Pathways: the distribution web

Nowadays, it is important for brands to have innovative and revolutionary products. However, these products will never become successful without an effective distribution plan. It is essential for companies to know how to distribute their products. What is a distribution channel ? Quite simply, it is the path  that a good takes from the supplier to a consumer. Companies must know how to distribute their products correctly, for example, L’Oréal. L’Oréal owns a number of brands which are organised by Division. Each of these brands develop a specific vision of beauty by consumption universe and distribution channel. L’Oréal has different distribution plans for each of the brands. For example, La Roche Posay cannot be found in just any store as it comprises of medical products and so therefore is distributed to pharmacies.

There are four types of distribution channels for the marketing of cosmetic products to the general public ;

1. Large and medium-sized retailers

2. Selective distribution (ie. perfume shops or specialty stores)

3. Mail order and Internet sales

4. Pharmacies and parapharmacies.

In the past, pharmacies and parapharmacies have been the most successful distribution channel for cosmetic products, and cosmetic companies have largely focused their attention on these medical care providers. Increasing numbers of physicians have been prescribing skin care treatments and dispensing products to their patients, creating a favorable environment for beauty marketers within pharmacies. In order to keep distribution lines open within the medical sector, cosmetic companies have been very clued-in to the latest trends within pharmaceuticals. Tailoring their products to match with physicians’ recommendations has meant that their products will be prescribed and distributed through the medical sector. When people come to pharmacy, they seek medical advice and a guarantee of the product’s effectiveness relying on different brand names. Famous brands such as La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Avène or Bioderma are good examples. In the United states, ingredients such as Retinols, hyaluronic acid, and vitamins are very popular. Due to this trend, several large and medium-sized marketers have been introducing cosmetic products which are formulated with these ingredients. Such products include ;  SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier by L’Oréal, Dermalogica Overnight Retinol Repair by Unilever, and PCA Skin’s Hyaluronic Acid Boosting Serum.

Due to heightened environmental concern, cosmetic companies have also adapted their products to be more eco-friendly. As more and more consumers have come to learn about the detrimental effects of airborne pollution, both on their skin and to the ozone layer, they have expressed greater interest in anti-pollution products and their sales have soared. Due to this new trend in anti-pollution marketers have introduced products, such as Pollution Shield Broad Spectrum SPF 46 Sunscreen by Santé and Alto Defense Serum by SkinBetter Science. We can see how cosmetic companies cleverly adapt their products to fit in with new pharmaceutical trends in order to ensure that the medical sector remains their largest distribution channel. 

Although, the medical sector has been a stable and successful mode of distribution for cosmetic companies throughout the years, technological and digital innovations have largely altered the distribution process and therefore, must be taken into consideration. With the rise of 21st century individualism, consumers are becoming more focused on personalization. Technology has provided the perfect platform to enable consumers to do so. Cosmetic companies have realized that the 21st century consumer must be at the head of the production process and have invested vast sums in technological innovations which will enable this to happen. The 21st century consumer is autonomous, individual and in control. Cosmetics companies must give them the freedom to design, to innovate and take charge of their purchasing experience. The control, therefore, is shifting from the company to the consumer and the distribution method must reflect this change. Naturally, the internet has become a major distribution channel due to these changes however, new technology is not just limited to the internet but can be seen within stores too. This employment of new technology to complement the consumers’ new need for personalization is probably best seen in the case of Sephora. Sephora is the French leader in the perfume industry who has included a new feature called ‘Beauty Hub’ in their stores where customers can use new digital technology to try products and have a new connected terminal system that makes it easier for customers to order.

These technological innovations have even paved the way for new distribution channels to emerge, such as medical spas. As the professional skin care space continues to record strong growth, outlets dispensing skin care and offering professional treatments continue to evolve. SkinCeuticals is currently opening Advanced Clinical Spas, a new concept that the marketer began rolling out in 2016. Alchemy 43 and SkinLaundry, both new emerging players in the market, have also launched similar projects which fall within the medical spa realm. Since 2017 Skin Laundry has specialized in laser and light therapy with 13 locations in the United States. As of 2017, Alchemy 43, had just one location open but had plans to expand. The company concentrates on cosmetic micro treatments. Rising interest from consumers for custom-tailored beauty and fun store formats suggests that more specialty professional doors will surface in the coming years.

 

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References :

Sai Swaroop (March 22, 2018) : “Top five trends to watch in the U.S Professional skin care market”, retrieved from 

https://www.klinegroup.com/blogs/index.php/2018/03/22/top-five-trends-to-watch-in-the-u-s-professional-skin-care-market/

Etudes et Analyses : “La distribution des produits cosmétiques”, retrieved from 

https://www.etudes-et-analyses.com/marketing/marketing-de-la-distribution/etude-de-marche/distribution-produits-cosmetiques-325503.html

Cecile Desclos (Mai, 2018) : “Les stratégies digitales des marques et des enseignes de beauté”, retrieved from 

Click to access LEE_beauté_et_digital_HD2.pdf

 

 

When celebrities have their own organic skincare lines

In one of our previous articles we have mentioned the trend of organic skincare and pose a question of how is the percentage of truth behind the green label that skincare brands are using more and more widely. Our anxiety towards that phenomenon is grounded on the fact that many brands are causing confusion in customer’s mind by abusing the image of natural-origin to promote their products, no matter if they contain any natural or organic ingredient or not. Many celebrities, among others, have the same doubtful point of view and have expressed concerns about the skincare cosmetics quality in the market.

Miranda Kerr, famous Australian model and former Victoria’s Secret angel, said to British Vogue: “When I was modeling full time (at around 18), I became aware of the chemicals contained in most skincare products and I searched for years to find a range that was not only certified organic but also delivered results. I was unable to find anything on the market that delivered what I was looking for so I decided to create my own range.” And do you know that Miranda decided to create her own skincare line? Kora Organics was introduced as a result of 4 years cooperating between the model and organic pharmacists, which is asserted to meet the high required standards of Miranda herself.

Source: Kora Organics’ official Instagram

Another example of organic skincare brand owned by a star is Juicy Beauty, the clean skincare line developed by Gwyneth Paltrow. From years ago, the actress realized the importance of natural ingredients to skin beauty and wellness. In order to meet this vision, she built up a line of organically-formulated skincare products which contain non-toxic elements and up to 99% organic.

However, are those celebrity-owned organic skincare ranges more reliable? The answer is up to you. If customers believe in reputation, values as well as standards which are established and communicated by the celebrities, they have enough reasons to try. And just for your information, the Daily hand cream of Kora Organics which is made from aloe, macadamia-seed oil, and olive oil, won a Best of Beauty award of Allure magazine in 2014.

In another post on our blog, we were talking about the powerful impact that stars create when they indorse a skincare brand. The effect seems to be more obvious when celebrities promote their own products, simply because when famous people start a business and passionately talk about it, audiences are more likely to be persuaded. As stated by Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist from the University of Michigan, human being are social creatures which tend to behave like the crowd and navigate the social situation according to high-status individuals behaviors. That might be a reason for the easy success when celebrities tell their own story and use their own prestige to promote skincare lines that they claim to develop by their passion.

 

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Reference:

Chloe Metzger (December 2, 2015): “10 Celebrities With Awesome Beauty Lines” retrieved from https://www.allure.com/gallery/best-celebrity-beauty-lines

Alana (November 14, 2017): “Curious about Celebrity Beauty Brands? I’m giving you the inside Scoop!”, retrieved from https://www.skincarebyalana.com/blog/curious-celebrity-beauty-brands-im-giving-inside-scoop/

 

 

When the digital meets the skin care market…

  Source: Ionetek

For several years now, phones and digital devices have invaded our daily activities. Some may stay skeptical about their increasing presence in our lives but let’s face it, as customers these devices have changed the way we shop. No industry makes the exception, not even the skin care market which, for several years now, has been trying to introduce the digital in its offers. Indeed, many brands have understood that excelling in the digital world was a way to be differentiated from the others and thus have put it at the center of their strategy. L’Oréal, the skin care market leader, is a good example as it covets to also become the leader of digital on the skin care market. First, through e-commerce. Undeniably, it has been a way for shoppers to get access to foreign brands and more exclusive products. It has been observable among Europeans and their rising interest towards Asian skin care brands, especially Korean ones like the Glow Recipe. Don’t you have ever seen these colorful packaging with cartoon characters on Sephora’s shelves? These products are mainly known for their health benefits which explain their success in Occidental countries. Customers begin to get curious about these countries’ routines and don’t hesitate to try them. In few days, they get delivered on their doorstep. Way cheaper than a return plane ticket to go fetch them directly, right?

Secondly, the way brands promote themselves and get in contact with customers. Indeed, many of them pass through social media, especially Instagram now, to promote their products. They use influencers, youtubers and celebrities to do indirect promotion. Just by mentioning it as their own products, influencers have a real impact on their followers. If you are French, you probably have heard of Caroline Receveur or EnjoyPhoenix, both known for their advices on all kind of beauty products. It goes beyond a simple endorsement. Indeed, consumers have the feeling they are in real contact with these people, connecting with them more easily.  Just one question remains: are those feedbacks real? I think we tend to be more suspicious about it thinking that brands pay them to be promoted. However, new apps allowing customers to scan their skin care products and grade them play now a major role in choosing a product and in building trust towards them. Also, a major step forward in terms of digital on the skin care market.

However, this is not what I would like to truly emphasize today. The real shift on this market remains in the brand-new digital customer experience, also known as CX. The challenge? Give customers the best experience possible when using their products. But how so? Personalized and accompanied service from the decision making to the use of a cream, moisturizer or oil. Indeed, brands have been or are now developing services with facial recognition and skin diagnosis to recommend the best product to buy. It allows customers who don’t want to go directly to stores to have the needed guidance in their purchase. They get a real shop experience without having to move from their sofa. Vichy for example, one of L’Oréal sub-brand, has developed what they have defined as an “ideal skin diagnosis”. The process is quite simple. Customers upload a face picture, answer all kind of questions about their skin traits and play with all kinds of filters about themselves. Few seconds later, they get information about their type of skin and  guidance on which product to use from this brand. It also gives lifestyle and nutritional advices, going beyond selling just a product. The brand basically says to customers : “It is not the product in itself which is our concern, your well-being is” ! Therefore, it is a real step forward. If few years ago you could find general advices on their official website or online videos explaining products’ proprieties to accompany customers, they now tackle the customer’s experience in a completely different way. They want them to feel unique, think that their skin is like no other and that they have a perfect match: the perfect solution to their skin care problems.

                                                                                                                                       Source: Guided Selling.org

These types of diagnosis are very developed especially by “dermatologically tested” and pharmacy products as it corresponds to their identity and “medical image”. They offer the medical solution and advice along with the product. No need to bother going to shops anymore. It is quick, simple and thorough.

Therefore, Avène and La Roche-Posay, also main “Dermatologically tested” brands, famous internationally and sold exclusively in pharmacy, offer the same kind of diagnosis.

Source: La Roche Posay & Avène Official Website

Even though the diagnosis is presented in a different way, it has the same goal: to offer customers a unique and complete experience with the brand.

It is however not exclusive to dermatologically tested or expensive brands. The Body Shop for example has also implemented this type of service. They don’t use the photograph system but through a deep questionnaire they also give a quite detailed advice. Customers just need to take the time to answer it.

Source: Guided Selling.org

And that’s not it. Some brands are even going further. It is the case of Shiseido, very popular among Asian brands and on the European market. Indeed, with its innovative yet still on-going tested system “Optune”, the Japanese manufacturer has taken a step further by gathering skin analysis data and real time environmental data to provide a personalized service on which product to use depending on the weather. This new concept brings together technologies and modern scientific research on skincare, offering again a new dimension of customer’s experience. From just a picture and the knowledge on the real-time weather, “Optune” is able to give customers the appropriate and exact skin care “routine” with the brand’s serums and moisturizers. Thus, customers get a unique advice and Shiseido gets to promote its products as the perfect match for skin problems. It is undeniably a win-win. The skin care market is, as you can see, taking a big step into the digital world. It reshapes completely the customer ‘experiences into a whole journey with the brands and to go beyond buying a simple product. Also, a good way to attract brand loyalty, don’t you think?

 

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References :

“Shiseido develops digital skincare system” (12 January, 2018), Cosmetic Business (Online), retrieved from http://www.cosmetic-business.com/de/News/shiseido-develops-digital-skincare-system/755684

Technology Blog (March 22, 2018) “How Technology Is Transforming the Beauty and Personal Care Industry”, TRANTOR (Online), retrieved from http://trantorinc.com/blog/how-technology-is-transforming-the-beauty-and-personal-care-industry/

Blog (May 18, 2018) “How Beauty Brands Can Use Customer Experience as a Differentiator”, Kustomer (Online), retrieved from https://www.kustomer.com/blog/beauty-brands-cx/

Abby Driver (January 17, 2017) “Digital Technologies in the Beauty Sector”, Guided Selling (Online), retrieved from https://www.guided-selling.org/digital-technologies-beauty-sector/

Sinead Norenius-Raniere (02 March, 2017) “Forecasting the digital future of cosmetics and personal care retail”, Cosmetics Design.com (Online), retrieved from https://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Article/2017/03/02/Forecasting-the-digital-future-of-cosmetics-and-personal-care-retail

Guest author (April 06, 2018) “Modern Beauty is Personal, Digital, and Direct”, Guided Selling (Online), retrieved from https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/customer-experience-2/modern-beauty-is-personal-digital-and-direct/

Erin Gilliam (16 January, 2018) “Top Digital Customer Experience (CX) Trends for 2018”, Mopinion (Online), retrieved from https://mopinion.com/top-digital-customer-experience-cx-trends-for-2018/

“ Une exemplaire stratégie digitale pour l’Oréal car elle le vaut bien, et pour votre entreprise ?” (6 janvier 2018), SAWI (Online), retrieved from https://sawissd.blog/2018/01/06/une-exemplaire-strategie-digitale-pour-loreal-car-elle-le-vaut-bien-et-pour-votre-entreprise/

Marian Liu (April 12, 2018) “Beyond beauty: Korean makeup provides ‘cosmeceuticals’” (6 janvier 2018), CNN (Online), retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/11/health/korean-makeup-beauty-health-benefits/index.html

http://www.atkearney.fr/documents/877508/879237/Digital+Beauty+in+Europe-Attract+Consumers+and+Win+Online.pdf/b91ef808-068b-43e5-ac11-7dd6f55a4fa6

 

Star endorsers with beauty and skincare brands

How could be the endorsement that a celebrity can do in order to support a skincare brand?

The simplest form is announcing they are using the product. By showing to the public they are a part of the brand’s clientele, celebrities implicitly give the necessary message to their followers. It is not difficult to find in fashion magazines or through personal interview some passages where famous people are willing to share their beauty secrets and describe their skincare routine, which is a very easy way to reveal the products behind their perfect appearance in public. This is not one hundred percent of the truth, because more than anybody else, celebrities spend pretty penny into beauty services. They do great effort in order to have flawless face and body since their image is an extremely important asset. When Victoria Beckham is enthusiast raving about Lancer Caviar cream or Gal Gadot swears by La Mer’s cleansing oil to help her remove make-up every day, we all know that just one or two skincare products cannot build up the whole story. However, it cannot be denied that celebrities’ reference is a smart way to give orientation to the crowd and can really help brands raise sales volume in a significant way.

When beauty and skincare brands think about a solemn action to foster the brand image, co-presence with a star is a considerable choice. This is more applicable with big names in the beauty market, because choosing endorsers for co-presence is a long process with a strict multiple-term contract and, in most of the cases, is mega-expensive. The first step of the long-term campaign is certainly seeking for one or more appropriate celebrities who satisfy all the criteria, and the most crucial item in the list should be the matching of image that both the brand and the stars are endeavoring to build up. For a successful collaboration, different elements need to be taken into account: Are the brand and the celebrities in a same class? Does she or he believe in the brand’s core values and furthermore inspire back to the brand? Is the star’s personal image suitable with the product lines? Is she or he a potential influencer and able to convey the messages to the crowd? So on and so on. Once the relationship is set up, the celebrity becomes the muse of the brand. If you have doubt about what has been mentioned, let see how Cle de Peau Beauté describes Amanda Seyfried in their official website or how Kate Winslet appears in the adverts that Lancome made to promote the renowned Advanced Genifique serum with the memorable quote “love your age”.

In most of the cases, brand ambassadors do an excellent job of a spokesman by showing to the public how happy and thankful they are with the brand. To prove this, just see the successful example of cooperation between Song Hye Kyo, top Korean actress who is well-known of possessing the most beautiful bare face of K-biz, and Laneige, the brand comes from the biggest Korean cosmetic conglomerate – Amore Pacific. During years working together, Song has been making audience truly believe that Laneige forms a irreplaceable part of her daily life when she always sticks her luminous appearance with Laneige products whenever she could, no matter in film footages, in interview for famous magazines or in her personal social account. The impact from the star boost Laneige’ awareness in a way which cannot be more impressive, therefore the revenue follows, especially after the actress gains relevant shiny achievements in her career path in recent years (with the extreme succeeding of “Descendants of the Sun” in 2016) and her dreamy wedding in late 2017. The co-presence is so fruitful that at the beginning of 2018, Amore Pacific decided to grant Song the important role of Sulwhasoo ambassador – the most high end brand of the company – after 10 years going with Laneige.

The benefits from star’s endorsement is christal clear, but beauty brands still have to evaluate carefully before starting a campaign with celebrities, especially when they look at the pricey cost. If brands want Karlie Kloss refer to their product in her Instagram, they need to pay around $40.000, and if it is Beyoncé – the most powerful artist at this time – the number is not lower than $1.000.000, just for one post. Brands need to count many strategic dimensions and strictly make marketing plan considering all the positive impacts as well as the risks, because besides career success, scandals of famous people also greatly matter. If brands are confident enough to convert expenses for star endorsers into sales volume and brand awareness that meet the expected marketing objectives, then they are having the most obvious opportunity to push themselves to a much higher level than they’ve ever done before.

 

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References:

Harpers Bazaar magazine (November 28, 2018): Celebrity beauty secrets – https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/g26414/celebrity-favourite-beauty-products-secrets/?slide=9

Mediakix team (April 12, 2107): The Top 10 highest paid celebrities on Instagram – http://mediakix.com/2017/04/highest-paid-celebrities-endorsement-rates-on-instagram/#gs.wcyttfM

https://www.cledepeaubeaute.com/our-story/article/?id=allure-of-amanda

Vivienne Tay (January 05, 2018): LANEIGE reveals new face for brand as Song Hye Kyo moves to Sulwhasoo – https://www.marketing-interactive.com/laneige-reveals-new-face-as-song-hye-kyo-moves-to-sulwhasoo/

 

 

Social media influencer marketing – a new age in skincare marketing!

Humans have become increasingly aware of the importance of taking care of their skin and hence have been and are using products in an attempt to enhance their appearance. Hence, the beauty and skin care industry is continually changing, evolving and diversifying.

It is undeniable that we are more concerned about our image than ever. The biggest reason for becoming so aware is due to the omnipresence of social media and the ‘selfie’ craze. In this new digital landscape, all the cosmetics brands today have realized that digital excellence is at the heart of change and a very important aspect in the prestige beauty market, especially in the skin care market. Although as of today, the contribution of pure online sales is relatively very small, it is yet to be known how much of this is due to the effect of online influence on social media. Even today, the majority of sales is still taking place in pharmacies, department stores, specialty stores but it cannot be denied that digital channels have become the primary arena for consumer decision making. Established and challenger brands alike are now primarily authenticated by online influencers. Devising an online strategy has become a must for all concerned brands because online presence and branding is the new age marketing.

Brand switching is increasingly on the rise as pure brand power is constantly challenged by online influencer power. As a result, online sales despite being relatively small is growing fast as it is boosted by the rise of ‘social commerce’.

Source: TouTube

The skin care market is a robust market that is compelled to evolve, adapt and diversify with the growing consumer demand which in turn is driving the innovation in the industry. Since skin care has the largest share of the beauty market currently, major scientific breakthroughs are also happening in order to address the consumers that call for more natural and effective ingredients. It is quite evident now that such demands and trends are all aiming at transparency i.e. consumers are looking for truth as they no longer believe in glossy, ‘larger than what is it’ type of ads and campaigns.

In order to stay relevant with the changing customer expectations, brands are moving away from their traditional strategies and switching to social media marketing which is responsible for attracting online traction and traffic. Typically, small and upcoming niche brands are adopting this way of marketing thereby benefitting largely and driving away the established brands out of dominance. So, what are they doing?

What lies at the center of the social media strategy? The answer is the influencers. Because they become examples for consumers to know how the products are working on real people. They post, reviews, tutorials, and experiences on social platforms along with their established credibility have garnered a larger audience and influences their decision making. They are key because they build personal touch and cultivate brand communities. Lets us look at few examples to understand the impact of social media influencing.

According to an L2 report shared by Mobile Marketer, Olay, the skincare brand owned by P&G spurred a 20% gain in consumer engagement from a social media campaign where they collaborated with influencers and asked them to document their experiences for a month while using the products and updating their followers along the way. This campaign was conducted in November 2017, where influencers offered free product samples and discount coupons with unique codes and mentioned links in their posts to encourage followers to participate in the challenge. This campaign resulted in a 22% increase in monthly google searches and boosted the online engagement which in turn led to online sales.

Source: Instagram: @alexsteinherr

According to a recent report by Traackr, the influencer relationship management platform, the luxury brand La Mer, owned by Estee Lauder, has wielded its status as a highly coveted brand in tandem with social media influencers in a manner earning the brand the most social media engagement in the first half of 2018. The brand could achieve this without sacrificing their authenticity or lowering the price tags. The brand became the most talked about skin care brand on social media thanks to the 12 million engagements on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The luxury skincare brand partnered with 1529 social media influencers which notably includes the likes of former beauty director of Glamour Alessandra Stenheirr, Heart FM radio DJ and presenter Lilah Parsons and make-up artist Patrick Ta. These engagements accounted for the mentions, engagements rates, potential reach, conversion rates, number of activated influencers and influence by channel.

The best part of social media influencer marketing is that the impact of the marketing campaigns is more of less measurable digitally. One more unconventional but notable example is that of a brand named ‘Swedish Skin’ that launched its products using social media only for 100% of its marketing. In one of his past interviews, the CEO, William Byrd went on to record by stating that the brand’s strategy involves “paying YouTube ‘skincare gurus’ to talk about my products” so that “their viewers see the products and visit the Swedish Skin website”. For such brands, the social media influencers lie at the heart of their marketing strategies.

There are several such examples that reinforce and prove the reach and conversions brands have achieved through social media influencer marketing. Consumers demand honestly and authenticity and tend to believe the influencers by expecting that the influencer content is genuine and realistic. Thus, influencers have a profound impact on consumers contemplating a purchase. Based on the company’s objectives the influencers can help in various ways like:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Driving traffic to distribution channels both online/offline
• Encourage product purchase through affiliation
• Promoting an event or product launches
• Boosting business volumes
• Building brand community

It is evident from this analysis that influences play a key role in the social media marketing strategies devised by the skin care brands in order to remain relevant and secure future growth. Do you agree?

 

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Resources:

Nikola Kinski (June 23, 2017) “A perfect match: influencer marketing and the beauty industry”, Upfluence.com (online) retrieved from

https://upfluence.com/influencer-marketing/influencer-marketing-beauty-industry

October 1, 2018, “Luxury skin Care Brand earns most social engagement from top beauty influencers”, a new online report from Traackr (influencer relationship management platform) on the state of influence in skin care demonstrates the power of influencers in beauty marketing retrieved from

https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/prnewswire/press_releases/California/2018/10/01/UN23489

Emily Dobell (October 20, 2010), “Social media marketing allows for a new generation of sales strategy”, Cosmeticsdesign.com (online) retrieved from

https://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Article/2010/10/21/Social-media-marketing-allows-for-a-new-generation-of-sales-strategy

Robert Williams (March 5, 2018), ” L2: Olay boosts engagement 20% with influencer skincare challenge”, Mobile Marketer (online) retrieved from

https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/l2-olay-boosts-engagement-20-with-influencer-skincare-challenge/518349/

 

Three luxury skin care brands in the world

How much do you spend on skin care products every month? The answer always varies from one person to another. Advertisements on TV, promotions in shops and discount information online all make people unable to stop buying skin care products. These delicately wrapped products attract our attention every day. There are three luxury skin car brands in the world which enjoy high reputation and status in skin care industry. A tiny skin care product costs thousands of euro but lots of people are willing to pay. What differentiates them from mass-market products? I will explain it to you in this following articles.

Top 3 – The Ginza

The full brand name is the Ginza Cosmetics. It is a mysterious luxury skin care brand which belongs to Shiseido. The brand is only available in three places: ‘Shiseido The Store’ in Tokyo, Tokyo Imperial Hotel and Japanese international airport. Shiseido claims the brand will not be promoted globally because all the products contain a highly valuable ingredient that can only be found in Japan. The brand never does any advertising or marketing campaigns. It is the exclusive brand for Imperial House of Japan, never discounted. All of these has successfully aroused strong curiosity of consumers. At present, the brand only has 12 skin care products, selling from about 50 euro to 1312 euro (excluding tax). One key to making excellent skin care products is water quality. The Ginza finds that the mineral water produced in Tuscany in Italy has a rare quality. The water full of perfectly proportioned minerals. Therefore, no matter how much the cost will increase and how difficult the process is, the Ginza insists ship this bottle of Tuscan mineral water back to Japan and uses it as raw material in their skin care products. The Ginza advocates less is more and concentrates on making premium skin care product.

     Source:http://www.haiav.com/news/4856.html.

 Top 2 – Lamer

Brands need a story, even if the story is not entirely true. Lamer has a legend in Chinese market. MaxHuber, a space physicist, his skin was badly hurt because of an accident. Due to limitations of medical treatment at that time, MaxHuber began to research skin care products and finally got the Miracle Broth™, at last he successfully developed the Lamer cream which has a magical repair regeneration effect. Chinese consumers had not doubted about this story until a web celebrity pointed out Lamer was suspected of false propaganda. In Japan and USA, Lamer only indicated on their official website that it can soothe the skin and keep the skin stable, but the story is shown on the Chinese official website and claims that it can even repair the scars. However, the brand’s loyal supporters are unaffected, On various social platforms in China, countless consumers have posted articles about Lamer’s magical effects on them. The 60ml cream, which costs 282 euros, sold 6,250 cans in half a month on an online store in China. Lamer also has a premium product named “The Essence”, the price is as high as 2,875 euros and limited supply to top VIP customers annually. Stories are just part things of building a brand. Lamer has created a mysterious and noble brand image. As its name suggests, people associate it with the deep ocean when mentioned. Consumers’ experience and word-of-mouth are also important factors in brand building.

Source: https://www.sohu.com/a/232966052_619731.

Top 1 – La Prairie

La Prairie comes from Switzerland, it is a brand combining the most advanced technology. La Prairie is a well-deserved luxury skin care brand and is beloved by aristocratic ladies. Cellular Complex is one of the brand’s core technologies. Cellular Complex can strengthen the function of skin and promote metabolism. Caviar is a valuable ingredient, La Prairie apply this ingredient to their products in order to show their uniqueness and Inimitability. There is no doubt that these products are all expensive, For example , the 60 ml Skin Caviar Luxe Cream costs 487.5 euro is their basic product , It can help skin regains its elasticity and deeply moisturize the skin. Recently, La Prairie launch a new product– Platinum Rare Cellular Cream, which price is as high as 1275 euro.  It’s hard to imagine how a skin care product could relate to an artwork. But in 2017, La Prairie invited Swiss artist Julian Charriere to shoot exclusive brand films and the topic is The Power of Light. Their main target is to introduce the White Caviar Crème Extraordinaire to the public, and the product has extraordinary whitening effect, it allows  skin to glow from skin bottom. For a skin care brand, we generally value its effect, packaging, price, etc., but La Prairie is more than just a skin care brand. It shows great respect for aesthetics and technology, it also makes consumers feel a sense of ritual.

Source: http://www.sohu.com/a/227346620_547083.

As luxury skin care brands, they are unique and cannot be imitated. Price is not an issue, their packages, their ingredients and technologies are logically rare. They do not simply satisfy people’s needs but also create dreams and aesthetics. As an old saying goes, ‘You get what you pay for’. Luxury skin care brands always have reasons to exist.

 

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References:

May 26,2018,’Top five most expensive skin care products in the world”,Soho Fashion(online),retrieved from:https://www.sohu.com/a/232966052_619731.

June 19,2018,”This is probably the lowest profile of Japan’s top ladies brand”,retrieved from: http://www.haiav.com/news/4856.html.

April 05,2018,”Light & Art | La Prairie this piece of Art, do you really know it?” TorontoSNAP(online),retrieved from:http://www.sohu.com/a/227346620_547083.

September 25,2017,’Cellular Complex of La Prairie -timeless beauty”,DouDou(online)retrieved from:https://www.bangli.uk/post/162205.

 

 

Inside the changing skincare market – Invest or Acquire?

The overall skin care market growth is characterized by the rapid emergence of new brands, new geographies, new subcategories, all coupled with worldwide acceptance and adoption of digital technologies. But at the company level, this growth is constantly challenged by trending new concepts and technologies of marketing and distribution of products. As a result, traditional brand strategies have given away to adapt to the new consumer requirements.

Brand power is now grappling with new changing realities. The scale of business and the distribution management is facing a tremendous challenge by the explosion of online sales, the emergence of specialty stores and brands with capabilities to disrupt the market. Small innovation or slight modifications that were earlier the major success driving factors for big established corporate brands are strongly challenged by disruptive innovations of challenger brands leading to the rapid demise of sub-category lifecycle. Conventional strategy for all leading brands was to be present in maximum categories – being ‘everything to everyone’. This business model is rapidly collapsing due to the fragmentation of markets as the consumers are picking the best from each brand and mixing them all. Most importantly, the new age marketing has to accept and embrace the explosion caused by the burst of digital technologies. Today consumers love to follow and believe online opinion sharing, rating, and influence from a diverse group who create a connection between brands and them through social media. Another very significant sea change in the skin care market is moving to ‘organic’ or natural ‘products’ which has become ‘The Trend’ that is mostly promoted by the upcoming challenger brands.

Source: prweb.com

The leading skincare brands are increasingly responding to these changes majorly by investments, mergers, and acquisitions, or creating new product lines in order to accelerate growth. This seems to be a work in progress for many brands, but the leading brands are doing it actively. They have become aggressive on creating cleaner options and make natural products more accessible than ever.

Skincare earlier used to be an extension to fashion, now it is predominantly becoming the extension of personal health care. For any skincare product, the existence of only two or three options is taken over by the availability of several choices that too from great brands that offer the best quality and varieties. This trend of being natural in the skin care market was first started in the food and health space which has eventually rubbed off on skin care and beauty products. This viewpoint was brought up by Stacey Goldstein, director of Garnier skin care marketing. The biggest reason for all the leading brands to ride in the wave of ‘making natural and organic’ products is the increase in the emergence of ever-growing mega-retailers like Nordstrom, Sephora who offer natural products as the demand from consumers is very much on the rise. To begin with, the leading companies such as P&G, Estee Lauder have either invested in or acquired in clean brands considering the fact that their existing production facilities just cannot switch to the different natural ingredients immediately or remove existing ingredients. However, their arch rival company namely Unilever has invested its own resources and started to manufacture cleaner products from scratch as they anticipate the revolution the ‘green wave’ is going to bring. Their in-house brands have started to create new skin care lines with launches planned in years to come. Every big player in the skin market realizes the awareness of their consumers’ knowledge by their increasing label reading habits and the level of information they have. They are accepting the sophistication and the involvement of their buyers as their awareness in knowing the ingredients has grown multi-fold. Today’s buyers are more conscious of the products and ingredients they are consuming than ever. The phrase ‘making better choices’ is now no longer limited to food and health but it is becoming the phrase also for the skincare industry as the demand to know ‘what’s in the product’ from the consumers has risen tremendously.

Source: Deloitte market research

Since the bigger brands are increasingly challenged by the growing list of challenger brands offering green and vegan products, the bigger brands are also making efforts to either take over the smaller worthy brands or they are themselves debuting with cleaner products leading to availability of choices everywhere from grab and go drugstore or pharmacies, special boutiques and to a great extent also department stores. Over the past few years, niche brands such as NYX, Glossier have been become the trendsetting brands, encouraging more M&A from global brands as they seek to acquire small yet successful players to either bridge their portfolio gaps or fill new categories or meet the demands of the trends.

Source: Deloitte market research

Some of the recent significant acquisitions have been by L’Oréal purchasing NVX and IT Cosmetics or Estée Lauder’s purchase of Becca & Too Faced. Over the last few years, acquisitions of emerging skin care brands by global players are on a tremendous rise reflecting the preference for skin care’s higher profit and growth margins and the market potential. Of late, Unilever has been the most acquisitive brand of the leading companies by the number of acquisitions in the skin care market by acquiring brands like Dollar Shave club, Dermalogica and so on. Other predominant purchases in the skin care industry have been seen from Estée Lauder and L’Oréal. Although there have been massive investments by some leading companies on innovation and introduction of new skin care product lines, with 90% of such launches failing within 12 months, the fastest and most reliable route to growth and standing still as a leading brand is an acquisition.

 

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References:

Market research by Deloitte in 2017 on “Shades of success: Influence in the beauty market”, an online report in pdf retrieved from

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cn/Documents/international-business-support/deloitte-cn-ibs-france-beauty-market-en-2017.pdf

Rachel Lapidos (December 18,2017) “The skin-care sea change: Inside big beauty’s massive move to non-toxic and natural products”, Well Good (online) retrieved from

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/clean-beauty-business-is-growing-among-biggest-brands/slide/2/

 

Beauty Kings

The cosmetics industry no longer concerns just women; recent developments in the sector have seen a shift towards the male consumer.

The man of today is increasingly concerned about his appearance. In an image saturated society, presentation is key. Therefore, skin care has become more important to men than before. Men taking care of themselves is no longer taboo, now that masculinity has been redefined in the 21st century. Today, not only do men assume the use of cosmetics that are clearly intended for them, such as the traditional aftershave and deodorant, but more and more are buying their own personal care products; 62 percent according to a Mintel study. The “hygienist” era when men were satisfied with aftershave and deodorant seems to be over. Beauty is now also male.

Hygiene is no longer synonymous with masculinity or femininity but with well-being, and in recent years, with the rise of individualism in a neoliberal era, well-being and health have become priorities for the majority of men. Once restricted, the cosmetics market for men is now booming. In 2015, the French market reached 17.4 billion euros, 30% more than in 2011 according to Euromonitor. The cosmetics market for men today represents 11% of the French cosmetics market.

  However, even though men and women have been united for the first time in their love of beauty products, there are still some differences between men and women customers within the sector. The first, most noticeable difference is that purchase of products is different between men and women. Whereas the latter favor in store purchases, where they can take a lot of time for themselves and peruse at their own leisure, men prefer to purchase their beauty products online. With a wider range of offers and also detailed web content or video tutorials, research shows that men buy mostly on the internet. The web is synonymous with their way of life and what they are looking for: speed and efficiency without a store clerk trying to give them advice.

Another reason for this preference among men may be the stigma around men purchasing beauty products. Some men may still be uncomfortable purchasing these products in-store as the beauty industry is traditionally associated with women. Thus, a man wanting to buy a hair coloring or depilatory cream, will turn more easily to the web than to a store advisor, as they see the internet as a more trustworthy, private pattern.

Another difference between male and female consumers are the types of beauty products that they purchase. The types of products popular with men have evolved a lot. Formerly limited to soap, shower gel, deodorant, shampoo and shaving products, French men are increasingly likely to use facial and body scrubs or light-textured moisturizing treatments, once they are male targeted. In Asia, the dermo-cosmetics market for men already has BB creams or tinted multicore care, products that will certainly appear in France soon. Other products that may be exported to France are hair regrowth products such as ‘Nanogen’ from the UK ; ‘Urban Soul’, a product used after sport which whitens the skin and decreases wrinkles ; or the dual-action anti-aging and skin whitening product put on sale by the Korean brand Daehwa.

Due to these developments, leading players in women’s cosmetics therefore, are now also investing in the men’s cosmetics market. This can be observed in the cases of Clarins or L’Oréal, who launched the Clarins For Men and L’Oréal Men Expert ranges respectively in 2002 and 2004.

One of the particularities of the market is the partitioning of its distribution networks. It is rare that a brand is positioned on several distribution channels at the same time, and generally these male and female beauty products are marketed seperately. However, due to increased male interest in beauty, there has been a push to market in a more inclusive, non-gendered manner. For example, Maybeline chose to promote their new Big Shot mascara on a mannequin with immaculate eyes, thick eyelashes … and a neat three-day beard. Manny Gutierrez (3 million followers on Instagram) became the second man to be chosen as beauty face by a make-up brand, after James Charles (1 million followers on Instagram) for Covergirl in 2016.

As the society is evolving, brands are adapting to this new demand. The game cards are being redistributed…

 

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References:

Esther Elbaz (June 15, 2018) “Les codes de la cosmétique masculine changent”, L’express Styles (Online), retrieved from 

https://www.lexpress.fr/styles/beaute/les-codes-de-la-cosmetique-masculine-changent_2015228.html

BusinessScoot “Le marché de la Cosmétique pour Hommes : France”, retrieved from        

https://www.businesscoot.com/fr/page/le-marche-de-la-cosmetique-pour-hommes                                       

Sneha Santra “Here are the reasons why the men’s beauty industry is growing”, Franchise India Wellness (Online), retrieved from 

https://www.franchiseindia.com/wellness/here-are-the-reasons-why-the-mens-beauty-industry-is-growing.11624

How are Japanese skin care brands admirable?

Currently, there are three major categories in the global skin care market: Japanese skin care brand, Western skin care brand and Korean skin care brand. Last week, we talked about the world’s top three skin care groups, so today let’s appreciate the unique charm of Japanese skin care brands.

When it comes to Japanese skin care brands, I am willing to bet that most of these brands that consumers can think of belong to Shiseido. Shiseido owns 19 skin care brands, Clé de Peau Beauté (CPB)、the Ginza、IPSA are top brands of Shiseido. Professional sunscreen brand ANESSA, cosmeceuticals brand Avène, and Elixir, which has won the skin care sales No.1 in Japan for 10 consecutive years, they all belong to Shiseido. According to data statistics, the sales volume of Shiseido was about 7.57 billion euro in 2017, and the profit was 0.605 billion euro, making it the most profitable skin care group in Asia. In middle of August in 2018, according to the Japanese economic news, Shiseido has made a change in brand strategy, using social media more than ever in order to get closer to younger consumers. Recipist is a new brand that Shiseido launched in November 2017, this new brand focuses on young women aged 18-22, who often stay up late and suffer from skin problems. The brand sells only through its own electronic websites, such as Watashi, Cosme, Rakuten and electronic shopping platforms such as Amazon. Many internet celebrities promote the brand in Instagram and post the methods of using these products. Shiseido has successfully attracted more young Japanese consumers through reasonable prices and cute packaging.

                              Source: http://wemedia.ifeng.com/76845902/wemedia.shtml. 

In Japanese movies and literature, Japanese women always walk with small, silent paces, greeting everyone politely. Japanese skin care brands not only reflect Japanese local delicacy and exquisite, but also learn from the West. I have to say an interesting phenomenon, many Japanese skin care brands are named in French and Italian. For example, Clé de Peau Beauté in French means the key to obtain flawless skin. COSME DECORTE, a nice name from the French word ‘cosmetique’ and ‘decoration’, means medals of beauty.  Shiseido’s men skin care brand Uno, is an Italian word which means only one. These can help establish the elegant, distinguished and international brand image. The safety of ingredients is the biggest characteristic of Japanese skin care products. This means that most Japanese skin care products do not add alcohol, pigment, essence and other ingredients. In general, consumers apply toner before using face cream. However , lots of Japanese brands claim that if consumers choose their products ,they need to apply the face cream by using a clean cotton pads before applying toner. In this way, it softens the cutin, promotes the absorption of follow-up skin care products, and keeps the skin in a naturally tender and hydrating state. Western skin care brands advocate restoration and anti-aging, Japanese skincare brands offer consumers mild and comprehensive daily care and maintain skin stability.

Considering that Japanese skin care products generally do not contain preservatives, consumers should use them within three to four months after opening the seal, so the packaging of Japanese skin care products is relatively simple and low profile. Cost reduction and environmental protection both attribute to this phenomenon. Although the Japanese skin care products packaging seem simple, but in fact they are well designed and easy to be identified. Different series of products have their unique packaging style. What’s more, the brands give full consideration to the needs of consumers when designing the package. Kanebo has designed a series of easy-to-use packaging containers, such as pump sets that are easy to pump. They also introduced a portable cleanser milk whose packaging is designed to be hexagonal and easy to tear apart even if the users’ hands are wet. Although it seems to be a small improvement, it can make customers have more pleasant experience.

As is known to all, Japan has advanced technology but lacks resource. Production standards in Japan are even stricter than those in Europe and the United States. So Western skin care brands value natural ingredients, while Japanese skin care brands focus on technological factors. The Japanese brands’ skin care products are often patented and win international awards, and their skin care products are always making continuous progress. For example, CPB released Neuro Skin theory in 2016, according to this theory, the human skin consists of six trillion cells, each controlled by enzymes, nine of these enzymes are particularly important for the skin. As a result, CPB has launched lots of products that contains these enzymes. Among those products, there is a face cream costs 19 euros per milliliter, CPB claims it may allow the skin to regain its delicate soft and this product is often sold out.

                        Source:   https://www.cledepeau-beaute.com.cn/product-789.html.

I think it is not difficult to find the reasons for Japanese skin care brands enduring appeal.Exquisite packaging, considerate service, good reputation and excellent skin care experience, they all the reasons why Japanese skin care brands have more and more loyal fans. Women always pay too much for beauty. However , consumers still need to be rational and choose suitable skin care products.

 

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References:

September 02，2018, “What efforts have Shiseido made on social media to attract young consumers?”，DaFenghao( online),retrieved from：http://wemedia.ifeng.com/76845902/wemedia.shtml .

April 03，2018 ,”Performance analysis of the four most profitable cosmetics companies in Asia in 2017 “，ZhongShang(online)，retrieved from：http://www.askci.com/news/chanye/20180403/101128120927_2.shtml.

October 15,2018, “Three major differences between West skin care products and Japanese skin care  products “,ShuiYangMeiFu(online),retrieved from:  https://www.sohu.com/a/259537834_100293319.

February 14,2017, “CPB makes you a lady”, STYLEMODE(online),retrieved from: http://www.stylemode.com/makeup/skincare/2017-02-14/12594_all.html.

The natural and organic skin care trend: how brands use it to sell themselves

 

Source: pearltrees.com

The organic trend has been growing rapidly this past few years. Especially recognized within the food industry, people tend not to realize how it has become also viral among cosmetic products.  The global organic skin care market is actually expected to witness a 10% rise from 2017 and 2024. People are indeed more and more sensitive to what laboratories put in their products. In France, 45% of the population buy at least one organic product per year according to La Quotidienne. The goal of this particular purchase? Buy healthy products by avoiding chemical ingredients that are aggressive to the skin. On one hand, big retailers, acknowledging this trend, develop entire alleys of organic skin care products. It is actually impressive as you can see on the picture! On the other hand, if specialized stores, only committed to this organic trend, are becoming also famous and attract more consumers, this raising popularity is also due to the e-commerce industry which makes products more affordable and accessible.

Organic skin care product alley in a Carrefour store in Nice

Indeed, while studies point out dangerous chemical ingredients, people are now willing to pay more expensive products for the “certified organic” label on a cream, moisturizer or oil. Big brands with a large portfolio tend to embrace this trend by developing organic sub-brands. L’Oréal with Sanoflore, L’Occitane with Melvita or Nuxe with Bio-Beauté by Nuxe are famous examples. It is also famous among smaller brands which develop themselves only around this trend like Belle & Bio in France or Lavera Naturkosmetik in Germany. All of these brands put a particular emphasis on the storytelling and the traditions in terms of cosmetics making with natural ingredients. Their entire brand identity is therefore based on organic, natural and traditions. A relevant example would be L’Occitane en Provence, internationally successful with its brand identity based on natural and organic ingredients from the south of France. Although, sometimes, even when they don’t only focus on it, some brands have at least one organic product to offer.

However, it seems that sometimes brands use it to play with their perceived identity. But how so? The packaging is definitely a start. In the consumer’s mind, “green” means organic. Therefore, brands put it everywhere to be identified with it. However, be careful, if it is a first indicator, it can also be misguiding and confusing for consumers. Indeed, brands know about this healthy trend and seem to play with it to sell their product. They want people to like their “responsible” identity and use a “greenwash” branding approach to make consumers think that their products are natural or organic. It is a way for them to promote in a good way the brand, its identity and its image. They only use words, colors but also slogans to do so which are not regulated. Unfortunately, a lot of consumers seem to get confused and fall into the trap. “Pure”, “Natural”, the green color or even the “0% phrase” do not mean “organic”. If you flip over the product and look at the ingredients, many times, nothing in it is organic. Yves Rocher or The Body Shop are often mentioned as examples but others exist. Indeed, with their green color, their logo and their shop atmosphere, they are often mistaken to be exclusively natural and organic by consumers.

Hopefully, labels are here to help us. If they are also a start and give some guarantee, studies have shown that they may not be as reliable as we think. Indeed, national various labels like “Ecocert” or “Cosmébio” exist and if they all have the same basics with some forbidden ingredients, they also tend to meet different standards to give the organic certification. Most of the time it corresponds to a minimum percentage of organic or natural ingredients. Therefore, you should not expect to find 100% of organic ingredients in all these certified products. Surprising no? Different countries equals different labels as well. Some of them are thus stricter than others, which is a good thing for international brands.

The new international norm ISO-16128, implemented at the beginning of the year, aimed at defining which ingredients could be considered as organic and natural on an international scale. Thus, ingredients such as silicone or GMO were said to be natural, even though they were previously considered as dangerous. Labels warn that it would only encourage brands to “greenwash” and mislead even more consumers on what is organic or natural. This all proves that packagings can be tricky for consumers especially for those who are not used to buy organic cosmetics. It may only put shade on the reputation of what an organic product is. What we may wonder now, is how the consumer will be able to completely trust brands with what they put in their “organic products”.

The arrival of new apps on smartphones which grade and give the different products’ properties when scanning their bar-code may be the solution. Hopefully, consumers will be able to truly know what their skin care purchases are made of. Besides, brands will be challenged and force to do things right while promoting their products, revealing their true identity when needed. Not bad, right?

 

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References : 

Research and Markets (May 25, 2018) “Organic Skin Care 2018: Global Industry Forecasts to 2024 – CAGR Expected to Grow at 10%”, CISION PR Newswire (Online), retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/organic-skin-care-2018-global-industry-forecasts-to-2024—cagr-expected-to-grow-at-10-300654926.html

“Cosmétiques Bio: qu’est-ce que ça vaut”  (October 2, 2017), La Quotidienne (Youtube Video Online), retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvMSW_i1uaY

“Cosmétiques bio : une nouvelle norme trompeuse ?”  (June 11, 2018), La Quotidienne (Youtube Video Online), retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YONNU05TWQE

Alexandra Bresson (November 28, 2016) “ Cosmétiques : comment ne pas se laisser avoir par les faux produits bio”, BFMTV (Online), retrieved from https://www.bfmtv.com/sante/cosmetiques-comment-ne-pas-se-laisser-avoir-par-les-faux-produits-bio-1064370.html

“L’Occitane”, 1001 Pharmacies (Online), retrieved from https://www.1001pharmacies.com/loccitane-m68

Charlotte Jouhanneau (April 16, 2018) “Gare au greenwashing en cosmétique”, Maze (Online), retrieved from https://maze.fr/style/04/2018/gare-au-greenwashing-en-cosmetique/