Disrupt or be disrupted: beauty in ‘the fourth industrial revolution’

This is one part of Dr Heath’s exclusive insights. Find the other parts here​ and here​.

Beauty and skin care:a particularly good match for tech-based innovation​

The beauty world is being massively disrupted: look no further than the high street retail sales for the last two Christmas periods, and the upcoming year is predicted to see further changes still in consumer buying behavior.

When any industry changes this much it’s time to decide whether to disrupt or be disrupted.  

Consider a pie chart of who owned the skincare market five years ago and then imagine how differently that pie might be sliced 10 years from now.  

It is going to take more than good formulation and great marketing for brands to be relevant 10 years from now.

The companies that will be holding the largest slices of the global beauty pie will be the ones who consistently meet the changing needs of their consumers.  

Tech based innovation is going to be a major part of this strategy.   

The more skincare companies and consumers we have spoken with the more apparent this has become.  

This is a key driver in our core strategy to offer a platform that joins together physical & digital expertise and experience to unburden and automate an adaptive, personalized approach to optimum skincare for consumers globally.

For more information on this, discover this blog​ analysing the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on the beauty industry and the role of tech-based innovation is staying relevant.

Home med-tech and its impact on beauty​

If we look at the med-tech industry, there is a natural transfer of principles from home med-tech into beauty.  

At the heart of it, well designed home use med-tech devices work alongside drug formulations to holistically meet a common objective of preventing, managing or improving patient health.  

This is more than just supporting patients through education of how to care for themselves properly or diagnostic equipment to help themselves monitor progress (think home diabetes management).  

Good systems also try to unburden the patient through behavioural support with an aim to increase patient compliance with the treatment leading to consistent or even preventative approaches.

There are direct parallels here where device and digital strategies can unburden the consumer, support education, personalised monitoring, behavioural compliance and more all with the aim of optimising results for the consumer in an automated manner through adaptive personalisation. Discover more on how health is influencing beauty here​.

Chemistry alone is not enough​

This last point regarding adaptive personalisation in one of the primary reasons I believe devices and digital platforms will establish and remain in this industry.  Chemistry cannot achieve this alone.  

Topical products will remain the star of the show for a long time to come so I do not see product with good ingredients being displaced by technology anytime soon.

However, I do believe that product formulations will in time fundamentally change as device technology provides a new platform for formulation innovation. To, date brands have been the star of the show performing a solo act.  

As product efficacy and product transparency climb up the agenda and as more device and digital systems track product performance, brands will have to start sharing the stage with ingredients.  

Ingredients will likely start to take on brands of their own.