Personal Care Trends 2024: Trend #1 – Precision in Performance

11 Sep 2024 --- Every year, Innova Market Insights extensively analyzes the global personal care market, searching for the most prominent top trends in the industry. This past year saw multiple new trends come to light, with consumers and brands in a constant feedback loop resulting in large-scale industry shifts. Here, we will highlight the first top trend of 2024, titled “Precision in Performance.”

Precision in Performance: Trend drivers

In the “Precision in Performance” top personal care trend, product performance is the key to the modern consumer, whether it be precise formulation of key actives or convenience in packaging without extra hassle. This personal care trend is caused by three key drivers.

First, a demand for higher efficacy. Nearly 1 in 2 consumers globally agree that new ingredients and technologies make personal care products more effective. The demand for efficacy is driving personal care companies to develop new products that focus on precise and scientific formulations with diverse ranges of functional actives.

Second, investments in R&D. Ingredient precision is driving manufacturers and companies to develop patented technology and unique actives that focus on targeted functions for specific personal care concerns. For instance, Hydrosome Labs developed “ultrafine bubbles” that enhance cellular delivery via precision fermentation.

Third, the emergence of cosmeceuticals. Personal care is witnessing strong growth in new product development for various science-backed functional actives (especially those crossing over from the pharma and nutrition industries). These include exosomes, glutathione and new patented formulations of peptides, among others.

Precision claims are most common on personal care products in West Europe.Precision claims are spreading 

Across the globe, precision claims have been seen penetrating the personal care market. For instance, in West Europe, precision claims have a 52% penetration, the highest of all regions, meaning that over half of all personal care launches in West Europe come with precision claims in product formulations. In East Europe and Asia, penetration stands at 15%, 8% in North America and 7% in Latin America.

Launches are increasingly focused on functionality, with active ingredients highlighted in the product name and given front-of-pack prominence. Besides ingredients, product quality has been an emerging focus, with “professional” and “salon-grade” quality displayed in claims.

Brands target functionality in skin, hair & nail health claims 

Functional claims relating to skin, hair, scalp and nail health are increasingly coming into focus in personal care market trends, driven by precision trends. With consumers prioritizing long-term and more precise performance in their products, brands are innovating rapidly with potent blends of active ingredients that display targeted treatments. Moreover, R&D is pushing the envelope to derive science-backed formulations for both natural and artificial actives. 

Case study: Asian consumer expectations 

As precision in functionality comes into the spotlight across the globe in personal care market trends, Asian countries, especially China, Japan and South Korea, among others, show opportunities for the development of premium personal care launches. In terms of demand, 2 in 5 consumers in Asia are interested in paying higher prices for scientific claims in personal care, showing a steady presence of luxury consumer brackets in the region. Driven by further investments from international labels such as Estée Lauder, as well as e-commerce platforms suited to luxury consumer tastes, precision trends add the promise of enhanced quality and functions at higher prices. 

Claims relating to skin, hair, scalp and nail health are increasingly common.For instance, Estée Lauder has launched its Skin Longevity Institute retail concept at Global Beauty Plaza in China’s Haitang Bay, Hainan. The institute “represents the intersection of luxury service and high science,” providing an opportunity for consumers to sample the Sirtivity-LP technology, which claims to combat and prevent aging through specially developed facial services, state-of-the-art skin analysis tools and Re-Nutriv luxury skincare products. 

Ingredient formulations with science-backed techniques 

R&D in the personal care market is gaining prominence, bolstered by precision trends. Beyond the infusion of active ingredient blends, new and innovative technology is finding more applications to enhance the targeted delivery of actives, including higher absorption rates. These include microencapsulation and precision fermentation techniques. While the former encapsulates targeted actives in a thin membrane for better skin barrier absorption, the latter utilizes microbial hosts to develop the actives. 

Precision-based packaging innovations 

Precision as a personal care market trend is driving packaging innovations, with consumers increasingly interested in safety, hygiene, formula integrity and performance. While convenience and sustainability remain key players in the domain of packaging, precision plays an integral role in defining and aiming for higher degrees of product quality via packaging.

Two in five consumers are interested in paying higher prices for scientific claims.Especially with new product formats, such as droppers for serums, ampoules for targeted dosage, sprays and other applicator-based product designs, packaging innovations are playing a key role in highlighting precision.

Significant innovations include Aptar’s NeoDropper and disc top closures for damage prevention, as well as APC Packaging's airless skin care pumps. 

What’s next for precision in performance? 

The most widespread of top trends in personal care, precision is gaining increasing influence across varied marketspaces, including skin and scalp barrier and anti-aging formulations. It is expected that the trend will continue playing a key role in promoting more performance-backed innovations in the domain of macrotrends, such as sustainability.

Moreover, precision may influence consumer behavior with more function-driven personal care routines in the form of new and innovative skin/hair/bath/body treatments. Furthermore, precision is expected to reposition natural and clean beauty trends in a more “science-backed” space, with botanical ingredients moving beyond simple formulations to more patented actives. 

With precision playing a key role in product formulations, consumers are displaying more awareness about ingredients, leading brands to give them front-of-pack prominence. In the future, it is expected that growing awareness, especially among younger generations, will bolster launches with novel ingredients, including emerging actives such as glutathione, exosomes and varieties of peptides. 

Lastly, product design and packaging are increasingly influenced by precision trends. Terms such as “precision skin care” are coming into greater focus while designing product applicators, as well as procuring packaging materials to reduce waste. In the future, further packaging innovations, including product repackaging, are expected to grow to deliver higher performance in terms of hygiene, safety, functionality and convenience to end users. 

This article is based on the Innova Market Insights report “Top 10 Trends 2024 - Beauty – Global.”