January in review: Record fragrance sales, ingredient innovations and “iconic” acquisitions
29 Jan 2024 --- The year got off to a strong start with record sales in the fragrance sector helping companies boost their bottom line as consumers sought affordable luxuries.
Ingredient innovations remained paramount especially in biotech with the beauty industry racing to meet consumer goals in sustainability and efficacy.
Acquisitions continued with companies eager to shed non-core assets in an effort to focus on high-growth brands.
In this inaugural monthly recap for Personal Care Insights, we look back at significant stories to ensure you haven’t missed critical personal care and beauty sector highlights.
Boots beats Black Friday sales expectations with record-breaking quarter
Black Friday boosted Boots’ first quarter sales in the period ending November 30, 2023, as consumers continued to search for value leading up to the holidays. The website posted its “biggest ever month of sales” in November and “biggest ever day of sales on Black Friday.” Store sales jumped over 7% during the holiday week with Electrical Beauty, Skincare, Premium Beauty, No7 and Fragrance as top-performing categories. The company said a fragrance bottle was sold every second of Black Friday week.
NICE suggests CBT for menopausal women as a replacement to HRT.
Parental internet platform calls UK menopause guidelines “patronizing”
Guidelines from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) that address the identification and management of menopause for general practitioners were criticized by parental online platform, Mumsnet, for being “detrimental to women’s health.” Its CEO and founder told Personal Care Insights, it failed to “give clear information on the safest forms of hormone replacement therapy and emphasizes the risks of HRT over the benefits.” In response, NICE told us the “draft guidance makes clear that it is important that healthcare practitioners take a personalized approach when discussing treatment options.”
Microbial marvels: Illuminating cosmetic colors from bacteria, yeast and plants
Personal Care Insights did a deep dive into biotech and beauty amid a new era in the vibrant field of cosmetic colors with the latest market data from Innova Market Insights suggesting cosmetic colorants are rising globally. We also looked at scientific research on carotenoids, anthocyanins, and cyanobacteria-derived phycobiliproteins as the beauty industry embraces natural pigments derived from bacteria, yeast, fungi and algae to create sustainable cosmetic colors.
Johnson & Johnson reportedly reaches US$700 million settlement with several US states in talc powder probe
Johnson & Johnson confirmed recent reports it would settle a probe launched by over 40 US states about its talc-based baby powder marketing. The healthcare giant told the Wall Street Journal it would pay US$700 million to settle states’ claims to resolve allegations it did not warn consumers about possible health risks associated with its baby powder. J&J called it an “important step” to overcome a longstanding matter that, for decades, caused financial and public relations trouble for the company that maintains its talc-based products and now-discontinued talc baby powder is safe for consumers.
NYX’s launch of Gorjs, the first DAO dedicated to the beauty world.
Data is key asset for beauty industry to master AI this year, says Sia Partners
Sia Partners presented the top 2023 cosmetic trends expected to carry over this year. The consulting firm said the cosmetics industry regained its leadership position last year, following the early-2020s economic downturn. The company told Personal Care Insights, the EU still spearheaded growth, while the Asia-Pacific region maintained its dominance with over a third of the global cosmetics market share. It added, “the trends should remain [this year]…and reflect a consumer need that should last for the coming years.”
Exploring neurocosmetics to elevate emotions and skin health
We explored how neurocosmetics could boost moods and skin health by interviewing Seppic, Mibelle Biochemistry and Justhuman about advancements in neurocosmetics and how these companies could transform the beauty industry. Mibelle told us “neurocosmetics and emotional well-being are emerging as significant trends in the beauty industry,” while founder and CEO of Justhuman, Roshini Sanah Jaiswal, added, “the rise of neurocosmetics is not just a passing trend; it’s a paradigm shift in the beauty industry.”
Fragrances in focus: Future trends after record-breaking sales and big acquisitions
Personal Care Insights talked to the co-founder of Innova Market Insights and Swiss fragrances and ingredients manufacturer, Givaudan, about fragrance trends to look out for this year after a strong 2023 that saw many personal care and beauty companies report record-breaking sales in their fragrance division, plus big mergers and acquisitions, most notably, Gucci-owner Kering purchasing centuries-old luxury cologne maker, Creed, for a reported €3.5 billion (∼US$3.8 billion).
Unilever slashes Singapore jobs and closes home and skin-cleansing production in Nigeria
Unilever shifted its global business practices by shutting down home care and skin-cleansing product production in Nigeria and laying off workers in Singapore. The company announced the layoffs to affected staff just before Christmas and told Personal Care Insights it made the “strategic decision to relocate some personal care roles, currently based in Singapore, to our markets across Asia.” 
Unilever changes up which markets to focus on.
P&G’s SK-II sales drop amid China boycott of Japanese brands due to Fukushima wastewater
Procter & Gamble (P&G) blamed anti-Japan sentiment and a slow economic recovery in China for a 34% drop in quarterly sales for its Japan-based skin care brand SK-II. Despite that, the consumer goods giant beat analyst estimates for earnings in its latest quarter. Many Chinese consumers have been concerned about the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater at Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean last August, which forced Japanese cosmetic companies like Shiseido to cut their profit outlook last year.
Yellow Wood Partners’ acquisition streak continues with Haleon deal for Chapstick
After acquiring a stable of well-known brands from Unilever, Yellow Wood Partners’ Suave Brands snapped up Chapstick from Haleon for US$430 million. The consumer health business was spun off British pharma giant GSK two years ago and since then focused on removing non-core brands from its portfolio, much like Unilever. Haleon said the “iconic,” non-medicated lip care brand would be better served by Yellow Wood, which previously told Personal Care Insights it looks for brands that “consumers love…like Q-Tips or Suave” and tries to give them the attention they perhaps did not get “as part of a big company.” The private equity firm also purchased Suave Brands from Unilever last February.
By Anita Sharma
