Online Buying Power Extends Strong Arm to Beauty Products

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reports on the growing popularity and efficiency of online sales in beauty. He uses L’Oreal and Bloomies as a case study, and these are obviously big guns, but the trend can be applied to retailers of all sizes. Overall, sales have increased by 22% in the past year, and Forrester Research predicts that sales in the beauty category will go up 25% this year – higher than the average for online retail (18%).

And these are just the numbers. Women are indeed spending more money online, but the article also mentions that “new-generation technology is making it simpler for consumers to evaluate products, including cosmetics, on the Web.” The proliferation of product reviews, by real people (we hope) enhances the e-commerce experience. When more third-party information is available, people feel more comfortable with that final click because they feel like they really know what they’re buying.

In addition, as Allison Slater, the VP of marketing for Sephora, pointed out, the Internet allows for more personalization of services, like product recommendations. "Once we know a client's preferences, we can speak to them more effectively about what they want," she says.

And, more and more, they’re showing that they want single-brand websites. Sephora.com is the only exception, but then again, they do have their own brand that they’re working hard to promote. But the shutdown of Gloss.com – an online partnership between Estee Lauder, Chanel, and Clarins – has shown that many consumers prefer to shop on brand-specific websites.

Don't Look Now, But You've Entered the Building.

This is one of my favorite images from the exposition. Imagine: you make the trek all the way to Hall 5 of the Parc d'Expositions, dodge beauty-goers with their paper bags stuffed with promotional materials and samples and the exhibitors with their valises carefully packed with products.

You get your badge scanned by a BB fem-bot and welcomed to the event by a huge map unfurled on the ceiling above and a list of conference sessions. Then, straight ahead, this is what you see. Peek-a-boo; I see you, sucker!

Welcome to Cosmeeting.

DAY THREE. The LockOut.

Heavy rains the evening prior and humidity levels foreign to San Franciscan souls gave way to heavy morning fog, so the shuttle to the exposition is late, late, late. Upon arrival they do realize that the fair is slowly winding down – certainly less people wandering around than the day before, and more time to talk to each that does stop by.

Meetings at the Buyer’s Club; packaging demonstrations; a more diverse selection of visitors to the booth, like product-sampling program coordinator Xander from LatestinBeauty.com out of the UK, a few retailers with interesting ideas on how to introduce Edelbio to the Asian market, and of course, more journalists. They swear they’ll write something as soon as it hits stores in France, which is quite the Catch-22, as that often depends on popularity, which is of course dependent on press and word-of-mouth. No matter, it’s not too vicious of a cycle to overcome.

The Swiss Hub of France also stops by for a visit and to offer their support breaking into the French market. Much appreciated, but we may be headed elsewhere on the globe. Still, friendly smiles, even to the American(!)

The afternoon should have been chock-full of conference sessions, but the empty seats of Monday morning are no longer. The word may have spread about the wealth of content offered in these sessions and before many of the bilingual offerings swarms of conference-goers gather, struggling to get through the door. Luckily, Beyond Beauty has employed some serious-minded girls, garbed in pink blazers and severe hairdos, to guard the doors and explain the situation to the frustrated many. It’s not nice being turned away at any door, even when what’s inside does not involve boozing and schmoozing but rather snoozing. No, I take that back, there’s not even a sleepy yawn among the audiences I’ve observed.

Maybe Ludovic, the Beyond Beauty photographer, has captured some. He’s very entertained by the audience and digs candid shots as a break from the usual scramble to find a flattering angle of the presenter. I doubt he’ll be reading this – having reacted to the news of this blog with a slight twinkle in his eye, as if to say, yeah. right – but if he does, he’ll know that I was very entertained by him. So much, in fact, that I may have to sneak around the conference trying to capture his most flattering angle. Because who’s taking pictures of the photographer if it isn’t the writer?

In any case, he’s not denied entry, so doesn’t have to deal with the custom of dropping off a business card so as to receive the presentation via email, afterwards. When I do, then you’ll get the re-cap. With all those people queuing up to see them, they must be giving away some major secrets, don’t you think?

DAY TWO. Making a Thing Go Right.

Or left. Or any which way. Thinking the mad chaos of the day before would quell was a mistake and a half, as the morning, noon, and after were still full of interested parties walking by. Karine and Valerie ran back and forth to sales meetings as Sabine and Ana manned the now-famous booth. English, French; distributor, journalist, indian chief -- they're starting to blend together.

A few moments of fresh air and a walk around the expo hall led to some interesting photos of design elements and watching people do what they came here for: business. (Not to be confused with biz-natch, which is something that may have been occurring outside of Beyond Beauty borders.) We'll be keeping a close eye on a few emerging brands that have already been recognized, like YesForLov and Officina, as well as a Korean skin therapy label whose name escapes me. I would look it up, except on principle - if I walk by a stand more than 10 times, hear their name from other people, and still can't remember what it's called, it's time to give up. So the latter two don't get links, as a punishment for being forgettable and un-google-able.

Here's a brand that was quite memorable, particularly due to the blonde Canadian twin tag team that explained the story not behind, but rather of each product. Their concept is too clever for words, but with lip gloss names like "Darling You Look Fabulous", "Who's Your Caddy," and "That's So Eighties" I am sure you are intrigued. Worth a look! Congrats to the two girls, too, who have received awards from Cosmo for being generally 'kick-ass' and for landing a Sephora contract for two of their balms.


Long days followed by even longer nights, following up on contacts and discussing strategy. Whew, these trade shows are exhausting. But, at the risk of sounding like a lame-o, they are truly worth the effort.

Niche Brands: Avant-Garde Expert or New Religion?

Sephora’s Natacha Dzikowski, with a little help from Beyond Beauty’s technical team, got her PPT presentation started on “Tomorrow’s Niche Brands,” beginning with a catchy definition: ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL. As a double-digit sista’ myself –- hey, at this height, what can you do? –- who will wear anything from an S to an L, and who intersperses Rainbows with Jeffrey Campbells, and would take at least a few minutes to customize everything, from widgets on a Facebook page to stickers on a Vespa, this rings completely true. And there are others like me out there. Or rather, there are others who are not like me out there, who want something that speaks to them personally and that can be “made to measure” for their own particular tastes.

Enter niche brands. The successful ones of which combine a strong product offer with a unique angle, from thematic to creative, holistic to scientific, with reach and services, whether they be personal, like urban spas, or more mass market, like Whole Foods or other alternative distributors.

That is the recipe for success that Natacha gave, and as the buyer from Sephora, people were listening. Her presentation was rife with splashes of color and glamour shots, images from creative ad campaigns and scenes of so-called “intimist luxury.” She broke it down into four major categories:

• Understandable Beauty Clear & transparent, no tricks under the sleeve.

• Green Beauty Naturals & organics, focus on prevention rather than repair, and less aggressive in composition. A new coined phrase that I might have to start using from now on – “bio-glamour”.

• Real Beauty The telling of a story, philosophy, following real people in their route in life. With this comes the formation of a spontaneous relationship with the brand, not a blank corporate image. A face and a name.

• Slow Beauty There’s slow food, and slow city – and now there is slow beauty. This is a concept that I’m sure we’ll be spending more time on in the future, but for now just touching on the point that beauty has an origin, a history. Tracing the roots, pardon the pun, of a product, leading back into nature, botanicals, and a particular geographical region. This not only gives the consumer something to relate to, creates a slower, more enjoyable process, but adds credibility to the brand.

Cosmetics and Toiletries: An Introduction to Western European and French Markets

9:45am. Euromonitor’s Clare Lees speaks slowly and clearly for a primarily French audience, though there is also a live translation provided via headset. Her purpose was clear: to assure us that these markets are still healthy and growing, despite the overpowering blast of growth in the emerging markets of Brazil, China, Russia, etc. Her handy dandy charts were well-researched and presented, showing that though these markets do have the numbers and high percentage points like 12.6 and 12.5 % (Latin America and Eastern Europe) they still represent a healthy sector of the overall market share, holding on at 29% of the global total. In terms of sales, though the US, Japan, and Brazil are rolling in the most dough, France, Germany, the UK, and Italy are really not far behind, and quite even, at around 14 billion.

Saturation was another fear she attempted to alleviate. Sure, there are a lot of brands here in France, she said. But the French also have the highest per capita spend topping out at $233, compared to the rest of Western Europe which is only $165. And let’s not forget the increasing birth rate. They’re churning out more future consumers.

What does all this mean for skin care? Well, skin care and sun care are by far the biggest sector of the industry. She projected that “skin care will remain the most buoyant in growth and value terms” in the future, averaging a 6% growth rate. In addition, with global trends such as social responsibility, natural & organics, and technological innovation, we’re happy to report that we’ve already established these main ingredients for success. So that’s one thing we’re on top of – even if our stand décor may have started drooping!

Summarize This: Beyond Beauty Conference Sessions, in a Nutshell

Selective. Decisive. Confident. These are the core qualities of today’s consumer. And what makes them all of these things? Information. Sure, the consumer may be king, but how did they get crowned? It wasn’t through standing armies, political connections, or jure sanguinis. It was through the modern-day equivalent of a spy network, of an advisory cabinet, of periscopic and telescopic technology, as they carefully surveyed the kingdom, seeking out the best choices.

Information empowers the consumer, and this is scary for a lot of brands. With so many available alternative sources of information about a product like blogs, industry reports, user-reviews, and the like, it is very easy for a brand to “get nailed,” as it were, if it is pandering false information about its composition or treating the public as media targets rather than as individuals. That’s why Edelbio chose to be all about transparency, and is constantly adding to the body of knowledge about organic cosmetics through the website, blog, and print collateral.

In the spirit of education, therefore, we’ll be posting notes, summaries, and observations taken from the many conferences going on at Beyond Beauty 2007. Our first observation is this: there are over 700 exhibitors on the floor. And yet there were no more than 100 chairs, half-filled, in the conference rooms. Chew on that.

DAY ONE. Let the games begin...

Team Edelbio arrives at the Exposition Center, with only minor delay. The target time of 8:00am duly met, they soon realize that much has changed from The Cosmeeting of the Day Before. Carpets are laid, with various colors to complement each category: Blue for Spa, Green for Natural, Gray for Beauty Niche, and Pink, well, everywhere. Perhaps a color consultant was flown in for the occasion.

They hastily but thoroughly prepare the stand, with a discriminate eye for detail and interest in what will appeal the eye. With so much to overwhelm passersby, it is better to be distinct through simplicity. Then, disaster strikes, in olfactory form. The slickly-dressed representative from a perfumery only a few meters away is spraying his wares on plush black feathers –-someone tell me what is wrong with that picture!—and the air is thick with sickly scent. Maybe their perfume is acceptable one at a time, but the combination of ten or more aromas at once is giving Team Edelbio mad headaches and will surely offend potential clients. Whatever will they do? Will they overcome this obstacle?

DAY ZERO. Or, The Day Before.

Door opens. Edelbio Enters Cosmeeting, Stage Left. Applause.

Hall 5 of Paris’s enormous Exposition Center feels vacant, as groups of workers hasten to lay down pink flooring and construct stands that will soon be colorfully decorated, building the skeleton on which beauty will stand. Literally.

Edelbio soon finds their own space – Stand 18 – front and center in the Beauty Niche program. With a busy walkway in front and Sensation Chocolat behind, they feel confident in the location. Unfortunately, Sensation was not prepared with choco-samples for everyone to make the day a little tastier.

But it was certainly colorful. The ongoing (friendly) debate about fuchsia vs. orange drapery of the stand lasted throughout the day. New talents were discovered: Valerie found in herself a phenomenal ability to cut and fold tape rectangles, Karine showed that flimsy gauze who was boss, and Ana unlocked the secrets to the “perfect tuck.” (No nip.) Sabine scurried hither and thither, giving directive, lending a helping hand.

End result?

Stand 18, tall and proud, wrapped up like a 12-year-old’s birthday cake--with a touch of glamour, of course.

It's Lonely at the Top

No, not the text on an Ivy Leaguer's T-shirt, the feeling of shooting footage from the second floor of VillePinte. Check out the view. And this is not even a quarter of it.