How to ensure no BPC consumer is overlooked

22 Apr 2021 --- All consumers want and should be able to find themselves represented and valued equally. It is vital the beauty industry “reflects society as a whole and genuinely represents the entire target market,” the British Beauty Council said in a 2019 report. And that still stands true today in 2021. Today, louder than ever, consumers are calling for beauty brands to become fully inclusive, specifically creating brands, products and services that appeal to them.

The beauty industry has been synonymous with having a false understanding of who its consumer is, and instead, has focused on what it incorrectly deems to be the mainstream marketplace. The emphasis has also been on the idea that consumers use beauty to conform rather than as a way to express themselves.  

Click to EnlargePushing the needle towards progress

As recent news reveals that multinational consumer goods name, Unilever, will be dropping the word ‘normal’ from its beauty products—inclusivity via product development is one area that is growing in focus in the beauty industry. 

Another vital area is inclusive hiring. Leading German consumer goods company, Henkel,  recently announced it will launch new scholarship and internship programs designed to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico as it strives to play its part in closing the equity gap in society and business.

“Beauty brands that focus solely on a feminine beauty ideal are being held to account for not being inclusive of gender, race and other markers of diversity,” states Imogen Matthews, Premium Beauty Reports Consultant.

Now, brands recognize that they need to invest in reaching out to who their consumers genuinely are. The beauty industry can and needs to become truly inclusive. So that consumers feel represented, reflected, valued, and seen by brands throughout the beauty sphere.

Shade M beauty has ethnic inclusivity and better-for-you beauty at its core and has a prominent position in the halal beauty space. “Inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword or a pretty picture of a group of ethnically diverse women together, it’s in every fold and facet of the industry and brand,” urges Jolie Nubani, Co-Founder of Shade M Beauty. 

Drawing on the increased focus for achieving inclusivity in the beauty industry in recent years, Matthews says: “Plenty of makeup brands have become more aware of the need to be inclusive with gender-neutral ambassadors and widening their shade range to cover every skin tone and color.”

“When Fenty Beauty launched a 40-strong range of foundations, it had never been done before. Nowadays, it’s the norm,” Matthews goes on to say. 

Achieving inclusivity: a challenge for brands?

Click to EnlargeBeauty brands are moving beyond the notion of only catering to a ‘mainstream’ set of youthful females with new product developments, advertising campaigns, and the use of language.

“However, beauty brands face a dilemma: if they try to tick all the inclusivity boxes, they run the risk of losing their distinctiveness by being all things to all people,” Matthews states, before adding, “this isn’t necessarily the best approach.”

Commenting on the broader beauty landscape, Matthews explains: “If a brand chooses to appeal to a narrow demographic or user group, they should be allowed to do so without being called out. Inclusivity should never be at the expense of what makes a beauty brand unique.”

Making beauty accessible to all: inclusive beauty brand strategies in 2021

When the Innova Beauty and Personal Care Survey 2020 asked  skin care consumers globally the trends that appeal to them the most, 13% identified inclusivity as an important factor. In 2020, the survey showed that a number of other skin care trends ranked higher in their appeal to consumers globally, suggesting that strategies that combine inclusivity with other differentiators may garner stronger attention with today’s consumers. 

The skin care trends seeing large appeal as of 2020, per the Innova Beauty and Personal Care Survey, are:

• Clean beauty or those with free-from claims, at 33%
• Multifunctional products at 28%
• Cruelty-free brand stances, with 27% of consumers globally in agreement
• Collagen-enriched products at 26%

In 2021, as consumers seek socially-conscious and responsible brands that specifically reach out to connect and cater to them, beauty brands that achieve true inclusivity will rise in consumer’s expectations. 

Globally, 33% of consumers agree and 13% strongly agree with the statements “it is important to me, that the brand I buy embraces all inclusivity,” appealing to all ethnicities, body and skin types, ages, and gender expressions, the Innova Beauty and Personal Care Survey 2020 found. 

Although positive steps have been made to celebrate individuality, more needs to be done. The industry needs to focus on genuine personalization, whereby they adopt a holistic and integrated view of consumers that genuinely represents them.

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, BPC Insights Senior Journalist