Beauty consumers demand change says Beauty Pie
As consumers reach their own economic boiling point, they will demand fairness and accountability from the beauty industry says Marcia Kilgore, Beauty Pie.
We spoke to Marcia Kilgore, founder of Beauty Pie (and the woman behind Bliss, Soap & Glory and FitFlop) and Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory about what’s happening in the D2C beauty space.
These two have partnered up on a new beauty report that argues that a period of financial uncertainty, increased free time during the pandemic and greater access to information (influencers) has created a generation of hyper-knowledgeable consumers expecting brands to provide more honesty about their products – from efficacy to supply chain.
According to their report, the beauty industry is midst a transformation as brands respond to a backdrop of global uncertainty, consumers embrace new mindsets and disruptors push the needle of the sector forward.
The cost-of-living crisis is applying a lot of pressure – perhaps in the right direction though. Consumers are set to demand fairness, openness, accountability and inclusion in the beauty industry and this is what the report is all about.
It’s titled, Beauty Futures 2025: Beauty, Beautility and the Rise of the ‘Question Everything’ Economy – which is a bit of a mouthful but it makes an interesting read. The report reveals that fifteen of the leading beauty brands source products from the same three manufacturers globally. This leads to hyper inflated markups which ultimately means the consumer is paying higher prices for products with the same base ingredients.
Offering consumers luxury beauty products at face value prices, online disruptor Beauty Pie has carved out a niche as a direct-to-consumer brand founded on the psychology behind consumer behaviour.
Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about these varying cost structures and markups and according to Beauty Pie will be calling brands out for a more fairness and open approach to everything from price point to product efficacy.
Beauty Pie believe that this shift will fundamentally change perception of higher price being linked to quality, placing more pressure on brands to prioritise shared values and demonstrate fairness and functionality.
Marcia Kilgore, founder, Beauty Pie, said “Why is it still an industry that does things the ‘traditional’ way? Why perpetuate the myth that people want to buy into the mystique of beauty; the smoke and mirrors, rather than the glorious revelations of the ingredients, technology and artistry? Why is it okay still to be paying crazy retailer markups, and not even know that the stuff you’re actually paying for – might only cost a tenth of the price to make and manufacture?”
Beauty Pie is a DTC beauty brand that’s doing things slightly differently. It was created in 2017 by guru of the beauty industry Marcia Kilgore. Beauty Pie’s USP is its ‘transparent pricing model’. The brand buys direct from labs, meaning members pay for the product, packaging, new product development, safety testing and warehousing, but not the added marketing costs or retailer mark-ups.
You can view the full report here.
