Beauty Disruptor Series: Innovation in Americas

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key Findings

Leading global players are increasingly under threat from fast-growing insurgent and local brands

Recent changes in consumer behaviour have opened up new opportunities for smaller brands, which tend to be more agile and responsive to trends than multinationals. Local businesses typically offer greater consumer-centricity, with a deeper understanding of what local consumers really want. Disruptors will often put an individual group of consumers at their core, and shape their offering accordingly, through customisation, naturalness, sustainability, etc.

Different evolution stages separate North and Latin America when it comes to disruption

The competitive landscape differs significantly when comparing North America and Latin America. While in the US and Canada, the surge of smaller brands continues to increase their presence in the market and force multinational companies to increase investment to keep up with the competition, in Latin America, the scenario is different. Bigger brands continue to reign, and most of the dynamism comes from medium sized players, which are typically quick to respond to local consumer needs.

Natural formulations and sustainability issues reinforce the presence of smaller brands in North America

Most of the disruptive brands emerging in North America have managed to understand the changes in consumer behaviour and launch items targeted appropriately. Several players have leveraged the preference for natural formulations to launch products that engage with sustainability issues. Although smaller brands continue to increase their presence, continuous investment by multinational companies keeps the share of smaller brands at bay.

Newcomers face a challenging scenario in Latin America

Smaller brands face extra challenges to grow in Latin America. Distribution issues can prevent companies from expanding. Internet penetration is increasing in the region, but the prevalence of store-based retailing and, especially, direct selling prevents some brands from increasing their presence more rapidly.