Key Takeaways

• Search interest for vegan and clean beauty brands increased by 16% (for vegan brands) and 12.9% (for clean beauty brands) in 2020.
• Vegan haircare brand Vegamour has a 427.8% search interest spike, and its sales in 2020 were 800% higher than its sales in 2019. Particularly, the Vegamour hair serum has the most online searches.
• The National Retail Federation conducted by IBM revealed that about "70% of consumers in the U.S. and Canada believe that a brand must be sustainable or eco-friendly."

Introduction

Growth in Search Interest for Sustainability

• A Spate analysis revealed an 18.5% year-over-year growth in searches for sustainability from 2018 to April 2021. Spate is a data science firm.
• Search interest for vegan and clean beauty brands also increased by 16% (for vegan brands) and 12.9% (for clean beauty brands) in 2020. According to Spate Co-Founder Olivier Zimmer, "These brands are outperforming the benchmark. It's showing that consumers are shifting toward those brands; they are voting with their money by picking up on these brands that are taking a stand and a positioning when it comes to these values."
• Search interest for "vegan" in the beauty industry has a 16.2% year-over-year growth in 2021. Zimmer also notes that the most searched-for products alongside "vegan" are hair dye, shampoo, moisturizer, and conditioner.

 

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Vegan Brand Vegamour as a Most Searched Brand

• Sustainable brands have the most searches. Vegamour, a Vegan haircare brand, is "one of the three sustainable brands" with the most searches from consumers online.
• Vegamour has a 427.8% search interest spike, and its sales in 2020 were 800% higher than its sales in 2019. Particularly, the Vegamour hair serum has the most online searches.
• According to Zimmer, "With the rise of stress and anxiety, people are losing their hair, and so that's how Vegamour here is uniquely positioned." The image below shows various Vegamour products.

 

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Other Most Searched Sustainable Beauty Brands

• KraveBeauty and Ilia Beauty are the other two brands with a high ranking in sustainable beauty searches. KraveBeauty's year-over-year growth is 237.3%, while Ilia Beauty's year-over-year growth is 225.8%.  
• Space Co-Founder Olivier Zimmer notes that KraveBeauty's TikTok popularity has driven its search presence. KraveBeauty uses natural and effective skincare ingredients.
• Zimmer said, "It's not only about being clean or having certain values; that's not enough. Brands that have been the most successful in the space also have other areas of key differentiation. That together with the idea of sustainability and clean is the key to success to make a real impact and change."

Clean and Green Beauty Products are on Trend

• Studies have revealed that consumers nowadays are more focused on sustainability. In line with that, consumers show a high preference for "green beauty."
• Grand View Research revealed that clean beauty is expected to generate $25 billion in revenue by 2025.
•  Green beauty products have been trending as studies continue to show conventional cosmetics' toxicity.
• The National Retail Federation conducted by IBM revealed that about "70% of consumers in the U.S. and Canada believe that a brand must be sustainable or eco-friendly."

Increasing Interest in Plant-Based Products

• The 2022 annual consumer research study of the Plant-Based Products Council (PBPC) has shown an increasing consumer demand for products made out of sustainable materials.
• The research study revealed that 57% of consumers are now "using plant-based products at least once a week." In 2020, it was only at 53%.
• About 89% of consumers also expressed that they will support companies producing plant-based products.
• According to Jessica Bowman, PBPC executive director, "We're seeing companies respond to these demands by innovating not only the materials that make up cosmetic products but also the materials that those products come in. Renewable, plant-based materials can be used for the beauty industry's packaging needs and serve as a solution to many of the environmental and economic challenges presented by traditional plastic packaging."
• Beauty brand L'Oreal has already made a public commitment "to 100% eco-friendly packaging by 2025."

Research Strategy