“Skincare products market pegged to grow at over 8% PA for the next 3 years”

Adgully is back with a new edition of its annual feature – TRENDING NOW – where we present the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of the pandemic period.

Trending Now has been bringing insights from industry leaders on how their organisations are gearing up to seize the opportunities in 2022, break through the Covid disruptions and find growth and remain resilient.

In conversation with Adgully, Manish Chowdhary, Co-Founder, WOW Skin Science, speaks about the effects of pandemic on the consumers, the biggest challenges and opportunities in the year ahead, importance of grooming, self-care and more.

What are the trends that you expect to dominate in your sector in 2022?

The pandemic has impacted consumer consciousness and buying pattern in a very big way. They are now more hygiene and health conscious. There is a sense of positivity in the market as more and more people have got their vaccine jab. Yes, there is a fear of a new wave, but there is also a pandemic fatigue, which is driving consumers to go out and lead a more normal lifestyle. One of the biggest consumer trends is the demand for clean, green, sustainable beauty and wellness products. More and more consumers are turning towards products that are nature-based, organic and cruelty-free. They want simple, easy-to-use, and multi-use products. We see these driving business and product decisions in our personal care, beauty and wellness sector.

What are the challenges and new opportunities that you see emerging in the year ahead?

This year, we see the biggest challenge as also the biggest opportunity for us. The challenge is to cater to the increasing demand for clean, green beauty products. We have to work extensively around product and packaging to ensure they are good for our consumers and good for the planet as well. This means going to the drawing board again and again to figure out the right permutation. However, this is also the biggest opportunity for us to reinvent ourselves and capture consumer attention. Since beauty care is a very personal thing for consumers, so it is a good strategy to pre-empt a consumer need and offer personalised beauty products. Meeting the consumer need in a timely manner will help in building not only awareness, but also consumer loyalty.

How is this year’s turnout expected to be in this sector as compared to the last two years?

As a beauty brand, the pandemic did not impact us in a great way, as we continued to sell our products via online. With more awareness about clean, healthy skin and hair, we saw demand for body washes, shampoos, moisturisers, serums continue to grow. With the importance of selfcare increasing in the consumer consciousness, we see the wellness and beauty care sectors to experience a steady growth. As a brand, we will focus on strengthening those areas of our business. This provides us with an opportunity to develop and deliver products that enhance the sense of wellbeing and provide visible results to the consumers. We expect a steady growth to happen, however, it is tough to put numbers to it during this time. We hope to see increasing returns on our branding investments in the coming months.

What are the changes that have happened in this sector in the last two years?

Self-realisation, self-confidence, and being comfortable in your own skin are the main trends driving consumer buying pattern currently. That is why we are seeing increasing demand for effective and targeted beauty care products. Looking good now is about how healthy your skin and hair feels in their natural state. That is why people are investing more on skin care and hair care rather than on makeup and styling products.

Consumers are no longer interested in crowding their vanity shelves with multitudes of products, instead they want core beauty care solutions that deliver visible results and have long term benefits. So, there is a renewed focus on natural, nature-based, and organic products. The increased consumer demand is now driving the launch of new and indigenous, nature-based brands on a regular basis in the market.

How strong will the recovery be? How strong will this sector’s growth be compared to the last two years as well as the pre-Covid period?

The market is in recovery and will be steady as people start to come out of the pandemic-induced isolation. Grooming and self-care will continue to be very important for the consumers. They will be willing to spend more on feel-good products, multi-use products and treatment products to look and feel healthy. The skincare products market alone is expected to grow at over 8 per cent annually for the next three years. So, recovery and growth will be steady with the market opening up to newer brands, products and new consumer sets.