New app to help consumers avoid ‘undesirable or allergenic’ cosmetics ingredients

The free app, called QuelCosmetic, in now in its second version, which designers say is even more practical and well adapted to thee needs of each consumer profile.

The app has had over 810,000 downloads so far and relies in part on user feedback as to which products are considered and featured.

To date, there are 143 indesirable or allergenic substances flagged by the app in more than 120,000 products.

Transparency and safety: top focus​

Launches like the QuelCosmetic app offer yet more evidence of the rising consumer demand for transparency around the ingredients being used in cosmetics and personal care products.

It’s a sign of what many industry commentators have been predicting of late: that consumers are becoming ever more connected with digital solutions and the internet in general, and this connectedness is fuelling an appetite for more and more information when it comes to product safety and supply chain transparency.

Some companies are making an effort to respond proactively to this rising demand, and take the narrative around product safety into their own hands.

Unilever, for example, last year launched an ingredient transparency initiative​ for its home and personal care brands, specifically focussing on fragrances.

According to the consumer goods multinational, the initiative aims to ‘go beyond labelling requirements’ and provide in-depth product and ingredient information, according to the company.

‘Quite literally change the world’​

While there has been frustration in some parts of the industry that the ready access to information can at times mislead consumers more than it helps them (the widespread rejection of parabens, a safe cosmetics preservative, is a key example), some industry players say the rising demand for transparency is a great opportunity for the industry.

In a recent guest article for Cosmetics Design, Jayn Sterland, managing director of Weleda UK & Ireland, suggests the industry can be at the forefront of positive global change. Read the article here​.