Voice of the Industry

E-beauty lows: Hair care saw ‘steep decline’ in customer review sentiment during 2020

13-Apr-2021 By Kacey Culliney

Online beauty customer reviews in 2020 showed a sharp decline in sentiment across hair care, largely fuelled by product dissatisfaction around DIY hair colour kits and shipping issues, according to AI data specialist Revuze.

Indie Pioneers Episode 18

PODCAST – I predict a riot: Founder of Organic Riot on the hard truths about sustainability

09-Apr-2021 By Amanda Lim

In this episode of Indie Pioneers, we chat with the founder of New Zealand brand Organic Riot about his valiant efforts in furthering the sustainable beauty movement and discuss some hard truths about what it means to be a sustainable and ethical beauty...

Too complex: Chinese team questions ‘quality and value’ of Asian herb research on skin whitening

08-Apr-2021 By Amanda Lim

A team of researchers from two Chinese institutes have questioned the validity of the existing research undertaken on Asian herbs for skin whitening applications, concluding that the ingredients were “too complex to obtain reliable results”.

Hurdles to harmonisation: Experts break down strategies for more cosmetic regulatory alignment in APAC

17-Mar-2021 By Amanda Lim

Stronger local connections and a proactive approach with regulators are some of the ways regulatory experts believe can help cosmetics regulation in Asia Pacific become as harmonised as possible.

Colgate-Palmolive on 2021 design-led innovation: ‘This is a huge change in our approach’, says tech chief

10-Mar-2021 By Kacey Culliney

Personal care giant Colgate-Palmolive is shifting away from traditional line extensions, taking a design-led innovation approach that considers user experience and trends from start-to-finish, with teams focused on opportunities in active oral care, the...

‘Consumers expect full transparency from brands and companies’, says incoming L'Oréal CEO

05-Mar-2021 By Kacey Culliney

Beauty consumers worldwide are demanding open and honest brand communication on product formulations and ingredients in a digital world strained by unreliable and biased information, says the deputy CEO of L’Oréal.

‘Flywheel’ effect: Philips expects boom in at-home IPL hair removal systems in 2020 to lead to higher penetration in APAC

22-Feb-2021 By Amanda Lim

Philips Electronics has seen a boom in demand for at-home IPL hair removal systems in 2020 and believes this will lead to higher adoption rates across Asia-Pacific.

‘Less exuberance, more elegance’: Branding expert’s assessment on 2021’s Lunar New Year beauty collections

10-Feb-2021 By Amanda Lim

How has the uncertainty and unrest of 2020 impacted the way brands are ushering in the Lunar New Year? We speak to Spencer Ball, creative director of SGK, to find out.

E-commerce platform Shopee details how beauty brands could benefit from expansion drive

01-Feb-2021 By Amanda Lim

South East Asian e-commerce firm Shopee is eyeing a golden opportunity to tap into previously hard-to-reach demographics, opening up new opportunities for beauty brands on the online platform.

Hyper-empowerment: Fawn & Co expects diverse business to thrive on the back of bespoke, circular beauty trends

27-Jan-2021 By Amanda Lim

Singapore-based Fawn & Co is expecting interest in personalisation and sustainability to drive the growth of its beauty education and retail businesses in 2021.

Unilever commits to €2bn annual spend with ‘diverse’ suppliers by 2025

21-Jan-2021 By Kacey Culliney

Personal care major Unilever has set aside more money to conduct business with suppliers owned or managed by under-represented groups, including those led by women and people with disabilities.

Indigenous interest: Brand owner sees global potential for Aboriginal Australian cosmetics but hurdles remain

20-Jan-2021 By Amanda Lim

Aboriginal Australian skin care brands are battling a lack of ingredient sources and pandemic-driven logistical issues – but the founder of Natural Cover is still optimistic about the sector’s growth potential.

‘Managing the non-homogeneity’: Shiseido APAC CEO on why diverse region holds huge cosmetics opportunities

12-Jan-2021 By Amanda Lim

Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido Company aims to tap into opportunities offered by the diversity of the Asia Pacific region, which it believes holds huge potential particularly in South East Asia and India.

Indie Pioneers Podcast Episode 15

INDIE PIONEERS PODCAST – Inna Organic on how it defied naysayers to create one of the first organic sheet masks

08-Jan-2021 By Amanda Lim

In this episode of Indie Pioneers, we chat with the co-founder of Inna Organic about the brand’s challenging journey towards pioneering the concept of an organic-certified facial sheet mask.

All eyes on… Three emerging APAC markets to watch for cosmetic growth in 2021

05-Jan-2021 By Amanda Lim

Vietnam, India and China’s lower-tier cities are poised for concerted cosmetics and personal care sector growth in 2021, according to our exclusive expert analysis from industry insiders.