How Are Industry 4.0 Trends Evolving in the Cosmetics Sector?

What Are the Current Trends in the Cosmetics Market?

The cosmetics sector has been evolving particularly rapidly since the Industrial Revolution, with trends following one after another. While Covid-19 had a strong impact on consumer habits — people wore less make-up during lockdowns but consumed more beauty care products — men, who until then had not formed a significant part of the cosmetics customer base, now represent a prime target.

The cosmetics sector is undeniably facing numerous changes. New operational strategies and tools are therefore being put in place within companies to increase their capacity to evolve and their adaptability.

A Case Study: L'Oréal

To illustrate this quest for adaptability, L'Oréal reveals how it is managing the new challenges of Industry 4.0 in the cosmetics sector. These new challenges, centred around new consumers who want to obtain products quickly and with full transparency, include:

• Accelerated product development, to make products available as quickly as possible,

• Connected products, to guarantee better product traceability and optimise the supply chain,

• Agile and flexible operations, to respond more rapidly to consumer demand,

• Greater product personalisation, which is one of the major current trends,

• Added-value services, driven by intelligent data management.

These marketing challenges give rise to industrial challenges, to ensure operational excellence. Committed to giving its employees maximum autonomy and efficiency, L'Oréal relies on real-time tools for optimal data flow that facilitate worker mobility, as well as long- and medium-term optimisation and simulation tools to process and analyse data collected in the field.

What Role for Digital Technology?

In this context, digital technologies are becoming indispensable. Big Data, artificial intelligence, the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), and connected sensors are revolutionising the approach to beauty and offering endless solutions to satisfy these new consumers.

Digital technologies, in addition to optimising the industrial performance of factories, are essential for personalising products and adapting to needs. For example, thanks to data, it is now possible to carry out a skin diagnosis through an in-depth dermatological analysis, and thus recommend a tailored, bespoke routine. Product personalisation is also developing through the processing of collected data, which makes it possible to compile clinical cases and better manage atypical skin types.

Augmented reality, for its part, is a genuine marketing tool that enables the creation of more engaging and practical experiences for customers.

The applications of new technologies in the cosmetics sector are almost endless. Below are a few examples of technological innovations that have made their mark in recent years:

• Sephora launched a connected store featuring selfie mirrors, robots, vending machines, and connected sensors.

• L'Oréal offers a make-up testing application using augmented reality.

• For the launch of its “Manifesto” fragrance, Yves Saint Laurent introduced a bottle and case recognition screen. When the fragrance is placed on the smart screen, it is capable of displaying the fragrance’s information.

More Environmentally Responsible Products

Digital tools are not the only significant changes in the cosmetics sector. One of the most resounding trends concerns ecology. Customers, and in particular younger ones, are now looking for effective, environmentally responsible products whose production is transparent. Companies are therefore being pushed to adopt eco-responsible practices to appeal to customers who are increasingly scrutinising corporate behaviour.

This trend has given rise to “slow cosmetics”, which follows a short supply chain logic and promotes more considered consumption, with ecological, healthy, and natural products.

How to Become an Eco-Responsible Company?

In order to reduce the negative environmental impact of these practices, the cosmetics sector is increasingly using materials sourced exclusively from ecological supply chains for its product formulations. Becoming an eco-responsible brand also involves promoting agriculture that does not destroy biodiversity, reducing plastic packaging, and minimising product transport. Some cosmetics companies also donate a percentage of their turnover to environmental organisations. To protect the environment, cosmetics companies must also optimise their water and energy consumption, limit the release of substances into nature, and collaborate with suppliers that meet CSR criteria.

All these changes may seem difficult to implement, but initiatives from certain companies are encouraging others to demonstrate an ever-greater commitment to the environment. In addition to being an ethical and ecological challenge, eco-responsible commitment is now a vital economic issue, given that companies’ environmental communications generally have a significant influence on share prices.

Find Out More About the Cosmetics Industry!

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