Dr Barbara Olioso looks at the growing market for organic and natural cosmetic products and the need for clear standards that counter greenwashing
When I started my career in the cosmetics industry back in the 1990s there were few green skin care brands around. However in the last ten years the number of launches of new products that make natural and organic claims has rocketed and the marketplace has become very busy.
I get quite a few enquiries for help with new product development from people who are working for, or who have recently worked for, big cosmetics companies and who are now thinking of having their own greener product brand. I also get enquiries to investigate changing and adapting formulas from synthetic brands so that they can become greener.
To me this shows how manufacturers and potential manufacturers are responding to a changing market demand.
Partly due to the internet, the cosmetics market is increasingly fragmenting, creating new dynamics in market share and distribution. There is more niche marketing, more direct two way connection with customers. These developments allow smaller brands to enter the market and compete with ‘the big boys’.
These net-savvy smaller brands find it easier to change and adapt to market trends; they even lead market trends with the larger manufacturers trying to copy some of the innovations of the small brands. So, given this busy scenario, what might be some of the next steps in the rapidly growing natural and organic cosmetics marketplace?
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