Natural Personal Care Products Gain Traction In Traditional Retailers, Benefit From Key TrendsNatural Personal Care Products

Non-toxic beauty is moving to the mainstream as strong sales growth – in 2015, natural and organic personal care grew 8 percent in natural retail – cause traditional retailers to make space available for natural products. It’s also gaining traction with high-end outlets as some natural products push into prestige, suggesting its penetration will continue to grow. New Hope identified nine important trends in natural personal care. These include a shift in consumer sentiment, with consumers increasingly buying natural products not because of what they avoid, but because of what they offer. Innovation and improvements now means naturals are making claims and offering benefits that consumers want.  Another important shift came with the FDA’s 2016 ban of triclosan and 17 other chemicals used in hand and body washes marketed as "antibacterial," which is causing some traditional products to reformulate, often in a naturals direction, shining a development light for other products.  Last, ...  More

"9 natural personal care predictions for 2017", New Hope , December 30, 2016

Consumer Magazine Assesses Current Food And Drink Trends

Food and nutrition experts at Consumer Reports evaluated food trends and advised on which should become a part of a healthy diet and which can be ignored. A few dark chocolate chips, for example, added to oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast once or twice a week could boost memory and concentration. But consumers should avoid calorie-packed chocolate cake, cookies, and brownies for breakfast. Jackfruit’s texture is similar to shredded meat. As a meat alternative, it is low in sugar but also very low in protein, And the ”pulled-pork” sandwiches made with jackfruit come with sugary sauces. The magazine looked at other food and beverage trends, including: plant waters (maple, artichoke, cactus, and cucumber); riced cauliflower; alternative pastas (chickpeas, lentils, other legumes); savory yogurts; fermented foods, “ugly produce;” purple foods; and power bowls.

"Eat This! The Healthiest Food Trends for 2017", Consumer Reports, January 01, 2017

Burt’s Bees Extends Product Line Into Functional Foods

Personal care company Burt’s Bees has entered the functional food market with protein shakes targeted at consumers seeking beauty from "the inside out." The company that has specialized for three decades in selling natural lip and skincare products has developed three protein shakes – Daily Protein, Protein +Gut Health with Probiotics, and Protein + Healthy Radiance with Antioxidant Vitamins A, C & E – that provide 15 grams of protein per serving from peas, rice, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and oats. General Manager Jim Geikie said the move into functional foods “is a natural extension for us.” The shakes range in price from $29.99 to $39.99. Each contains 16-18 servings per tub.

"Burt's Bees Enters New Category with Plant-Based Protein Shakes", News release, Burt's Bees, January 02, 2017

Unilever, Coca-Cola And Lush Feature In Warc Brand Purpose Readership List

Warc’s annual readership data indicates that a number of brands featured in articles on purpose-driven marketing over the last year. Warc said that Lush’s discussion of its mission and strategy was a particularly popular article, and the company says that it’s important to be both open and honest about where it buys its ingredients, how it runs its business, and the claims it makes. Unilever also featured, with one talking about its initiatives in brand activism, which goes beyond “beautiful narratives”. It also featured in another, in a report from the Guardian Changing Media Summit 2016 on how Unilever and Coca-Cola build brand purpose.  

"Best of 2016: Purpose", Warc, January 02, 2017

Mass And Premium Continue To Drive Growth In Color Cosmetics

According to Euromonitor International, the color cosmetics market was worth US$57 billion globally in 2015, driven by growing incomes for women in growth markets like India and China. Nearly two-thirds of the market (64%) was mass products in which consumers came from across the income spectrum, with some consumers limited to the mass market through income constraints and others choosing mass options over premium, with a new wave of mass “fast fashion” cosmetics brands that align with trends and rely on high volumes. Premium continues to grow faster than mass, and Euromonitor expects to see a CAGR for the premium segment of 4% over the next five years, versus 3% for mass. It also expects North America to be the first majority-premium color cosmetics market by 2020. The color cosmetics market will continue to encounter broad consumer megatrends, for example in the form of sustainability and healthy living. And customization remains a major opportunity for brands in this category, with ...  More

"Reinventing Colour Cosmetics through Novel Growth Concepts", Euromonitor International, January 05, 2017

Walmart CEO Sees Big Challenges Ahead For Retailers, And Big Opportunities

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon believes strongly that retailers need to adapt quickly to rapidly advancing technologies that have accelerated the pace of modern living, particularly when it comes to shopping, purchasing, and taking delivery of products. These technologies will create unprecedented opportunities for retailers. Looking ahead 10 years, he says customers will be able to fulfill everyday needs easily through stores, e-commerce, pick-up, delivery, thanks to sophisticated technologies. Retailers will need to adjust to the fact that customers globally will see what people in other countries have, and will want it too. Lastly, embedded social and environmental sustainability will require tighter collaboration among retailers, NGOs, governments and educational institutions so that customers, associates/employees, shareholders, communities, and suppliers will all benefit. “I can’t think of a more exciting time to be in retail,” McMillon concluded., Wikimedia  ]

"3 Predictions for the Future of Retail – from the CEO of Walmart", Blog entry, Walmart CEO, January 09, 2017

Chinese Consumers Are Adapting Priorities As China Changes

In an interview, Delon Wang, Manager of Asia Pacific Trends at Mintel, warned that the rapid growth seen in China’s consumer goods industry might slow as economic growth decelerates and the population adapts priorities to the new China, focusing for example on buzzwords like ‘ancient’ and ‘old’. Mintel’s Global New Products Database indicates that product claims including the word "ancient” on packaging grew 56% in the first half of 2016 within China’s beauty and personal care and food and drink and categories. Wang said that consumers are demanding authenticity, and they are increasingly concerned about health and the environment. Value remains another key attribute for consumers. More consumers are also looking at opportunities to be entrepreneurs themselves in a bid to improve financial security during turbulent economic times, and many are choosing subscription purchasing for their fitness and beauty items. Brand loyalty is highest among the middle-class consumers (68% versus 50% ...  More

"China’s cosmetics and consumer trends in 2017 part I: A change of pace", Cosmetics Design, January 10, 2017