Clean beauty is born in indie brands and reaches the mainstream – 02/25/2023 – Market

“A crazy moment of expansion”, is how Patricia Lima, founder of Simple Organic, describes the moment experienced by the brand, which grows at a pace that she calls “galloping”. In 2021, there was 300% growth and the result for 2022 should also be a record.

The growth comes on the back of increased interest in beauty products considered clean –hence the term in English clean beauty– and also the purchase of Simple by Hypera Pharma, at the end of 2020, which gave it more breath and management capacity.

For those who have not yet been introduced to the universe of natural cosmetics, it is worth remembering: a clean formula or one linked to clean beauty, in general, means that the product is free of sulfates, silicone, parabens and dyes. In general, they are free from animal testing, but they are not always vegan.

“As a digital native, we take the term clean beauty very seriously. We deal with generation Z, which comes to much more demanding consumption.” This seriousness, according to Patricia, needs to go through the entire business chain, from production to stores, from inputs to supplier remuneration, from delivery logistics to after-sales.

Patricia spoke with Sheet a few days after returning from Egypt, where she was invited to present the company at COP-27 (27th United Nations Climate Conference) and tell the participants that yes, it is possible to be in a publicly traded group with goals high revenues, and doing so in a sustainable way. “What you do is incredible, but you can do much more. Sustainability is urgent,” she says.

Clean beauty, says Cesar Tsukuda, general director of Beauty Fair (International Professional Beauty Fair), is not a fad, even if it is still treated by the industry as a “niche” market, that is, something produced for groups specific and not for the general public.

In 2022, the fair had a space dedicated to the exhibition of natural and organic products, in what can be seen as a signal to the market that the segment should be observed. “The discussion now is: how long will the industry take to make the transition? How many and which industries will take the lead in this regard?”

Smaller brands have the advantage of speed in responding to the consumer and bringing new products to market faster. The relationship with the community, as the communication between brands and consumers through networks is called, is an important means of listening and planning, something that beautytechs (as startups linked to cosmetics and makeup are called) do well .

Responding to the “calls” from the consumer community, products such as lubricant and the most recent launches: a body fluid and a facial serum, both with sun protection factor. They still carry what Patricia Lima considers to be the next important flag in the world of sustainable beauty: formulas that are safe for the oceans, without contaminants that weaken marine life.

The consultancy Nielsen QI already pointed out in a 2021 report on trends for the future the increased importance of sustainability in consumption, based on the growth of online searches. The most searched term was “plastic free”, followed by “ocean safe”, “refillable” and “non-toxic”.

Positioning that is more engaged with the clean beauty mentality is almost mandatory for smaller brands, and can serve as a distinction, something that makes them look better than the big ones that are already established.

Sallve, founded by blogger Julia Petit, a pioneer in the production of content about makeup and skin care for the internet, is vegan and cruelty free, classification verified by PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Despite not positioning itself as a natural brand, Sallve presents itself as a safe brand, without toxic or allergenic substances.

Contem1g, which went bankrupt after a period under judicial recovery, returned to the market in line with new consumer demands, with vegan and cruelty-free formulas.

Sallve is the new owner of the brand. The value of the negotiation was not disclosed, but it is part of the company’s expansion strategy, which received R$ 110 million in an investment round in 2021, and points to the strength of the segment in the economy.

Journalist Vic Ceridono, author of “Dia de Beauté: A Makeup Guide for Real Life” and the blog of the same name, also launched her Vic Beauté, a brand of multifunctional products on the market this year – the lipstick that is also a lip moisturizer, the stick that can be blush, eye shadow or lipstick.

All of them have the animal cruelty and recycling seal. The latter ensures that production follows certain plastic-saving guidelines. When sending via the Internet, honeycomb paper replaces bubble wrap.

In hair care, GE Beauty, founded by influencer Camila Coutinho, presents itself as the owner of clean formulas with natural ingredients.

The brand also brings another trend that is still slowly becoming popular: the customization of products. Through a quiz on the website or directly at the points of sale, consumers are suggested the best combination of products for their purpose, be it more hydrated hair or longer-defined curls, for example.

From niche to mainstream

Traditional and consolidated brands are also starting to invest in the segment, launching product lines that are more identified with clean beauty concepts.

In the last two years, O Boticário, through GB Ventures, included seven startups aligned with the concepts of clean beauty in its acceleration program. Quem Disse, Berenice?, the group’s brand, has a line of make-up and skin care products under the “beautiful with cause” seal.

Risqué, a traditional nail polish brand, launched in October the BIO line, also under the vegan seal, with natural ingredients, without the presence of toxic chemicals –even acetone is among those banned– and with packaging made of recyclable plastic and with bristles. of vegetable origin.

Even the Pague Menos pharmacy chain took a ride on the trend and launched, in 2021, a 100% natural hair bar line, wrapped in paper and vegan.

Nicole Silbert, trends expert at WGSN, a leading behavior and consumer trends firm, says brands that want to declare themselves clean now must be safe and sustainable or risk losing consumer trust.

That is, it is necessary to fulfill the promise of “clean beauty”. There is a lot of concern in the segment with greenswashing, a term without translation in Portuguese that means a type of “green washing”, or something like a false ESG (acronym in English for environment, social and governance).

“The term clean beauty has been misused a lot. They take the product and remove two controversial ingredients, but it continues to be full of others”, says Patricia Lima, from Simple Organic.

It is, in any case, a promising market. The WGSN consultancy does not have data on the potential of this segment in Brazil, but, according to the British Beauty Council, the universe of products that combine formulas free of toxic ingredients with ethical postures (and, therefore, aligned with ESG values), can reach 17 billion pounds by 2024.

Sector sees recovery and wants to increase exports

Beauty salons and stores closed, Zoom meetings, masks, social distancing. The many aspects of social life affected by the pandemic have hit the hygiene, perfumery and cosmetics industry as well as the service sector.

There was what the industry calls the “lipstick effect”, whereby the consumer replaces the type of product purchased in times of crisis (it does not cut consumption, it just migrates). With the pandemic, one of the categories that gained the most attention was skin care, popularized in the English term skincare.

Nicole Silbert, from WGSN, says that the pandemic has also boosted other markets that are still little explored, such as scalp care and the search for personalized products for specific regions of the body, in an expansion of the concept of skincare beyond the face.

“As consumers increase their repertoire and knowledge about products and ingredients and seek the same rituals performed on the face, we will observe an increase in this demand for other parts of the body”, he says.

The end of restrictions and the resumption of economic activities encouraged the sector, but for the industry, there is still a lack of strength in exports. Cesar Tsukuda, from Beauty Fair, says that Brazil, despite being the fourth largest market in terms of consumption, is still small in terms of foreign sales.

In a note, the president of the sector’s association, Abihpec, João Carlos Basilio, says that “it is necessary to develop a policy aimed at foreign trade, in order to mitigate asymmetries that reduce the competitiveness of the national product.”

Tsukuda, from Beauty Fair, says that, in practice, Brazil exports less than the trade balance indicates. “Actually, it is a number of transfers of products between headquarters and branch”, he says. “It is not an export of Brazilian brands, it is not an export of Brazilian intelligence. And we have a lot to explore in the world market.”