The Controversy Over ‘Natural’

Brian A. McGee, founder of BAM Navigation, LLC, looks at the ‘does not contain list’ as a key issue in product development.

by Brian A. McGee

Highly sophisticated, natural skin care products have the potential to be the most effective way of achieving the beautiful results that consumers desire. There is a symbiotic relationship between plants and humans. We are dependent on each other to sustain life. The balance of life is human respiration and plant photosynthesis: We breathe out CO2 and H2O, essential for photosynthesis in plants. Through photosynthesis, plants create CH2O and O2, which are essential to human respiration.

If marketers focus on this symbiotic relationship, creating complex blends that highlight the healthful properties of key plant ingredients, they can create natural, highly efficacious skin care, that through everyday use, result in long-term beautiful skin.

For years, the natural product industry has relied on the consumer perception that natural means, “better for you.” Unfortunately, many natural products fail to perform as well as their synthetic counterparts. Thus, the client market for natural skin care tends toward consumers more concerned with the perceived healthfulness of their products rather than results. Formerly, this created a fairly limited market, oversaturated with product options.

But a growing trend toward natural products is demanding lower prices and the market is currently being flooded with natural, semi-natural, and “organic” products.

Due to misconceptions, mislabeling and some outright deception in the natural product category, brands have had to defend themselves as truly natural by listing synthetic (and some natural) ingredients, generally understood to be harmful, as not in their products. This is a growing movement led by the state of California (through legislation), the Whole Foods premium standard, consumer vigilantism, and the desire for natural-product marketers to garner valuable shelf space. So much of the focus for natural products has been placed on the “does not contain” list that the bulk of marketers have used this as their central message. This has become a key issue in product development and the litmus test for natural skin care products.

All of this says nothing about the performance or efficacy of the products. It is for this reason, and because I do not believe all synthetic ingredients to be unhealthy, that I cannot endorse many natural products.

Marketing short-term cosmetic results as the path to beauty has long kept the synthetic, petrochemical-based skin care market growing, and these products have not seen the loss of market share that may have been expected with the national trend toward all things natural. This says a lot about the size and growth of the anti-aging skin care market.

I don’t believe that focusing on the negative, what is not in your products, is a good way to grow a business or create something special. The list of ingredients that natural products should not contain grows daily and can be very difficult for a consumer concerned with the quality of her products but still focused on beauty to navigate.

As a result, many potential cross-over consumers are ignoring the natural product category. For example, consider the continued success of Botox. If you have the money, you can inject a deadly toxin into your face for beautiful temporary results.

Most consumers still chose beauty and results over healthfulness of ingredients. This creates an enormous opportunity in the market for natural products that actually perform.

Marketers need to focus on research and authenticity. Consumers will focus on claims, experience and results.

Author Bio: Brian A. McGee is the founder of BAM Navigation, LLC, a venture catalyst consulting firm offering consumer packaged goods companies assistance in identifying, navigating, and executing growth strategies.