Bold or Understated: Either Way You Win

Victoria Gustafson, of SymphonyIRI Beauty Vertical, takes a look at relevant new innovations that spark customer interest.

By Victoria Gustafson

There is nothing more stylish than being comfortable with your own style. The main reason for existence of beauty products is to give you a little help when you need it. How much help you need is up to you; it depends on your personal style and comfort level.

Luckily, beauty manufacturers are constantly bringing new products to market to make sure that consumers’ needs are addressed. This is the main reason why beauty is doing so well in the mass market (food, drug and mass outlets, excluding Walmart). In the 52 weeks ending Aug. 7, the total CPG market posted 2.4 percent sales growth. In comparison, beauty and personal care grew by 4.2 percent, with cosmetics ringing in an impressive 5.4 percent growth during the same period a year ago. When manufacturers are listening to consumers and bringing a relevant innovation to market, it gives shoppers a good reason to put a product into their basket and keep coming back for more.

There are two recent trends in beauty that illustrate the diversity of innovation to address a consumer need. On the one hand, bold, provocative, innovative nail colors are growing at unprecedented rates. It’s not just your good-old single nail color in a bottle. There are several products on the market that shatter the traditional definition of what nail color. Sally Hansen’s “Salon Effects” did away with a bottle altogether by offering nail polish strips that come in a box. Having ready-set nail polish allows for bold, innovative designs that we would never be able to re-create at home—can you imagine attempting a leopard print on your nails? There is no drying time with the strips, so you can apply and go; and, it lasts up to 10 days! In addition, OPI introduced “Shatter” enamels that you apply over your regular nail polish for a shattered effect. Both introductions have done phenomenally well. Between these two products, the nail category gained almost $30 million in the last eight months.

On the other hand, we see an explosion of tinted lip balms. Why settle for a traditional colorless lip balm if you can have it all—sun protection, flavor, moisture and a hint of color to give your lips a subtle boost. We see a wide array of manufacturers bringing the trend of multi-purpose products to a new level with these products. These products are designed with a very discriminate shopper in mind—those folks who want to have it all. Tinted lip balms contributed more than $41 million in the first six months of 2011, giving the struggling lip cosmetics category a much needed boost. After years of solid declines, the category posted a 3.3 percent growth in the 52 weeks ending Aug. 7, 2011.

Edith Wharton once said, “True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.” Whether your vision consists of making a bold statement or boosting your appearance with something more subtle, the beauty industry is there to help you to realize it.

AUTHOR BIO: Victoria Gustafson is the leader of the SymphonyIRI Beauty Vertical. During her 15-year career, she has held various key commercial and research roles across a number of industries, with the last three years focused exclusively on the beauty industry.