Blurring boundaries between beauty, food, and drink

Many of today's consumers are moving towards more holistic approaches to beauty as the achievement of appearance-related goals becomes attached to wider concerns over personal health and overall wellbeing.

The trends emerging from today’s "wellness revolution" are no longer confined to food and drink, creating opportunities for inspired innovation in beauty and personal care.

Similarly, in the continued quest for natural among today’s consumers, familiarity with ingredients found within food and drink and which are already associated with being “good for you” can be used to appeal in the beauty and grooming space.

Consumer trends within food and drink are heavily influencing the direction of the wellbeing concept in beauty, with the perception that an ingredient or approach that is good for health on the inside must do the same on the outside.

This is evident in that over half (56%) of consumers globally are concerned about the impact of diet on their health and appearance (GlobalData’s 2016 consumer research).

Blurring lines​

The lines are blurring between health and beauty as consumers seek to achieve optimum wellness both inside and out.

Social media platforms such as Instagram have contributed to driving this trend forward as users encapsulate the concept of wellbeing into a complete lifestyle, from the foods they eat and the exercise they do, to the clothes and beauty products they wear.

The concept of “eating clean” is now synonymous with healthy lifestyles and while a central theme is eating naturally, it is interpreted differently depending on individual preferences. Some examples include eating a diet free from processed foods, raw diets, incorporating nutrient dense ingredients such as superfoods, excluding certain foods such as meat and gluten, and even juicing.

This therefore creates important opportunities for beauty and personal care brands to capitalize on this trend through inspiring their products with similar principles in order to align their brand with health-conscious consumers and their “clean” lifestyles.

Some examples of products which have capitalized on this trend include Sephora’s Avocado face mask which has taken advantage of the surge in popularity of avocados as a health food, being rich in monounsaturated fats and other nutrients.

Another is SkinFood’s Lettuce and Cucumber line from South Korea which features lettuce extract, cucumber extract, and cucumber water as the main actives to hydrate skin. The range includes a toner, emulsion, and essence which are packaged in a similar style to juices within the beverages space to enhance the naturally beneficial credentials of their products.

GlobalData will present on blurring boundaries between beauty, food, and drink​ on Wednesday from 15.15 to 16.00 on 5 April 2017 in the Marketing Trends Theatre at in-cosmetics Global​​