The market is shifting into modest, steady growth as value polarizes. Budget-focused shoppers want clear value and multiuse efficiency, while higher-income consumers continue to trade up for artistry, experience and emotional reward.
"Brands must pair cultural fluency with visible results, using social platforms not just to inspire but to validate value in real time."
Carson Kitzmiller, Senior Analyst, Beauty & Personal Care
The market is shifting into modest, steady growth as value polarizes. Budget-focused shoppers want clear value and multiuse efficiency, while higher-income consumers continue to trade up for artistry, experience and emotional reward. Competitive power is consolidating, and closures, M&A and portfolio cuts mark the end of over-proliferation. Shoppers simplify routines and choose skin-first hybrids and flexible formats (tinted bases over layered systems, low-impact eye options and stains, oils and buildable textures replacing classic bullets). Performance, not price, is driving switching, with TikTok acting as inspiration, validation and proof of value.
To win, brands must anchor innovation and storytelling in provable performance. That means hybrid, skin-respecting textures; comfort-plus-impact formats; claims built for short-form video; and PDPs optimized for both human and AI search. Success also requires creator ecosystems that balance reach with credibility and NPD that is visually satisfying, fast to market and culturally fluent. In a market demanding versatility, transparency and value without compromise, the winners will operate as modern media companies and formulation labs, delivering proof faster, iterating smarter and earning space in streamlined routines through results consumers can see.
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
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Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
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There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
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We utilize Mintel Reports, Trends and Comperemedia to mine for insights across the numerous business verticals that Epsilon serves, such as CPG, automotive, telecom, healthcare/pharma, retail and financial services.
By integrating Mintel insight into new business opportunities, we have been able to gain the competitive edge necessary to advance partnerships with global brands and key business players.
For our organization, it’s about depth and breadth. Having one without the other doesn’t enable success in our business.
At Jackman, we believe that powerful strategies are based on human insight. Mintel’s leading-edge reports and insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors are an important input as we develop and execute strategy.
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
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