In 2020, no longer does the beauty industry solely cater to the mass- market. As consumers increasingly seek out beauty solutions suited to their specific needs, there has never been a greater need for personalization in the category. The concept of personalization in beauty is far from saturation. An influx of information online and on social media has educated consumers on their beauty needs. They know their skin, hair, and body best; they also know that everyone is different and wants their individual requirements to be catered for. As they realize that one-size does not fit all, customization offers a credible solution.
Exploring data-driven consultation for personalized option
With the use of big data, direct-to-consumer businesses have now got a clear idea of the consumers regarding their skin and hair concerns. With the help of consumer insights and artificial intelligence aid brands that offer customized solutions in understanding the skin or hair profiles of individuals better and match it to the right set of products. This has not only made it easy for consumers to choose the right product but also made us realize that data also showed us that a generic product, mass-produced by an FMCG firm cannot be the most effective way to combat your skin and hair problems.
Earlier mass-produced products only catered to a majority of women than men. Male shoppers were particularly underserved in this area, too, with ‘male grooming’ often being promoted as a blanket category, instead of one that recognizes men as individuals, with different skin types and skincare requirements. What matters the most in a successful skincare regime is the ingredients, their concentration, and overall formulation. What the product label reads, is what one must rely on.
Devashish Shrivastava
Your skin’s characteristics are unique to you – Be it oily, dry, normal, or sensitive, only the right products with the right ingredients and formulations can repair damage and restore your skin’s texture and smoothness. The same problem goes for hair! Problems like dry hair, breakage, split ends are common and one must find the right solution to it. Speaking of haircare personalized solution, Vedix, India’s first customized Ayurvedic haircare solution, was born out of two undeniable truths about the hair care industry.
Firstly, hair texture, hair issues, hair damage levels among several other aspects have to be catered uniquely. Although women were open to experimenting with even their basic hair care products then why not make them indulge in personalized haircare products? Second, domestic brands have a sizeable presence in the mass category with the overall market steadily moving towards ‘premiumization’, while premium markets are largely dominated by international brands.
Consumers must be made aware that Indian skin type is different than other ethnicities. Our skin and hair react differently and brands whose characteristics and formulation within the products do not fit well with the Indian skin type won’t show effective results. Considering the above, here’s how the beauty industry can create better brand relevance!
Arbaaz sayed
Digital consultation to create customer’s profile
With a few carefully chosen questions on the customer’s skin or hair type will help the brand form the customers profile. AI and customer insights companies like Vedix and SkinKraft are now able to get unique information about an individual’s skin. Consumers skin characteristics like type, skin issues, lifestyles, environment, and geographic location, that give an accurate picture of the individual to base their customized solution on. Data received is very crucial in understanding the skin profiles of individuals better and match it to the right set of products. It also assists us in further improving the efficacy of our products and further expand to new products that a particular skin profile needs.
Chayanika Goswami
Avoid the one-size-fits-all approach
The one-size-fits-all approach is long gone! Now, most brands are creating a variety of products like cruelty-free and paraben-free products. Brands specialized in specific ranges like launching acne range and so on are signs that the industry is evolving. Hence choose products that fit well with your skin type and the marketing concepts or through the promise of customized ingredients.
Offers result-oriented solutions
At Vedix every product begins with a thorough examination of your body and its humors. Vedix’s Algorithm is built to evaluate your Doshas based on a detailed Ayurvedic questionnaire. So, you can be sure of the fact that every product from Vedix is customized and formulated with the right ingredients to solve your issues! Vedix understands the state of elevated doshas in one’s body through its Vedix Dosha Assessment Questionnaire. Based on the inputs given by the user, Vedix uses herbs and natural essentials, which can specifically help in controlling the damage caused by the elevated doshas.
Similarly, at SkinKraft our customers are taken through SkinID, a dermatologist-approved questionnaire pertaining to their skin type, skin concern, and lifestyle choices which has a direct and indirect implication on their skin health. Once the responses are recorded, the algorithm evaluates all the parameters and the customer is classified into one of 72 broad profiles, each of which breaks down into thousands of combinations. Depending on the individual’s current skin health and needs, a customized kit is then created to include a customized cleanser and moisturizer.
Spread awareness and create loyalty
Growing consumer awareness is bringing about a change in the product characteristics or ingredient-driven products for skincare and haircare brands today. Letting people know or making them aware of the idea of customization of beauty will solve half the problems at first. Creating awareness through promotions on social media helps in targeting a larger audience at once. Once you’ve let the word out, customers will then purchase your products and give out feedback on their experience. Loyalty, reward, and subscription schemes are big news in health and beauty retailing. They keep customers coming back by incentivizing them, rewarding them and personalizing their service each time.
This article is contributed by Chaitanya Nallan, CEO SkinKraft Laboratories.
