November in review: Holiday shopping trends and numbers, dsm-firmenich sells all of its Robertet shares

November news sees the kick-off of the 2024 holiday shopping season, particularly the record number of consumers projected to shop across the Black Friday weekend. Tech company Revieve has released its holiday shopping guide for beauty and personal care retailers looking to get customer shopping trends.

Business moves this month include Givaudan doubling the production capacity of its Mexico facility, dsm-firmenich selling all its shares of fragrance and aroma manufacturer Robertet and E.L.F. Beauty reacting to allegations it is falsifying revenue.

In regulatory news, we dive into the challenging and inconsistent standards that are getting in the way of sustainable beauty product developments taking off. From the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance company is flagging retailers and manufacturers that may be stocking beauty products that are considered non-compliant under the new FDA regulations.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) indicates that the agency is considering flexible approaches to PFAS regulation, rather than a total ban.

November

Record number of consumers intending to shop this Black Friday

Beauty brands and retailers anticipated a high volume of shoppers in stores and online last weekend, and for good reason. According to survey data from the National Retail Federation, a US retail trade association, a record 182 million people intended to shop from Black Friday through Cyber Monday in the US. Nearly a third of these shoppers were looking to buy personal care and beauty products as gifts.

Revieve publishes 2024 holiday purchasing and consumer experience trend report

Revieve released its 2024 holiday trend report for beauty brands and retailers, highlighting growing customer preferences for personalized, virtual try-on experiences, shifting holiday makeup trends and skin care taking center stage. Revieve, a technology company that uses AI to provide consumer-centric digital experiences, provided this playbook to beauty brands to help forecast trends and personalize the customer journey during the busiest shopping season, Revieve’s CEO, Sampo Parkkinen, told Personal Care Insights.

Sasol Chemicals unveils plant-based cosmetic ingredient as palm oil alternative

Sasol Chemicals launched a European-made, biobased emulsion stabilizing ingredient from rapeseed oil for personal care manufacturers looking for a more sustainable alternative to palm oil-based ingredients. Sasol’s ingredient, NACOL 18-98, is a stearyl alcohol that can be used as a conditioning agent, stabilizer and consistency regulator. It is designed as a replacement for palm oil-based stearyl alcohol, a common ingredient in cosmetics and lotions that improves product texture and softens the skin.

E.L.F. rebukes falsifying revenue accusations from Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters’ founder and CEO, Carson Block, accused E.L.F. Beauty of overstating its revenue over the past three years by as much as US$190 million at a conference in London, UK. The investment firm investigates public companies to expose fraud. E.L.F. called the statement an attempt to negatively influence its share price for “its own benefit” and at the expense of all other E.L.F. shareholders. Shares in the beauty brand fell 10% on the day after Block alleged the false reporting.

Top US retailers selling non-FDA compliant cosmetics according to Registrar Corp assessment

A US FDA compliance company sounded the alarm over high non-compliance rates with new FDA cosmetics regulations. Registrar Corp’s assessment indicates that 48% of cosmetics companies importing to the top 25 US retailers are not FDA compliant and could risk removal from stores. Its assessment indicates major US retailers are selling approximately 135,000 products that are not compliant with the new Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act.

Givaudan doubles production capacity for encapsulation technologies to serve Latin American market

To increase its competitive advantage in Latin America’s personal care market, Givaudan doubled its production capacity by expanding its production facility in Pedro Escobedo, Mexico. The move is part of the fragrance and beauty solutions provider’s 2025 strategy, “Committed to Growth, with Purpose.” The investment in the new extension will go toward Givaudan’s encapsulation technologies to meet the growing demands of its customers in the Latin American market and worldwide.

dsm-firmenich offloads Robertet, finalizing sale of aromas manufacturer

dsm-firmenich completed the sale of its last bit of stake in Robertet to a currently unknown investor and no longer retains any ordinary shares in Robertet. Robertet manufactures natural raw materials for perfumes and aromas. Earlier in that week, dsm-firmenich still retained a direct stake of 1% of Robertet’s share capital. The Dutch company previously sold 0.23 million ordinary shares in Robertet, representing 10% of Robertet’s share capital to the Fonds Stratégique de Participations and Peugeot Invest.

Patchy global standards hinder sustainable beauty boom as demand surges

As demand for eco-conscious cosmetics grows, sustainable beauty product developments are surging. Europe leads this trend, while brands like Dow and Univar Solutions told Personal Care Insights about innovating toward carbon neutrality. Yet, research finds inconsistent global standards challenging unified progress. Sustainable cosmetics products have gained popularity as consumers increasingly prioritize environmental impact in their purchases.

Update on potential EU PFAS ban looks into socio-economic impacts

Based on the potential for disproportionate socio-economic effects, the ECHA published an update on a restriction dossier process for PFAS in the EU. The agency indicated it is putting more consideration into PFAS restriction options other than a total ban. The initial Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) dossier aimed to ban or limit PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” due to their inability to degrade in the environment.

Unilever invests €100M for in-house fragrance creation driven by digital and AI technology

Unilever announced it is investing €100 million (US$104.99 million) to build a fragrance house powered by digital and AI technologies. The move will enhance the consumer goods company’s fragrance design and creation capabilities across its global portfolio. Vivek Sirohi, VP of Fragrance at Unilever told Personal Care Insights that fragrance plays a vital role in personal care products.