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How Unilever, ELC and P&G are funding their next phase of beauty growth

The beauty industry’s biggest players are preparing for their next phase of growth, taking different routes to fund it. Unilever and The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) are looking inward, with both cutting internal costs and simplifying operations to reinvest in brands. Procter & Gamble (P&G) is looking outward, raising US$4 billion from debt investors. Unilever aims to cut €1 billion (US$1.12 billion) in costs by the end of 2029, to cover the left-behind expenses from offloading its food business to McCormick. The company is restructuring to become a pure-play personal care, beauty, and home care business, seeing these as its most profitable divisions to focus on.
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Anti-pollution solutions broaden into exposome and climate-adaptive care
Climate change is bringing more heat waves, humidity fluctuations, and unpredictable air quality, prompting ingredient suppliers to expand pollution defense into broader climate-adaptive care that builds skin resilience. Anti-pollution skin care is no longer standing on its own.Innova Market Insights data indicates that personal care launches with anti-pollution claims grew at an 8% CAGR from July 2023 to June 2026. 
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Revieve sees hyperpersonalization, ethical AI and inclusivity in the future of beauty
Part three of Revieve’s The Future Face of Beauty report series reveals that ethics, inclusivity, and hyperpersonalization are driving the next wave of personal care trends and innovations. The report links the shift to growing demand for mindful, wellness-oriented, and human-centric beauty.  The company, which develops AI technology for the personal care industry, says the future of beauty is “more inclusive, more intuitive, and more human.”  
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Healthy aging heroes
Innova Market Insights indicates steady growth in personal care launches with anti-aging claims, with a 4% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. Consumers are open to the idea of aging well: Globally, 46%  say they look better as they age. Skin care dominates at 88% of launches, with facial and neck moisturizers the top subcategory.
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Who masters the art of multifunctionality? We do.
Multifunctional ingredients are transforming personal care preservation by combining microbial protection with formulation efficiency, natural-origin positioning, skin benefits, sensory enhancement and easier processing. Ashland’s recent launches illustrate how preservative strategies can deliver added value, helping formulators create safer, more transparent, consumer-relevant products with stronger performance and clearer ingredient purpose.

This Technical Paper is brought to you by Ashland.
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SupplySide Global 2026: Lubrizol presents microencapsulation technology and ingredients for beauty-from-within

At SupplySide Global 2026, Lubrizol highlighted its latest ingredients and technology capabilities targeting the beauty-from-within space. Personal Care Insights speaks with Stephen Glass, account manager at Lubrizol, who discusses the trends shaping nutraceutical innovation today. The company also addresses the growing body of scientific evidence behind its ingredient Curcushine and its potential skin benefits for women across different life stages. 

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L’Occitane offloads Elemis as Seppic expands green chemistry portfolio
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Personal care industry players are reshuffling their beauty portfolios through acquisitions and offloads. Seppic is deepening its green chemistry footprint with its Minasolve acquisition. Meanwhile, L’Occitane Group is selling its prestige skin care brand Elemis to private equity firm Paribas Affaires Industrielles (PAI) Partners. The Seppic sale is representative of the Air Liquide Healthcare subsidiary’s transition toward clean beauty. The acquisition is announced alongside a broader industry shift to align with sustainability claims. 
Givaudan targets stress with neuroscience-led fragrance tech
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Givaudan has launched HarmoniScentz, a fragrance design technology for perfumers to create neuroscience-backed scents that target acute stress. The innovation combines neuroscience, physiological measurement, and AI, and comes amid elevated global stress levels. The Swiss ingredients company says HarmoniScentz gives perfumers practical design guidelines for formulations across Fine Fragrance, Personal Care, Air Care, and Fabric Care, while still allowing creative freedom.
BASF and ParagonCorp sign MoU to drive science-backed beauty in Indonesia
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BASF and ParagonCorp, Indonesia’s largest personal care company, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration possibilities for science-backed cosmetic innovation. The agreement is non-binding, non-exclusive, and sets up a framework for the two companies to work together on R&D. ParagonCorp is the first beauty company in Indonesia to sign an MoU with BASF’s Personal Care business.
Kimberly-Clark completes US$48.7B Kenvue acquisition in wellness push
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Kimberly-Clark has completed its acquisition of Kenvue, a cash-and-stock transaction originally valued at an enterprise value of approximately US$48.7 billion. The deal brings together 10 billion-dollar brands across personal care and consumer health, with Kimberly-Clark positioning the combined company as the “preeminent global consumer health and wellness leader.” The acquisition utilizes Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care growth engine and operating model to enhance value across the portfolio. The company underscores its forecast run-rate synergies of approximately US$2.1 billion, with its upcoming value capture plans already laid out. 
Estée Lauder Q1 sales rise 7% as fragrance fuels turnaround
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The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has gained momentum in fiscal Q1 2027, with net sales rising 7% to US$3.72 billion. Fragrance was the standout category with a 20% increase in organic sales and a 93% jump in operating income. In the quarter that ended September 30, the company’s numbers showed improvement across organic sales, profitability, and adjusted operating income. The beauty giant recorded net sales growth across almost all product categories and every geographic region.  
October in review: GLP-1 nutrition, pharma-grade supplements & Abbott spin-off
October in review

Nutrition Insight

GLP-1 companion nutrition, microbiome science, and product substantiation continued to dominate the nutrition industry last month. We explored new opportunities at industry events in longevity and women’s  and metabolic health. In our October review, Nutrition Insight explores some of the month’s biggest stories, with industry experts urging GLP-1 companion nutrition complementing drugs and stronger clinical evidence for menopause supplements. Exhibitors at CPHI Milan 2026, Italy, highlighted pharmaceutical standards as a growing priority for nutraceutical manufacturers. At SupplySide Global 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, companies showcased innovations in women’s health, longevity, and the gut microbiome. 
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Tech & Innovation
Croda dominates AI beauty ingredient discovery as suppliers...
The Pitman Comms Visibility Index Report has named Croda as the winner in the beauty industry’s behind-the-scenes Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) search results. The B2B consultancy analysis of ChatGPT’s beauty sourcing recommendations highlights wide disparities across AI visibility.  The UK-focused test posed ChatGPT with six unbranded supplier-discovery questions, focused on buyers’ cosmetic ingredient search specifications across five ingredient categories. Croda stood out with a clear lead as the only company to achieve consistent recognition across all five categories. 
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Personal Care Insights News
October in review: Boots sold for US$8.9B, Omnibus VI...
In October, Wittington Investments agreed to acquire Boots for US$8.9 billion. The European Parliament approved Omnibus VI, giving cosmetics makers more time to withdraw products containing carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) substances. Luxury beauty players pushed beyond their core categories as Puig posted record third-quarter revenue and Chanel sold its majority stake in Capsum. Global beauty companies also shifted from selling into India to building there, with investments spanning the value chain. 
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Personal Care Insights News
How small beauty brands can navigate tariff turbulence and...
Smaller beauty brands are inevitably impacted more by tariffs, but there are options to recuperate the financial burden that they may not be aware of. Navigating the refund process can return a significant sum to indie brands that absorbed tariff costs rather than passing them on to customers. Zineb Zayer, founder of Your Saha, walks Personal Care Insights through what it did to circumvent tariff pressure. She reveals that quick adaptation, creative strategies, and third-party aid prevail when building a beauty brand in an era of tariffs muddying the business waters. 

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Trends in anti-pollution solutionsNov2026

Innova Market Insights indicates growth in personal care launches with anti-pollution claims, with an 8% CAGR from July 2023 to June 2026. Europe accounts for just over half of launches at 51%, follow...

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The new era of beauty from within Nov 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 1% average annual growth rate in hair, skin and nails supplement launches between July 2021 and June 2026. Vitamin C, vitamin B7 and vitamin E were the top ingredients used. A quarter of launches also contained joint health claims. Nearly one third of launches were in powder format, gel supplements showed opportunity for innovation with 65% CAGR during the same period.

Trend analysis

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Healthy aging heroesNov 2026

Innova Market Insights indicates steady growth in personal care launches with anti-aging claims, with a 4% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. Consumers are open to the idea of aging well: Globally, 46%  say they look better as they age. Skin care dominates at 88% of launches, with facial and neck moisturizers the top subcategory.

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SupplySide Global 2026: Lubrizol presents microencapsulation technology and ingredients for beauty-from-within

At SupplySide Global 2026, Lubrizol highlighted its latest ingredients and technology capabilities targeting the beauty-from-within space. Personal Care Insights speaks with Stephen Glass, account manager at Lubrizol, who discusses the trends shaping nutraceutical...

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LeNose targets Gen Z home luxury with perfumer-crafted hand soaps
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