Mintel has identified four trends set to impact the global beauty and personal care market in the coming year. They are:
 
•   Biotechnology, together with a resurgence of local wisdom, will help brands face up to the challenges created by environmental issues.

•   As consumers across the world are creating their own definitions of beauty which look beyond age, gender, and body type, brands that try to appeal to the 'mass' will miss the mark.

•   Beauty consumers won't just want to look good, but feel good too, by going beyond the logo and investing in brands with a personality and purpose to perform good deeds.

•   Beauty brands will be watching consumers’ every move, as digital technology drives unprecedented customisation of the shopping experience.
 
Playing Mother Nature
According to Vivienne Rudd, director of global innovation and insight, beauty and personal care at Mintel, the concept of natural beauty ingredients is expanding in an ever-changing world; brands will give Mother Nature a helping hand by encompassing local approaches and developments in biotechnology.
 
With evolving consumer demands and climatic changes around the world, the beauty and personal care industry’s approach to natural and sustainable ingredients must adapt. A move to become more 'local' in terms of ingredient sources will create opportunities for consumers to protect and preserve resources within their surrounding environment. In the coming year, the possibilities for creating safe, allergen-free, pure, and efficacious ingredients through science could replace the harvesting of natural ingredients. Local sourcing and production of ingredients will become essential in the years ahead, strengthening the idea of local pride—not just with brands and manufacturers, but with consumers too, said Mintel.
 
My Beauty, My Rules
Rudd predicts brands will stop targeting consumers based on their age, gender, or body type as consumers increasingly demand personalzsed beauty defined on their terms.
 
In the past, brands had sole control over what defines beauty; however, perceptions of beauty based on age, gender, skin, hair, and body type are changing as today’s consumers take control of how beauty is defined. The ever-evolving perception of beauty will see the removal of labels that are based on simple characteristics and will transform the way consumers look at their skin, hair, and body types, according to Mintel. In 2018 and beyond, beauty consumers will demand that their individual needs are answered with options or customisable beauty. Brands will embrace inclusivity and address individual beauty concerns which will result in more customization and personalisation of products.
 
Campaign Capital
Simply selling a great beauty product will no longer be enough; brands must have personality and purpose that align with consumers’ own beliefs in order to win them over, said Rudd.
 
Consumers are as passionate about the value a brand and product can bring to them as they are about the quality of the product itself. Mintel says the onus is now on brands to impress consumers with a human-like personality that's relatable, personable, and sincere. In 2018 and beyond, there will be a focus on funding educational projects rather than simply giving money to charity, and environmental and ethical issues will be at the forefront as Millennials and Generation Z place greater emphasis on the world around them. Now more than ever, it is imperative that initiatives go beyond corporate social responsibility and truly give back to society.
 
Private Eye
Mintel said digital technology will follow consumers everywhere, influencing their product purchases and helping them to navigate the complexities of the beauty aisle.
 
Digital technology will make shopping more personal in 2018. With so many products on the shelves, time-pressed consumers are in need of a more intuitive shopping experience. New technology can interpret consumers' facial expressions and eye movements to determine their product preferences and offer help, both in-store and online. In the coming years, commercial use of biometric data is set to extend beyond eye tracking, as heart rate, body language, and speech become increasingly important for a more complete assessment of consumer preference. The days of social media being purely social are long gone as companies transform these online interactions into shopper opportunities.
 
The “beauty and personal care market will experience a fundamental shift during 2018,” noted Rudd. “In the coming year and beyond, the beauty industry will navigate the conflicting demands of the ‘naturals-hungry’ consumer with shrinking natural resources and it will be through harnessing biotech advantages that a new generation of enhanced natural products is created. Meanwhile, personalization is set to reach new heights as brands strive to embrace total inclusivity. When it comes to ethics, it will be imperative for brands to have a personality that is genuine and a viewpoint that clearly communicates their positioning. Finally, developments in biometric monitoring will see brands drive unprecedented customization of the shopping experience.”