David Paxton [DP]: The Beauty Connection is a proprietary tool specially created by DSM that aims to reveal voices of beauty from around the world. It’s a custom-built, private online community that brings together an international array of beauty bloggers, experts and professionals. These guiding voices have been handpicked for their talents as trend watchers, collaborators and representatives of beauty in eight different markets. Listening to their voices provides up-to-the-minute insights so we can continue to deliver on-trend solutions that meet the needs of people all over the globe.
Happi: What triggered your interest in designing such a platform?
DP: This is a new departure for an ingredients supplier, but at DSM we want to be more than just a supplier—we want to be a partner for our customers as they create new products. We could see that bloggers were increasingly becoming a key influencer and industry shaper for personal care around the world, so we collaborated with an external agency to find out how personal care can learn from them to harness new insights.
Happi: But why does this matter to DSM?
DP: For DSM to react quickly in response to market trends, consolidate our position, and evolve the way we work, we need to listen to people all the way along the value chain. By observing and collaborating with bloggers, vloggers (video bloggers) and digital influencers, we gain deeper market insights that we can incorporate into our portfolio and future innovation—it’s no longer just about products, we need to watch closely and question people!
Bloggers and vloggers have access to a large audience and a wide range of brands. They love to spend their time reading, writing, testing products and exchanging views so we felt they were key to a better understanding. When it comes to the online community’s importance for global markets, the figures speak for themselves: 40% of China’s online shoppers read and post reviews about products, while on Instagram, Chiara Feragni of The Blonde Salad has 2.9 million followers, more than any fashion magazine.
Happi: What was the creation process like?
DP: First, we worked out an internationally aligned research brief with an external insights company, Truth Consulting, which moderates the site. While the platform itself was being designed we kicked off with a workshop for global and regional teams with the aim of generating key questions, recruiting the 40 bloggers and experts, and finalizing a URL.
We created a range of topic areas and a monthly content calendar, dealing with questions such as: ‘How is beauty defined in your market?,’ ‘Do consumers trust all-in-one promises?,’ and ‘Do you think beauty’s role is to allow people to change or to express themselves?’
We roll out both a monthly newsletter, which is a highly visual and engaging snapshot of key discussions and findings on the community, and a bi-monthly visual report, in which the insights generated from strategic deep dives are explored. The results are linked to suggested ingredient matches, which can be taken directly to customers or used for new concept ideas. We also have the option to go back to the experts for their on-the-spot response to proposals.
Happi: How have you selected the bloggers?
DP: We recruited spokespersons from three different sources: Firstly, we took established beauty bloggers with followers across multiple social media channels—these act as our trend watchers. Then there are the professionals such as dermatologists and beauticians working in the field of personal care. They act as a voice for consumers. Thirdly, we have the “influencers.” These are influential beauty and personal care experts with a large audience. They are our trend shapers and investigators who are recruited each month depending on the topic we are looking at. All of them, no matter where they come from, act as our eyes and ears in the various markets. We have contracts with people in three regions: Asia (India, South Korea, Japan, and China); USA and Latin America (USA and Brazil), and Europe (France and the UK).
Happi: What insights have been revealed so far?
DP: Last month, our online community has revealed that people are generally looking for multifunctional, easy-to-use products that are personal to them, wherever they are in the world. People have told us that they need to feel good in order to look good, so we focus on sensation as well as appearance.
Thanks to our community, we have already been able to better identify current trends. For example, in a recent newsletter we discussed how consumers identify and avoid harmful ingredients. It rapidly became apparent that technology is influencing a change in consumer behavior with regard to claims. Savvy consumers are turning to apps like those in the health and wellness industry that provide objective information.
With this in mind, we have already been looking at our claims and how we can ensure we are supporting our customers with the consumer pull, and demand, for this level of information.
Happi: Why do you think market insights are important for ingredients suppliers?
Frédéric Boned [FB]: Discovering the answers to important questions from sources close to and trusted by consumers allows us to tailor our solutions to the specific needs of the very diverse markets we serve. These questions can be anything from ‘Why don’t men protect their scalp from sunburn?’ to ‘Why do Korean women prefer multifunctional skin care products?’ or even ‘Why does skin glow mean something different in Brazil than it does in Russia?’
In every region there are multiple markets, cultures, and social codes. Understanding the dynamics of these different elements is central to understanding their complexities and the opportunities for both DSM and our customers.
Happi: At this year’s In-Cosmetics you presented findings from the online consumer platform. Why are you active in the fields of both market and consumer research?
FB: Market research has been a key pillar in DSM’s toolkit for many years and will continue to be. We need to understand the dynamics of the markets to be able to sense trends and anticipate them—we always need to know what’s going on around us. On the other hand, we need a clear strategy geared towards discovering not only the ‘what,’ but also the ‘why’—the insights we generate from consumer research are necessary to tailor our products to consumers’ specific needs or, for example, to make sure we find the next innovative solutions which they have been looking for but have been as yet unable to find. The Beauty Connection project, which represents a new departure for an ingredients supplier, has already provided valuable in-depth insights into consumer motivation and decision-making processes.
The combination of market and consumer research makes us truly unique in our approach toward insights research, as many ingredients suppliers still prefer to go for breadth of research rather than depth, whereas we aim to combine the two.
Happi: How is M&C research incorporated in your innovation approach?
FB: We use the insights we generate in many different ways, for example to visualize how our own portfolios align with consumer expectations and to develop the actives and ingredients our customers will be looking for. It also enables us to support customers with information, training and workshops – so we achieve success together!
Here’s just one example: because we have found that skin needs vary substantially in different ethnic groups, DSM researchers spent quality time with Chinese women in their homes, observing and discussing with them how beauty and personal care fits into their lives. Our research revealed that while Chinese women are concerned about skin aging, they are aware that Asian skin generally seems to age slower and in different ways to Caucasian skin. For Chinese women, the first signs of aging are loss of skin elasticity, especially in the skin of the cheeks and neck. They also report that their pores become enlarged and the skin tone becomes uneven, with the skin getting duller with age. Fine lines, especially at the corners of the eyes, are seen as a sign that preventive action is needed to avoid the development of deeper wrinkles later.
Because pore size, elasticity and evenness of skin tone are all adversely affected by collagen depletion, DSM Personal Care conducted a new efficacy study on our collagen booster Syn-Coll specifically with the participation of Chinese volunteers. We were able to demonstrate how Syn-Coll improves skin structure in Chinese volunteers, reducing the appearance of pore enlargement and revealing a beautifully lifted, sculpted look, giving the whole face a firmer, more youthful appearance.
But this is just one example of the valuable lessons learned from leveraging our newly gained insights; other specific concepts derived from our market and consumer research have already been launched globally.
Happi: What are your future plans in the field of market and consumer research?
FB: DSM’s Beauty Connection platform has already helped to drive forward the next generation of personal care solutions. In fact, it’s given us ample ideas not just for the immediate future, but for years ahead!
Future topics to investigate include customization, sustainability, natural ingredients, ethnic diversity and male grooming. So watch this space!