Mass Beauty Industry – Channel Exposure, Demand Trends & 2022 Outlook

1.

What is your 12-18-month outlook for the North America mass beauty industry?

2.

Do you agree with the industry’s predicted CAGR of 3.5% through 2025? Do you find that it’s too optimistic, or too pessimistic?

3.

If we consider fragrance growth as more seasonal in nature, given it’s a big gifting item, could that potentially be the case, and there may not be continued growth being led by fragrances?

4.

What additional behaviours do you think are here to stay on the back of the pandemic, fragrances aside?

5.

The price point for clean ingredients and sustainable products is actually significantly higher. Many of the input costs are known to be higher to develop some of these products. Do you find that to be a threat to mass beauty, given the price point for consumers potentially trading up and being drawn to clean and sustainable beauty products?

6.

It seems premium skincare or premium face care has been taking share from mass beauty care since 2015, according to data from Euromonitor. Can you comment on this trend and if you believe this may potentially reverse at any point?

7.

What other segments within mass beauty do you find potentially being threatened by consumers aiming to trade up?

8.

How would you frame the convenience factor from a standpoint of the number of items that a user leverages in their daily cosmetic and skincare regimen? Do you expect that to change coming out of the pandemic?

9.

Mass colour as a category has been a bit weak overall, even pre-pandemic. What’s likely to change in mass colour specifically going into 2022 and 2023, if anything at all? What do you think is the structural growth trajectory for the category, and is there any innovation that could change this segment’s growth trajectory at all?

10.

What do you believe are the characteristics of winning vs losing players within mass beauty? Can you outline your thoughts on either front?

11.

You pointed to having a social media presence as characteristic of winners. Is it then a necessity to have a celebrity also be a part of your strategy, or a key opinion leader also represent your brand? What are your puts and takes on that front?

12.

What do you think of Alicia Keys’ Soulcare line, including the sustainability of this franchise compared to other celebrity or key opinion leader-repped brands?

13.

What are some of the key characteristics of a celebrity-endorsed brand that can lead to sustainable growth, meaning it won’t just bust after its launch?

14.

Do you find that celebrity-endorsed brands are also persistently expensive to maintain, given that it’s a celebrity name behind them? Does it also imply that the company backing it has to consistently pump marketing dollars to keep it relevant?

15.

Could you discuss the mass beauty competitive landscape, including key players in the sector?

16.

Do you think any of the more established or legacy players within mass beauty are at risk over the next 3-5 years?

17.

Do you have any thoughts on other brands such as Elf, including its growth trajectory over the next 12-18 months, and market share shifts for it?

18.

Could you share your outlook for Elf in skincare specifically?

19.

Can you share your thoughts on shifts happening in mass beauty with channel exposure and the trends with some brands going D2C?

20.

What are your thoughts on the broader mass beauty category exposure to retailers including Target and Walmart and to some extent Kohl’s, with some of the shop-in-shops that we discussed earlier?

21.

Is there reason to believe there will be players more at risk from shelf resets, and those that have an opportunity to perhaps gain more shelf space during those resets?

22.

What proxies or metrics should we monitor for the mass beauty industry over the next 12-18 months?

23.

How can inflation affect consumer demand? How might supply chain challenges impact pricing?