Beauty Tech & Innovation Summit: Industry innovators spotlight trends and new business opportunities
20 Feb 2023 --- Over 200 industry players are gathering at the upcoming US Beauty Tech & Innovation Summit in San Francisco, forming a hub showcasing personalized solutions, digital innovations and technical formulation know-how. The event occurs over the first two days in March, and will spotlight more than 40 curated speakers who will pitch next-gen technologies, new research and business opportunities to advance the beauty technology revolution.
PersonalCareInsights interviews several exhibitors of the show to get the latest scoop. They unveil the significance of technology for meeting sustainability targets, anticipated trends and the advantages of leveraging the metaverse.
Role of tech in sustainability and supply chains
BASF, Credo Beauty, Aeir, Perfect Corp. and Tribe Dynamics elucidate the importance of applying technology to improve efficiency and ensure supply chains remain environmentally friendly.
“Technology plays a critical role in resolving supply chain issues in the beauty and personal care sector by providing innovative solutions and improving efficiency. For example, technology such as automation can streamline processes, reduce manual errors and increase accuracy in the supply chain,” says the spokesperson at BASF.
“Predictive analytics can identify potential issues in advance and take corrective actions, while digital traceability systems can help ensure that products are traceable and authentic throughout the supply chain. These solutions can help companies to mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions and provide greater visibility and control.”
In agreement, Annie Jackson, co-founder and COO at Credo Beauty and Rodrigo Caula, co-founder and CEO at Aeir say that technology can support long- and short-term sustainability goals. 
E-commerce has increased competition and revolutionized how consumers shop for beauty products.
“Sustainable sourcing technologies can help companies ensure that they are sourcing raw materials from environmentally friendly suppliers, while renewable energy solutions can help companies reduce their carbon footprint,” says Jackson.
Croda’s recent reports urged cross-industry communication, underscoring that the home care sector has become one of the most promising areas for biotechnology innovation.
Aeir previously emphasized using clean tech such as bio-engineered formulas and lowering carbon footprint with the launch of Extrait Molecular de Parfum, which minimizes the use and extraction of botanicals.
“With a focus on improving transparency, technology can also provide greater visibility into the supply chain and ensure that products are ethically and sustainably produced,” adds Caula.
Consumer consciousness
With increasing regulation over product-to-land traceability, Perfect Corp. and Tribe Dynamics also reflect on the intensification of consumer demand for transparency, with consumers wanting to know more about the products they buy and how they are made.
“The need for sustainable and eco-friendly practices has become increasingly important, with consumers becoming more environmentally conscious and placing expectations onto brands for more responsible practices,” says a spokesperson at Perfect Corp.
“These changes and challenges have resulted in a more competitive, dynamic and customer-driven beauty industry.”
Sampo Parkkinen, CEO and founder at Revieve, previously told PersonalCareInsights: “In beauty, direct-to-consumer businesses are known for cutting the middleman and delivering directly to consumers to decrease the number of steps in the supply chain, leading to a lower carbon footprint and providing more operational efficiency.”
E-commerce challenges and personalization trends
Responding to why personalization is a significant theme in beauty technology, Sergio Rattner, CEO at FitSkin and Ming Zhao, co-founder and CEO at Proven Skincare, says it enables clients to find the products that work best for their skin.
“Accurate personalization can only occur from accurate skin assessments, which require magnification, rejection of ambient light, and moisture sensing. A dermatologist-grade skin and color assessment can only occur if you have these key attributes,” shares Rattner.
BASF, Credo Beauty, Aeir and Perfect Corp. and Tribe Dynamics emphasize using tech to improve efficiency and ensure supply chains remain environmentally friendly.
Zhao adds that companies can offer recommendations and services specific to each customer’s unique needs and preferences by leveraging technology such as digital skin analysis, virtual try-on and machine learning. “This can facilitate stronger brand relationships with customers and increase loyalty.”
Elaborating on the challenges in the beauty tech scene, Perfect Corp. and Tribe Dynamics share that a significant change has been the rise of e-commerce and the shift toward online shopping, which has increased competition and revolutionized how consumers shop for beauty products.
On the other hand, Karen Behnke, founder of Juice Beauty and Oliver Garfield, CEO at Cos Bar, expect to see continued growth in try-on and customization accuracy, digital skin analysis and sustainable and eco-friendly products.
“Digital skin analysis will become increasingly accessible, providing customers with a more detailed and personalized assessment of their skin,” says Behnke. “Sustainable and eco-friendly products will continue to grow in popularity as consumers become more environmentally conscious,” adds Garfield.
Metaverse is yet to be leveraged
A technological renaissance is unfolding across the beauty space, such as adaptogenic mushroom-based skincare, “emotionally intelligent” formulas targeting the brain-skin axis and virtual perfumes debuting in the metaverse. Some unique developments are set to revolutionize the beauty sector in the coming years.
Jana Bobosikova, CEO at Epic FutureLabs, delves into how the metaverse offers fun and engaging ways for businesses to experiment with brands and consumers. “I see ‘metaverse’ as any immersive experience rooted online; that extends to the significant physical engagement of users (time and behaviors) – not as any single platform.”
“The metaverse conversation is analogous to the emergence of a more engaging internet – so the question becomes: how does a shift of the magnitude of the internet affect the beauty and consumer brands?”
“The answer is: Wholly – as a business model, virtual and physical products roadmaps, new talent requirements and budget allocations. The existing ecosystem of beauty brands has treated new platforms in the metaverse realm as advertising channels rather than a place to build actual products for and with.”
She underscores that a new generation of brands is about to be born native to the latest internet – its culture of creativity, user empowerment, and virtual and IRL identities. “KIKI is one of the first brands to be born with the sensibilities of immersed audiences.”
“Existing beauty companies can create focused efforts and experiences native to this new internet to harness the next generation of (more demanding) customers. So far, we’ve mostly seen brands remain within the comfort zone of existing ‘web2 publishers,’ i.e., TikTok or Instagram treating immersive platforms as advertising dabble,” continues Bobosikova.
Though she notes that the beauty sector has been quick to respond to the rise of the metaverse and is taking advantage of the technology to offer new experiences to its customers.“Companies are launching virtual try-on experiences, virtual stores and creating immersive digital environments.”
Jana Bobosikova at Epic FutureLabs delves into how the metaverse offers fun and engaging ways for businesses to experiment.
“By leveraging the metaverse, beauty companies can reach a larger and more diverse customer base, create new revenue streams and increase brand engagement and loyalty. The metaverse also provides an exciting opportunity for brands to showcase their products in new and innovative ways and provide a more personalized experience for customers,” suggests Bobosikova.
In related news, L’Oréal issued its first venture capital investment in the metaverse and Web3 space, signaling the industry’s readiness to adapt to an evolving digital landscape.
Tracking recent developments
Xihan Ma, consumer insight analyst at Innova Market Insights, finds that when purchasing makeup, consumers increasingly turn to online retailers, while in-store purchases are declining.
This trend can be attributed mainly to in-store purchases being hindered due to the COVID-19 lockdown and inflation but also for convenience.
Givaudan has been tapping into personalization with its “Well&Be” platform launch, which assists with creating emotional product experiences for consumers. It has also linked neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) to translate scent profiles into color patterns to help fragrance brands better market their products.
Moreover, in partnership with China-based Tmall Innovation Centre, Givaudan launched Creatogether, an AI service for customers to “realize” their olfactory vision using the Chinese e-commerce market.
MeNow is bridging more than three millennia of Eastern botanical knowledge with modern-day cosmetic science to investigate the skin health benefits of medicinal plants from the Chinese pharmacopeia using AI.
In other developments, Myavana’s platform catering to textured hair analysis debuted alongside Bulldog Skincare and Revieve’s virtual advisor tailored for men’s skincare.
By Venya Patel
