To succeed in the highly competitive Color Cosmetics market—which industry data reveals is currently in a cyclical slump behind Skincare—Kayla Villena, senior beauty analyst at Euromonitor International, suggests that brands should first focus on high-growth categories, particularly foundation/concealer, lipstick, and other brow and lash makeup products.

The $9.8 billion absolute value gains from these products will account for 50% of absolute value gains of total color cosmetics in the U.S. from 2018 to 2023, according to Euromonitor data.

Second, Villena says, “Players should inject health-inspired beauty, green, clean and ethical features, and personalization in color cosmetics product lines,” as these trends were cited as having the greatest influence on sales of beauty and personal care in the next five years, according to a Euromonitor survey.

Euromonitor’s findings mirror many of the trends and launches Beauty Packaging found in speaking with brands and suppliers for this article. And despite a slight downward trend, according to data from ADF&PCD Paris, the global cosmetics market is set to reach $344 billion by 2021—spurring the global makeup packaging market, which is expected to surpass $11 billion by 2027, according to a recent report from Coherent Market Insights.

Key Market Growth Factors

While there’s a strong push toward sustainability, it’s not the only factor driving the Color Cosmetics market. Turnkey Development, Speed to Market, Customized Stock Packaging and Indie launches also remain accelerators in the Color category.

Megan Langdon, director of design and innovation, HCT Group, tells Beauty Packaging: “The color cosmetic category as a whole is seeing a ton of growth. We are constantly working with new brands that take advantage of our full service offering. Complexion, lips and eyes remain a mainstay among all of these upcoming brands.”

Cheryl Morgan, creative marketing manager, HCP Packaging, notes a broad range of launches in the category, saying: “We are seeing a real dichotomy within packaging for color cosmetics; on one hand brands are exploring with a sustainable directive, then on the other hand, the luxury market is booming with unique custom designs and highly decorative packaging.”

Sustainable Packaging Leads Trends

Sustainable—or Environmentally Responsible—packaging continues to dominate brands’ criteria for product launches as we enter the second decade of this century. This trend has caused somewhat of a shift in design and a move, in many cases, toward simpler, streamlined forms that use eco-materials, mono materials—or less materials. In addition, there’s more of a necessity for the package to tell a convincing story from the get-go.

It’s a multi-pronged challenge that suppliers continue to pursue, with great success, though it’s not always easy.

At APC Packaging, Robert Bulla, director of engineering and innovation, tells Beauty Packaging: “Sustainability has formed new thought processes across all brands, which has encouraged a fresh new look and even patterns. It isn’t just about how the prodhucts are displayed to clients, it is about the story that the brand is telling their clients. This has led many to look at dual-purpose, refillable and what were common material choices.” He says APC Packaging “is being challenged to bring the wow factor as well as a story, and we are meeting those challenges.”

In addition, Bulla says sustainability and low MOQ requirements have been at the forefront of Indie brands.

HCT Group has made a number of strides with environmentally responsible packaging. Langdon says, “Eco and sustainable packaging is the biggest trend we are seeing in this category [Color Cosmetics]. Every brand is exploring new ways to integrate the eco marketing story in