Creating Long-Term Beauty Innovations

The Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ annual meeting got underway on December 12 with a keynote by Dr. Robb Akridge, founder and CEO, Opulus Beauty Labs. He opened with a review of innovations from the 1920s through the 1970s, noting “a lot of innovations come and go. It’s what the consumer accepts that make innovations long-lasting.”

In order for an innovation to have staying power, it must meet several criteria, according to Akridge. Specifically the innovation must:
• Be similar to existing habits;
• Not have too many steps;
• Be high tech;
• Not be too demanding;
• Be simple to use;
• Not deliver too much information;
• Be fun;
• Be addictive; and
• Provide better results.

Akridge’s Clarisonic toothbrush met all those goals and was acquired by L’Oreal.

Further, Akridge described four types of today’s consumer:
• If it works, I want it;
• Sustainable;
• Everything is toxic; and
• Too much information, it’s time to simplify.

Akridge noted that the digital world has made tremendous strides in recent years, driven by artificial intelligence. So far, in fact, that he wondered if consumers will stop seeing their doctors “because their phones know better.”