Is the mega trend of Clean Beauty reaching smaller product markets? The winter season for lip care, especially balms, is upon us. So we wondered: is this niche market, on track to be worth $2.3 billion by 2023, mirroring the industry shift to “clean”? Or are traditional claims the way to protected lips and consumers’ hearts? To find out, we examine the latest new product data.
credit: Rodolfo Sanches
Which Claims Are Queen of the Hill?
It is no surprise effectiveness claims drive loyalty. As Michael Nolte said in a recent CB top 5 trends 2019 report, “While sustainability and clean beauty have entered the mainstream, it is not sufficient any more to simply be green or natural. Brands will need to offer truly efficient products that can compete with non-sustainable products.” Indeed, the data supports this assertion: claims such “moisturizing”, “long-lasting”, or “vitamin/mineral fortified” continue to dominate top 5 claims for lip care on a consistent basis over the past 4 years. Even when drilling down to subsets such as balms, lip care claims remain consistent, used in 20% to 68% of new products.
Source: Mintel, GNDP, Category Lip Care Top 5 Claims
Source: Mintel, GNDP, Category Lip Care Referencing “Balm” Top 5 Claims
Are Clean Claims Ascending to Loyalty?
The top 5 claims may be the most consistently used, however other claims can be difference makers for consumers. Are “clean claims” on the rise? In this data set, we define a claim as “clean” if it aligns with trends such as Sephora’s “free-from” list or environmentally friendly claims. These include: Ethical-environmentally friendly, sustainable, organic, environmentally-friendly packaging, mineral oil-free, paraben-free.
The data is clear: nearly every high growth claim has been clean related over the past 4 years. Even if the overall percentage of products with clean claims may be lower than the top 5, the growth between 2014 and 2018 is consistently between 20% and 65% compared with traditional claims.
Source: Mintel, GNDP, Category Lip Care Referencing “Balm” Top 20 Claims
How to Deliver Successful Clean Lip Care?
Looking ahead to 2020, the entire consumer life-cycle, season by season, can be viewed through a clean beauty lens. The most successful products will be able to combine effectiveness + clean. Delivering effective lip care while also promoting sustainability has been a challenge in the past. Not anymore with innovative manufacturing that delivers sustainable, pure, and effective ingredients.
Neossance Squalane is one such ingredient. Because Squalene is produced naturally, Squalane interacts with the skin as a known substance. It’s a super moisturizer that enhances the skin lipid barrier. It also has equivalent or better skin after-feel and faster cell turnover than Jojoba or Argan, and has been shown to have higher spreadability and lower viscocity. Neossance Squalane is derived from sugar cane and has an improved sustainability profile when compared to petrochemical processes.
Innovative lip care will entail the best of both worlds to keep up with the high growth in clean claims consumers demand.
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