Region’s leading personal care ingredients event to examine what’s driving the worldwide natural beauty movement
Global lifestyles have changed significantly in recent years. Health and wellbeing are more important than ever before, and consumers are becoming more and more concerned about what goes into their cosmetic products. As a result, a growing number of savvy millennials are rejecting ‘chemical-filled’ cosmetics for natural plant-based alternatives. It’s a thriving sector that is expected to hit US$13.2bn by 2018 and leading experts will examine the driving forces behind this growth at in-cosmetics Asia 2017.
Rising concerns about product safety, recalls and unethical claims have fuelled consumer anxiety towards synthetic ingredients and inevitably contributed to today’s preference for more trustworthy, natural ingredients. A proliferation of beauty blogs and websites – particularly in Asia Pacific – dedicated to the benefits of going green has also given consumers access to more information than before, meaning they are now better informed and acutely aware of the purchasing decisions they are making.
Research from Mintel on the rise in use of natural ingredients in the past two years backs this up. According to the its Global New Product Database, 29% of the world’s new beauty and personal care product launches are now created using natural ingredients, a 5% increase from 2014. Skincare accounts for 54% of all launches with natural claims, followed by soap and bath products at 23%, haircare products at 15% and finally colour cosmetics at 3%. The nail care sector is increasingly witnessing the use of natural ingredients to treat and care for the nails, but as with all categories, it’s clear there is room for safer, greener beauty in this area and the potential for this sector is huge.
Sharon Kwek, Senior Innovation and Insights Analyst, Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel agrees, believing that growth is definitely on the horizon: “The trend for natural active ingredients started out predominantly in skincare, and has since extended to colour cosmetics and haircare. It’s also interesting to see the fragrance category adopting the naturals trend too. There are definitely more avenues to be explored within the beauty industry, particularly looking across different demographic groups, formats and textures, to find untapped opportunities for new innovations.”
Demonstrating their growing influence on the cosmetics industry, natural extracts will be a major focus at this year’s in-cosmetics Asia. Comprising a product showcase and a presentation in the Marketing Trends Theatre, the event will feature a dedicated ‘Spotlight on Natural Extracts’ area. This will help manufacturers source novel plant and marine extracts for application in personal care product formulations.
Some of the latest developments that are making waves in the ‘natural’ beauty space include charcoal, coconut, kale, grains and pumpkin derived ingredients. Coconut derivatives in particular, will feature on a number of stands at this year’s event in Bangkok, thanks to their excellent moisturising, anti-ageing and anti-bacterial properties. Indeed, according to Mintel, in 2016 31% of all global and personal care products launched contained coconut as an ingredient, an increase of 10% compared to 2014.
As part of the event’s education programme, Gary Scattergood, editor of Cosmetics Design Asia, will lead a presentation that will examine the massive demand for natural extracts. The session will examine some of the hottest trends in the category, while also considering which parts of the world these often-exotic ingredients are being sourced from. Gary will also highlight the significant challenges for players operating in this arena, including how to meet high demand while simultaneously farming both sustainably and ethically.
All this and more will be on show to inspire and educate R&D professionals across the cosmetic and personal care industry at in-cosmetics Asia in Bangkok. The event takes place from 31 October – 2 November. Visit www.in-cosmeticsasia.com for further information and to register online to gain free entry to the event.