There is a change in the way beauty, health, and wellness consumers are perceiving products. Post covid, consumers are preferring homegrown expert-led beauty products over drugstore brands.
What were the consumer preferences before?
Consumers preferred to go by marketing gimmicks and often fell for the unrealistic results promised in them.
What is the shift?
Lockdowns have been the time when consumers had ample opportunity to speculate on brand offerings. Digital adoption of beauty, health, and wellness brands has never been as high as when people were confined to their homes. Beauty brands with a certified skincare specialist at the helm or as its face are finding favour with consumers. They want to feel like there’s immense thought and expertise behind products and services. Consumers are choosing beauty brands that combine clinical treatments with a wellness approach. They are aware of the formulations that go behind beauty products and are curious about how these formulations impact skin health.
Cosmetic Dermatologists are creating stores and clinics to catch on to the trend of expert-led brands. They are finding that health & wellness supplements are immensely popular with consumers. Consumers want products that don’t diminish skin health in the long term. They accept product recommendations from experts because they see them as trustworthy. Consumers have jumped ship from mainstream beauty brands and have taken a liking to clinical skincare which is rising in popularity. This is mainly attributed to a post-covid trend. It’s a results-oriented and ingredient-focused shift. The change in consumer behavioural patterns that are preferring preventative care over some ‘magical transformation’ is helping dermatologists tap into the need.
Clinical brands worth mentioning.
Dr. Sheth’s:
A skin care brand, Dr. Sheth has Dr. Rekha Sheth, a Dermatologist leading from the forefront. The company creates beauty products based on a combination of traditional skin concoctions with modern ingredient focused formulas.
Dot & Key:
Dot & Key is an Indian skincare brand whose products are infused with clinical ingredients. They focus on nourishing the most overlooked skin areas including elbows and knees which consumers have found interesting.
Re’equil:
Re’equil is a homegrown cosmeceutical and clinical skincare beauty brand led by Vipul Gupta, Founder.
Bombay Shaving Company
This is another homegrown grooming brand worth mentioning which has achieved growth during the pandemic through e-commerce and digital adoption.
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Cosmetic Dermatologists are creating stores and clinics to catch on to the trend of expert-led brands.
The new consumer preference
Indian skincare consumers are informed and have finally woken up to what they need. The Indian beauty industry is thus transforming due to this change. These consumers prefer brands that offer information rich answers to questions on social media. They will not hesitate to invest in new brands if they can get access to information like the concentration of actives in their products, how these actives were sourced, whether packaging material used by the brand is eco-friendly and more. All in all, consumers have definitely become choosier but wiser when it comes to beauty and skincare products.
Why the shift?
Consumer awareness
Consumers are religiously reading product labels before purchase. They are also intrigued by the amount of information available online, and product reviews by beauty bloggers. The dismantling of age-old beauty standards has also made them aware of what their skin really needs based on its type.
More expert-led skin care brands
Since more doctors are coming up with their very own skin care range, consumers are welcoming the trend of skin care best suited for Indian skin. Millennials are no longer impressed by tall claims. They are more concerned about protecting the natural glow of their skin and not about impressing the masses.
Need for assurance
Modern millennials are concerned about the safety and efficacy of skincare and beauty products. They don’t want to compromise skin health for products that don’t deliver quick, measurable results.
What’s in it for me?
Consumer preferences are being heavily shaped by social media influencers and their product reviews. Beauty, health, and wellness start-ups can influence consumer choices by going the infamous route of collaborating with popular influencers. Digital and social media are the best places to introduce your start-up as a trustworthy brand and to build a loyal customer base. Influencer networking, enhancing the customer experience and accessibility online will help you target consumers. Be transparent in your product offerings, adhere to international trends, and keep up with emerging ingredient if you are planning to start a clinical beauty brand. There is greater trust towards homegrown domestic brands led by experts over imported products. Create an online brand to obtain leverage over the competition. E-commerce is a major growth driver for clinical skincare and beauty brands since you can easily acquire consumers from small towns based on the homegrown expert backed proposition.
