusion around efficacy and trust persist
- Blur the lines with food and drink
- Graph 31: attitudes toward ingredient efficacy and testing, 2024
- Learn from Companies House
- Lead with dalton messaging
- Help people who menstruate curate monthly ingredient wardrobes
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Brands lead with ingredients in launch activity
- Make lipids budget-friendly
- Ectoin benefits from social media noise
- Graph 32: social media posts containing ‘ectoin’*, 2022-24
- Maximise on ectoin trends
- Exosomes are an emerging opportunity
- Exosomes make inroads in facial skincare
- Glycerin innovation picks up in oral care
- Spotlight on AI
- Seaweed has cross-category benefits
- Ramp up innovation in upcycled ingredients
- Advertising and marketing activity
- The Unseen warns against pigments
- Highlight that ethical doesn’t mean inefficient
- Utilise Instagram to educate and inform
- Transparency will resonate
- Skinfix informs on fragrance-free claims
- Dove champions responsibility
- The Ordinary invests in ‘Science over Celebrity’ messaging
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Appendix
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology
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