Veganuary – Have you taken the plunge and gone Vegan for January? A few members of the team here at Design Plus certainly have, but going vegan isn’t just about what we eat or drink.
If you’re an avid beauty follower, then you’ll be familiar with the fine line between what we consume through food and drink, and what we apply to our skin topically. Usually the trends that emerge in nutrition and consumables, we see crossover in to health and beauty. Superfoods are a great example of this. From Avocado and kale, to pineapple and pumpkin, if they’re good for our insides, then they must be good enough for our hair and skin, right?
As Veganuary is in full swing, and consumers are glued to their screens watching the likes of ‘The Game Changers’, a popular Netflix documentary – a plant-based diet doesn’t just stop at food. In fact, most would argue it’s a lifestyle. Vegan friendly health and beauty products are emerging EVERYWHERE. And rightly so, everyone should have access to beauty regimes to suit their beliefs and lifestyle choices.
Veganism was once considered a niche concept, but as consumers become more concerned about sustainable living, they’re increasingly conscious of the ingredients and methods behind their favourite brands and products.
The beauty industry has certainly felt the effects of this movement from niche to mainstream. Cruelty-free beauty has been around for some time now (thankfully), although it’s no longer enough and ethical consumers are driving the demand for vegan cosmetics.
Many new brands have sprung to the market offering vegan and natural based products, whilst existing key players in the industry have extended their product offerings. Utilizing smart branding and carefully designed packaging, vegan brands are able to differentiate themselves amongst their competition. Often, an on trend key ingredient can be the basis for creating a new niche product, however when it comes to ethicality and veganism, it’s the knowledge, science and trust behind the beauty.
Beauty Brain is a trend to watch out for in 2020 encapsulating educational influences and product efficacy. According to Mintel consumers are most interested in products that actually work, and brands that are trustworthy as appose to the latest ingredient trend.
Trust and brand credibility can be developed through successful story telling. The most successful brands understand how a well communicated story can resonate with consumers. More and more we’re seeing vegan and ethical brands communicate through story telling to find points of shared beliefs and attitudes and inform their consumer. BYBI is a great example – not only are they certified vegan and cruelty free, their high performing products are developed with 100% natural ingredients all in eco-friendly packaging. Their Instagram page boasts their ethical brand values and narrates sustainability to it’s 43.5k followers.
The vegan trend is certainly here to stay and brands should follow the lead making ethical decisions without sacrificing quality. According to Mintel, Ethical and vegan claims are amongst the fastest growing, with 38% of new product launches in 2019 containing ethical claims and 21% containing vegan claims. This is compared to only 6% that were certified vegan in 2017.
Pinterest also recently reported that searches for vegan beauty are up by 281% since 2017. So, who’s actually leading the movement? Millennials (15-34-year olds) make up 42% of the Britain’s vegans, and social media is generally driving the knowledge on the trend within the health and beauty market.
For consumers, choosing vegan skincare is not only kinder to animals, it’s kinder on the earth too.
The Beauty Business Journal advises that the vegan cosmetics market is expected to surpass $20.8 billion by 2025 and as a contract manufacturer, we’ve also experienced an up rise is requests for vegan friendly formulations. It’s important for Design Plus to be aware of the changing attitudes of consumers but also how brands will adapt to these.
Our expert lab team have worked on a number of vegan formulations across a wide range of skin care products such as facial masks, day and night creams, serums and facial oils, facial mists and toners, and even facial pads.
To request samples of any of the above, please contact our sales team via the form on the website or speak to your account manager.
