COSMOFACTORY

Deanna: [00:00:00] This episode is about longevity. It's about consumer expectations across the generations and about customer profitability. It's about the new realities of our industry's youngest and oldest consumers, and it's about forecasting change while demonstrating ethical leadership. Today on the Cosmo Factory Podcast, my guest is Mallory Huron, director of Beauty and Wellness at Fashion Snoops.
Deanna: Welcome, Mallory.
Mallory: [00:01:00] Thank you for inviting me. I'm so excited to chat. Everything, longevity.
Deanna: Likewise, I'm so glad for the opportunity to speak with you today. , there is a phrase, uh, that I, and, and many others I'm sure have used when we talk about this concept of longevity, and that is the idea of living better lives longer, right? Lifestyles and societies today are such that, um, people live to be older than in previous generations.
Deanna: Um. Better lives though, I think is the, the key piece of it. Um, and that certainly includes personal care, but also healthcare or maybe where our industry is concerned, we would say wellness. We're also very concerned, um, with mental wellbeing. Uh, things like breath work, sleep hygiene, neuro cosmetics come into it.
Deanna: I say all of this, uh, because your perspective on longevity isn't centered on. Say people over 70 or 80, it actually encompasses very young children and everyone through the decades when fashion Snoops is looking at longevity. [00:02:00] Tell me why you're thinking multi-generationally. I.
Mallory: Well, I think because consumer groups from a brand perspective are younger than ever before and older than ever before, I think that's really what it is. You know, um, consumer groups that just simply didn't exist, uh, you know, a few decades ago exist now. And so we're seeing brands try and embrace and adapt to this new reality where.
Mallory: Their youngest consumer might be nine and their oldest consumer might be 89. Um, and if you're a skincare brand, for example, how do you create products with a consistent tone of brand ethos that can cater to both of those needs? And so, of course, you know, with, you know, social media, we have. Younger than ever consumers, uh, uh, you know, embracing beauty routines and very elaborate beauty routines.
Mallory: And [00:03:00] we see older consumers carry these meaningful rituals into their later years as a form of self care and comfort, um, and indulgence and self pampering. So I think, um. I think it's just the fact that the consumer groups, you know, have become so, you know, directly, you know, opposite. Um, and they've really just grown.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. And if you were to generalize what is sort of the, the core consumer age range that we are now expanding on, right? Were we looking at, you know, consumers, you know, from their twenties to their forties and now, like you said, we're looking from, you know, nine to 89. What was that sort of core group that, that beauty has conventionally addressed?
Mallory: So I think that the core group that beauty used to cater to would typically start in your late teens, for example. And you know, in the past that core group would be cut off quite drastically, even, you [00:04:00] know, when that consumer turned 35.
Mallory: So I think. Now we have a huge growing population of Gen X and menopausal women. That is expanding that end range further and further. Of course, these consumers have always deserved and needed to be catered to, but the beauty industry. Seemingly forgot this age group. I mean age anti, so-called anti-aging products always existed in the past.
Mallory: But, um, they were quite predatory in their messaging and even in their marketing, uh, youth, extreme youth was always pictured. Very rarely did you see women of the target age group actually pictured in those advertisements. And so I think you know that that core age group of let's say 17, 16, 17, 18, you know.
Mallory: Young, early beauty consumers through the early to mid thirties has radically expanded to, I'd say as young as nine to, again, the [00:05:00] sky's the limit with the upper end of the age group because consumers are simply living longer than ever before.
Deanna: Excellent. No, that's, that's very helpful. Um, I think this night. It be a good time to mention that at cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna. This week you will be speaking alongside several other industry experts as part of a Cosmo Talk session. Um, that session is called The Longevity Consumer Timeline, approaching Well Aging across Generations.
Deanna: Um, for listeners interested, that particular Cosmo Talks session will take place, uh, March 21st, which is Friday at 12 noon. I will say a a bit more about this later, but in the meantime, I have lots more questions for you, Mallory. I'd like to think about longevity maybe a little bit more, literally. I'm not sure if that's the right expression, but in terms of product trends and benefits, right?
Deanna: I hear a lot about regenerative skincare, even a bit about regenerative hair care. Are there brands that stand out to you? Can you say something about what consumers [00:06:00] are looking for in terms of longevity benefits? When the, when the consumer thinks longevity, what, what are they, what are they hoping to find?
Mallory: Well. Now to today's modern consumer is just so much more advanced. So it's, it's funny you asked that because if you had asked that question even five years ago, I think you would've had a very different answer. Whereas now consumers continue to become more educated than ever before, and so they're looking for more advanced innovations.
Mallory: So when you say longevity to a consumer, now it means anything from. Biohacking treatments at their local med spa. To, you know, liquid form, bioavailable, medically formulated supplements that are going to target very specific root causes of aging, uh, on the cellular level. As, as some supplement brands claim, as well as, you know, these very targeted, almost surgically [00:07:00] precise treatments as they're called to create, you know, the, the illusion of moving through life.
Mallory: You know, aging as little as possible, which is very much, you know, the mode right now in Hollywood. Um, and so I think, you know, with your average consumer, even just their idea of what is a good anti-aging face cream has expanded by leaps and bounds. In the past it was just retinol and a high degree of moisture for, um, mature skins
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah.
Mallory: what, what was thought of.
Mallory: But now we ha. Oh, sorry. Now we have, um. Brands that are targeting specific issues like loss of calcium in the skin and mature skins and nutrient needs, um, and mature skins. So I think that formulations themselves are becoming hyper-focused and as more research is done and as really important, research is done on how, um.
Mallory: [00:08:00] Mature women's skin ages and what is needed to, um, you know, alleviate or mitigate some of the effects. We're able to have these super hyper-targeted formulations.
Deanna: No, thank you so much, and certainly your remarks have suggested this, but I'll more specifically draw an analogy between longevity and the idea of consumer lifetime value or CLV. I believe that the common measurement of, of CLV presumes that a brand acquires a customer at a relatively young age, and that person then remains a customer over the course of their life.
Deanna: Um, but since categories like menopausal and post-menopausal beauty are really quite new, as, as you've reminded us, might we also think of those as new consumer groups, uh, with their own potential for CLV. Uh. At this point, I, I, I feel like the whole industry is getting a new consumer by serving these women as well, as well, I suppose as aging men.
Deanna: Is menopausal beauty being, being taken seriously enough at this point? [00:09:00] What, what are the opportunities here?
Mallory: I think brands can only benefit from embracing this age group. You know, as I mentioned before, it. Menopausal women are the, I, I believe the statistic is they have the largest growing population worldwide, certainly. Um, as you mentioned, which is very important, aging men as well. Um, populations worldwide are getting older and older and in certain countries this is reached a really serious crisis level of government consideration.
Mallory: So number one, it's, uh, it's an important issue that needs to be dealt with on a top level by organizations and by governments within. Given that and those serious implications within beauty itself, um, the opportunity for, for brands is, is massive. You know, I, I think brands are really under, you know, under evaluating their potential because this is a.
Mallory: Consumer group who is more likely to have [00:10:00] disposable income and independent income, they're more likely to know exactly what they want in a product. They can be highly loyal. And so this makes them, you know, almost a dream consumer group to cater to. And yet we still see brands approaching them in a very hesitant way or sort of fumbling their attempts at reaching this group.
Mallory: And we see all, we see this all the time, brands who are so almost frantic to, to reach Gen Z, and yet we have. This massive group of Gen X menopausal consumers who are a much more, um, you know, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? A much more stable, I would say from a trend perspective, um, consumer group, whereas Gen Z is.
Mallory: They're, they're, they swing from one, from one extreme to another, and from one micro trend to the other. There are certainly many things that are, [00:11:00] um, predictable about them, but they are a very, um, diverse, um, consumer group and their needs and in their ever changing desires. So it's just ironic that brands continue to overlook this group.
Mallory: One, if they're looking for the ideal, predictable, you know, loyal consumer. This, this group is right there.
Deanna: Yeah. No, that's, that's an interesting point. I, and I'm not sure if, if this is the sort of data you observe, but it makes me wonder, might brands be concerned about alienating the customer they're most comfortable or most practiced at serving? If they start to cater to women in their late forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond, mi, might they feel like they're going to lose those younger consumers along the way.
Mallory: Oh, of course. And I think that that's where the hesitation lies, and I think it's unfortunate that the reason they're. Concerned about alienating those consumers. Like let's say you're a, you're a youth facing brand with fun, [00:12:00] gen Z oriented products, and you come out with, um, a mature skin cream. Um, so does that suddenly make you uncool, for example, which just speaks to how toxic, you know, beauty standards towards aging still are.
Mallory: And how much as, as far as we. I think we've come in this industry and there are so many brands acting in good faith, and we've seen such advancements. It is still a really hard, um, taboo and beauty standard to, to break through, to really get the industry to embrace on mass that youth is not synonymous with the one true definition of beauty.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. Thank you. That's, that's very helpful. Um, since you are looking at a full spectrum of ages, let, let's jump back and think more about Gen Alpha and Gen Z. As you suggested, they're more engaged with skincare and beauty. They're also living in what we could call a very media rich world. You, you used the word toxicity just now [00:13:00] to think about marketing, um, and, and aging in particular.
Deanna: But I think this might also apply to both ingredients and percentages, um, or doses of, of those that are maybe not healthy for young skin. And toxicity can certainly apply to, to some of the messaging that younger consumers are getting as well. Can you help us think about how brands and retailers might be more conscientious in this regard, or, or what we should be doing?
Mallory: It's, you know, it's a tricky one because it's natural as the. Young kid to want to experiment with beauty. We, we've all done it. You know, many of us who have been in the beauty industry or beauty obsessives, we all remember playing with makeup and skincare and, you know, nail care and having fun to want to experiment and emulate older kids what you see in your, in your parents.
Mallory: Um, so we should be encouraging that, but in an appropriate [00:14:00] way. Um. When you see children, of course this was a little bit of, I think, um, overinflated panic, but there were many kids, you know, buying retinol creams. That was something that was observed on, you know, several occasions, you know, during that initial Sephora tween, you know, panic that happened.
Mallory: Um, so I think what brands. Can do in terms of if you want to act responsibly while still capturing this age group is number one, um, speak not only, not just to those young consumers, but speak to the parents and guardians as well. You know, put out education about what is and what isn't. Safe in your product range for their children to use.
Mallory: Um, and why? That's the, that's the really important part is the why. I think, you know, you'd be surprised how many parents don't understand how retinol works and why. It has the anti-aging effects that it does, and [00:15:00] so it's important to explain these things. And also, of course, you know, I would uplift images, positive images of aging, even if you're trying to capture Gen Z because we have.
Mallory: Gen Z and Gen Alpha because we have these two generations that are terrified of aging. You see this on TikTok all the time, um, talking about how scared they are to age, and that's really a frightening cultural moment that's happening and it's being fueled by, um, kind of this vicious cycle on social media.
Mallory: And so. If you're a brand, you have a responsibility to interrupt that vicious cycle. So educate parents, um, speak, also speak to, you know, if you know you have a growing base of Gen Alpha consumers, you can speak to them directly, but make sure it's age appropriate. You know, explain why you know these products aren't quite right for their skin.
Mallory: And encourage, you know, what, what things they can be doing instead. You know, [00:16:00] it's very easy to not. Play into the, the, the very simple cash grab. I mean, you know, the, you know, the idea of the old phrase of taking candy from a baby, so to speak, you know, is kind of what's happening with, you know, children who have access to, um, you know, elaborate beauty routines they see on TikTok and they wanna emulate and.
Mallory: Isn't it convenient? They can buy those products through TikTok shop, which has helpfully been connected to their parents' credit card account. So it's just so easy to be predatory of these young children, and I think as a brand, there are just so many points of contact where you can choose to interrupt that vicious cycle and be more responsible.
Deanna: Yeah, no, very, very helpful ideas there. Thank you. And I, I would highlight too, there. In what you said, there's such an opportunity for consumer education to, you know, help very young consumers, you know, become more fluent, uh, in, in skincare ingredient information and, and routines, but also in educating the [00:17:00] parents.
Deanna: Those are consumers as well. Right. So you're, you're only, you know, building, um. Good information in the consumer marketplace, which is something I hear, you know, from so many cosmetic scientists or ingredient companies. They want the consumer to, to know better, um, to have a fuller information or more accurate information.
Deanna: So that opportunity is certainly there. Um, go ahead.
Mallory: Oh, sorry. I was gonna say, I completely agree. Um, you know, again, we talk about the educated consumer. I think sometimes we take that for granted because it is on the rise. However, it is not the universal standard all the time. And so education is, is, you know, a, a maintenance thing that the beauty industry and brands constantly have to do.
Mallory: You cannot ever take it for granted. That a consumer knows how to use your product correctly, that they know how this specific ingredient works. So yeah, it is. It is.
Deanna: Yeah, well said. Thank you. [00:18:00] Trend forecasting, which is the work that you do, um, involves data, but also what I would call imagination or maybe intuition. Fashion Snoops is, uh, the company you work for. It's a, a global trend forecasting agency. Of course, your specialty is clearly beauty, uh, but the company does, um, as one would guess also work in fashion as well as accessories and home decor.
Deanna: I mentioned this because I wanna think about the role that forecasting experts like yourself have in shaping the future. It might be cliche to say it, but the future has not been written yet. How conscious are you that your work is influencing the choices and changes your clients make? Do you, do you feel some sort of responsibility for, um, you know, we're talking about what shows up in the marketplace in terms of product and, and the messaging that consumers see.
Deanna: Tell me about where you sit there.
Mallory: Y you know, it's a really fine line to walk and it's something that I'm. Constantly conscious of. Um, it's, it's one of those really [00:19:00] subtle, um, in-between areas that a trend forecaster or anyone who works in the trend space occupies that. Especially when there are sensitive issues like this that you, you do feel a sense of responsibility and what.
Mallory: What you are telling clients and how to activate and, and act on a trend. So I think, you know, but on the other hand, um, it is our, you know, it's our role to report on what's happening and what we're seeing in the industry, um, just from a predictive standpoint, you know, how we're seeing, you know, which direction are we seeing the winds move.
Mallory: So I, I think how, you know, I, I hope that, at least that what. I have managed to do is, especially, you know, when there are issues like this, you know, we report on always the why behind, um, behind these trends. And I think that gives us a, a great amount of leeway to explore some of the [00:20:00] nuance of these conversations in a way that hopefully guides.
Mallory: Our clients towards, um, an understanding of their own responsibility as we pass this trend information along to them. You know, in our reports, we'll, we'll dive into, why these things are happening and if there are any consumer concerns, um, or if there's any. Any discussion around the is around the issue, uh, that they should be aware of to hopefully inform and, at least inform, if not outright influence what, where they should take this.
Mallory: It's also helpful, um, just from informing our clients, you know, there are. It is important to be aware of , potentially sensitive topics like creating skincare for nine year olds. If that's something you wanna do, how can you do it appropriately and how can you do it well? And this is, it's funny, it's funny you mention that 'cause this is something that we, we grapple with all the time.
Mallory: Um, but again, our, you know, our role is to. [00:21:00] See, forecast the winds of change, so to speak, and translate all that, you know, cultural, macro level goodness into what's happening within beauty. And when these issues come up where we have the opportunity to kind of define how one of these issues is being, uh, presented to the industry, um, I do feel quite a bit of responsibility.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. And I'm, I'm not surprised at your response to my question there, but, but it's always reassuring to hear that, um, you know, it, it is top of mind for you and, and I know for so many other experts and professionals, as you said, working in. The trend space in any fashion. Um, before we finish up here, I do wanna remind everyone listening that cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna opens this week on Thursday, March 20 in Bologna, Italy.
Deanna: I will be sure to link cosmoprof.com in the show notes. That's where you can get your ticket. You can explore the digital directory of all the exhibitors. You can see the full exhibition map as well. Um, [00:22:00] and I will also link you to the Cosmo talk session where Mallory is speaking on Friday at 12 noon. Uh.
Deanna: Until then, Mallory, I am so very glad that you took time to speak with me today. This was very interesting. Thank you for being a guest on the Cosmo Factory Podcast.
Mallory: Me, this was great.
Deanna: Yeah, you're welcome. I will see you at cosmoprof.