Beauty: Olehenriksen's Gen Z Glow Up: Peachy Keen for New Audiences

Why it is the Topic Trending: The Social-Driven Quest for Accessible, Viral Beauty

This topic is trending because it perfectly encapsulates several major forces reshaping the beauty industry: the immense purchasing power and influence of Gen Z, the undeniable impact of TikTok as a product discovery and sales engine, and the strategic pivot by established brands to capture younger demographics. As older, traditional brands like Olehenriksen seek to remain relevant and grow, they must adapt to Gen Z's unique consumer behaviors, which prioritize authenticity, social proof, and value. The success of products like the Pout Preserve lip balm, driven by organic virality on TikTok, serves as a powerful case study for how modern beauty brands can achieve widespread recognition and sales. The launch of a new collection specifically tailored to replicate this success demonstrates a clear, data-informed strategy to not just ride a trend, but to systematically build a new "hero" product line for a crucial, digitally native consumer segment. It highlights the ongoing shift from traditional advertising to creator-led, community-driven marketing in the beauty space.

• Gen Z's Market Dominance: Gen Z is becoming the most influential consumer demographic, with significant purchasing power and a unique set of values and preferences that brands must cater to for future growth.

• TikTok's Commercial Power: TikTok has evolved into a formidable e-commerce platform, driving viral trends and direct sales, making it a non-negotiable channel for beauty brands targeting younger audiences.

• The "Lip Balm Craze" and Viral Success: The phenomenon of products achieving viral status, particularly in categories like lip treatments, showcases the power of social media to rapidly elevate a product's popularity and sales.

• Brand Longevity and Relevance: Established brands founded decades ago must actively innovate and adapt their product offerings and marketing strategies to remain relevant and attractive to new generations of consumers.

• Shift to Influencer-Led Marketing: The increasing reliance on product seeding and collaborations with social media creators over traditional advertising reflects a fundamental change in how beauty brands build awareness and trust.

Overview: Olehenriksen's Strategic Leap to Capture Gen Z with Peach Glaze

Olehenriksen, a skincare brand founded in 1983, is strategically targeting Gen Z with its new three-piece Peach Glaze collection. Building on the unexpected viral success of its Pout Preserve Lip Treatment among this younger demographic, the brand aims to establish Peach Glaze as a new hero franchise. The collection features vitamin C, niacinamide, peach ferment, and peach water, offering brightening and hydrating benefits at a more accessible price point compared to their existing "Truth" franchise, which resonates more with an "elder Millennial" audience. This move signifies Olehenriksen's clear intention to leverage its TikTok Shop success and influencer seeding strategies to cultivate a direct connection and loyalty with Gen Z consumers, moving them from awareness of a single viral product to engagement with a broader brand identity.

Detailed Findings: From Pout Preserve's Virality to Peach Glaze's Gen Z Ambitions

• Brand History and Core Audience: Olehenriksen, founded in 1983, has historically been known for its vitamin C-infused Truth Serum and Banana Bright Eye Cream, which are favorites among "elder Millennial" consumers.

• New Collection Focus: The brand is launching a new "Peach Glaze" collection specifically aimed at Gen Z.

• Collection Products and Ingredients: The three-piece collection includes a $42 Peach Glaze Glow Serum, a $35 facial mist, and a $23 limited-edition Peach Glaze Pout Preserve Lip Treatment. Key ingredients are vitamin C, niacinamide, peach ferment, and peach water, focusing on brightening and hydrating.

• Accessible Positioning: The Peach Glaze collection is positioned at a more accessible price point than the brand's existing Truth franchise, making it more appealing to a Gen Z audience.

• Pout Preserve's Success as a Gateway: The 2023-launched Pout Preserve Lip Treatment (available in 4 core shades, 4 shimmer shades, and limited editions) has become Olehenriksen's top-selling product on TikTok Shop and is driving new Gen Z consumers to the brand.

• TikTok's Influence: Olehenriksen has generated approximately $500,000 in sales year-to-date on TikTok Shop. The article emphasizes "getting the product into people's hands and getting them excited to talk about it" as key to Pout Preserve's success.

• Overall Sales Growth: Olehenriksen's U.S. Sephora sales from May 2024 to May 2025 were around $42 million, representing a 23% growth year-over-year.

• Marketing Strategy for Peach Glaze:

  • Influencer Seeding: The brand engaged in a "big tease" by seeding Peach Glaze merchandise to 500 influencers pre-launch, followed by collection mailers for a second wave of content.

  • "Cheeky" Approach: The brand intends to "lean into" the "cheeky" potential of the "peach" theme.

  • Mascot/Character: A "Glazy" peach character serves as a mascot, teasing the collection on the brand's TikTok page.

  • Sephora Exclusivity: The Peach Glaze collection is exclusive to Sephora.

• Strategic Goal: Olehenriksen aims for Peach Glaze Serum to be as recognizable for Gen Z as Banana Bright Eye Cream is for older audiences, solidifying the brand's identity with this new consumer base. The brand is currently "overindexing" with the 18-to-24-year-old demographic, primarily due to Pout Preserve.

Key Success Factors of Product (Trend): Viral Social Proof, Accessible Innovation, and Playful Brand Identity

• Viral Social Proof: The ability to generate widespread organic buzz and peer-to-peer recommendations on platforms like TikTok is paramount. This relies on products that are inherently shareable, visually appealing, and deliver noticeable results that users want to showcase.

• Accessible Innovation with Core Benefits: Offering innovative formulations (like new takes on Vitamin C and Niacinamide) at price points that are appealing to a value-conscious yet trend-driven Gen Z. This lowers the barrier to entry while delivering perceived efficacy.

• Playful and Relatable Brand Identity: Adopting a "cheeky" and engaging brand personality, using mascots, and leveraging informal, authentic communication styles that resonate with Gen Z's preference for relatable content over polished advertising.

• Strategic Influencer Seeding: Deep and early engagement with a broad network of relevant social media creators (micro and macro) to generate authentic content and create pre-launch excitement and widespread product awareness.

• Category Trend Alignment: Tapping into existing or emerging product crazes (like lip treatments) to gain initial traction and then leveraging that momentum to introduce complementary new hero products.

Key Takeaway: Olehenriksen is strategically leveraging its TikTok-fueled viral success with Pout Preserve to establish the new Peach Glaze collection as a Gen Z hero, proving that accessible, influencer-driven innovation is key to capturing this influential demographic's loyalty.

Main Trend: The "TikTok-First Beauty Brand Evolution"

Description of the Trend: From Product to Social Sensation – Building Brands Through Digital Virality and Creator Collaboration

The "TikTok-First Beauty Brand Evolution" describes a transformative trend where beauty brands, both established and emerging, are prioritizing TikTok and other short-form video platforms as primary channels for product discovery, marketing, and direct sales, fundamentally reshaping their go-to-market strategies. This trend moves away from traditional advertising models, favoring authentic, user-generated content, micro and macro-influencer collaborations, and highly shareable product experiences that can achieve viral status. Brands are adapting their product development cycles to align with rapid trend shifts on social media, often launching "hero" products that are inherently "TikTokable" (visually appealing, deliver quick results, or have a catchy narrative). Success in this evolving landscape is measured not just by sales, but by engagement rates, organic reach, and the ability to foster a community of digital advocates who spread brand awareness through authentic peer recommendations, thereby building brand loyalty from the ground up on social platforms.

What is Consumer Motivation: Social Connection, Authentic Discovery, and Accessible Trends

• Authentic Discovery: Gen Z consumers, in particular, are skeptical of traditional advertising and actively seek genuine product recommendations from peers and relatable creators on social media, viewing this as a more trustworthy form of discovery.

• Social Connection and Community: Engaging with beauty content on TikTok allows consumers to feel part of a community, discover new trends alongside others, and express their identity through shared product experiences and aesthetics.

• Accessible Trend Adoption: Social platforms make viral beauty trends immediately accessible, motivating consumers to purchase products that enable them to participate in popular looks or routines without significant financial barriers.

• Instant Gratification and Visual Appeal: The short-form video format delivers quick, visually compelling demonstrations of product efficacy or aesthetic appeal, satisfying a desire for instant gratification and easily consumable content.

• Value for Money: While price-conscious, consumers are motivated to buy products that offer perceived high value, often driven by social proof that a more affordable option performs as well as, or better than, a luxury alternative.

What is Driving Trend: Gen Z's Digital Native Behavior, Micro-Influencer Power, and Platform Innovations

• Gen Z's Digital Native Behavior: This generation grew up with social media as their primary source of information and entertainment, making platforms like TikTok their default for product discovery, research, and purchase. Their digital fluency and preference for visual content are key drivers.

• Emergence of Authentic Micro and Nano-Influencers: Consumers trust smaller, more relatable creators who offer genuine reviews and daily life integration over highly polished celebrity endorsements. This decentralizes influence and creates more authentic connections.

• TikTok's Algorithmic Reach and E-commerce Features: TikTok's powerful algorithm can propel products to viral status quickly, while integrated features like TikTok Shop allow for seamless product discovery and direct purchase within the app, shortening the path to conversion.

• Rapid Trend Cycles: The accelerated pace of trends on social media compels brands to innovate quickly and launch products that align with real-time consumer interests, creating a dynamic and responsive market.

• Consumer Demand for Transparency and Relatability: Gen Z values brands that are transparent about ingredients, values, and behind-the-scenes processes, and they connect more with marketing that feels genuine and less staged.

What is Motivation Beyond the Trend: Self-Expression, Belonging, and Informed Wellness

• Self-Expression and Identity Building: For Gen Z, beauty products are not just about aesthetics but serve as tools for personal expression and building their unique identity, both offline and online. This motivates them to seek out products that align with their personal brand.

• Sense of Belonging and Participation: Engaging with viral beauty trends and shared product experiences fosters a sense of belonging to a larger community, validating their choices and providing a social outlet.

• Informed Wellness and "Skintellectualism": Beyond basic benefits, consumers are increasingly motivated by understanding ingredients, formulations, and the science behind skincare, seeking products that contribute to long-term skin health and overall well-being.

• Conscious Consumption and Values Alignment: Gen Z is highly motivated to support brands that align with their ethical and social values, including sustainability, inclusivity, and transparent practices, often prioritizing these over price alone.

• Creative Experimentation and Play: Beauty routines are seen as an opportunity for creative play and experimentation, encouraging consumers to try new products, techniques, and looks that go beyond traditional norms.

Descriptions of Consumers: The Savvy Digital Creator and Community Seeker

Consumer Summary: A digitally fluent, values-driven individual who navigates social media for authentic product discovery, embraces accessible innovation, and seeks both self-expression and community through their beauty choices, often influencing peers and valuing transparency from brands.

These consumers are highly independent in their research, preferring organic social proof over traditional ads. They are quick to adopt and spread viral trends, actively participating in online communities centered around beauty. While they appreciate quality and efficacy, they also prioritize affordability and brands that align with their ethical stances. Their purchasing decisions are often a blend of personal need, social influence, and a desire to express their unique identity online. They are loyal to brands that consistently deliver on their promises and engage them authentically on platforms they frequent.

• Who are them:

  • Digital Natives: Grew up with smartphones and social media as central to their lives.

  • Trend Adopters & Creators: Quick to pick up on new trends and often create their own content around them.

  • Value-Driven Shoppers: Prioritize authenticity, sustainability, inclusivity, and ethical practices from brands.

  • Socially Influenced: Highly swayed by peer recommendations and influencer content rather than traditional ads.

  • Budget-Conscious but Value-Oriented: Seek affordable products that deliver high perceived value and performance.

• What kind of products they like:

  • Viral "Hero" Products: Items that have gained significant traction on social media (e.g., viral lip balms, specific serums).

  • Accessible Skincare: Products that offer effective ingredients (like Vitamin C, Niacinamide) at more affordable price points.

  • Multi-Functional Products: Items that offer more than one benefit, simplifying their routines.

  • Visually Appealing & "Shareable": Products with attractive packaging, unique textures, or vibrant colors that look good on camera.

  • "Clean" & Transparent Formulations: Skincare that is perceived as safe, with clear ingredient lists and free from harmful chemicals.

• What is their age?: Primarily 18-24 years old (Gen Z, particularly the older segment), though the broader Gen Z demographic ranges from early teens to early twenties.

• What is their gender?: Predominantly female, but with growing interest from non-binary and male consumers due to increasing gender fluidity in beauty.

• What is their income?: Varies, but generally conscious of affordability; they may have limited disposable income but are willing to spend on products that offer high value and align with their interests.

• What is their lifestyle:

  • Highly Digital & Connected: Spend significant time on social media, consuming and creating content.

  • Fast-Paced & Trend-Aware: Keep up with rapid trend cycles in fashion, beauty, and culture.

  • Socially Conscious: Engaged with social issues and prefer to support brands that reflect their values.

  • Self-Care Oriented: View skincare as part of their wellness and self-care routines.

  • Expressive & Creative: Use beauty as a form of self-expression and experimentation.

• What are their shopping preferences in the category article is referring to (skincare/beauty):

  • Digital Discovery: Primarily discover products through TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

  • Influencer Recommendations: Heavily influenced by micro- and nano-influencers they trust.

  • Online Shopping: Comfortable purchasing directly from social media platforms or brand websites.

  • Reading Reviews & User-Generated Content: Rely heavily on authentic reviews and content from other consumers.

  • Value-Focused: Seek effective products at accessible price points, often comparing options before buying.

• Are they low, occasional or frequent category shoppers: Frequent category shoppers, constantly exploring new products and trends, especially in skincare. Their frequency is often driven by new product launches, viral sensations, and the desire to experiment.

• What are their general shopping preferences-how they shop products, shopping motivations):

  • Research-Intensive: Will research products extensively online, looking at ingredients, reviews, and influencer content.

  • Value-Driven: Seek the best balance of quality, efficacy, and price.

  • Authenticity & Transparency: Motivated by brands that are genuine, transparent about their practices, and align with their values.

  • Social Validation: Purchases are often reinforced by peer approval or influencer endorsement.

  • Experiential: Enjoy the discovery process and engaging with brands that offer interactive or fun experiences.

Conclusions: The Gen Z Imperative – Adapt or Be Left Behind

The success of Olehenriksen's Pout Preserve and the strategic launch of Peach Glaze underscore a critical shift in the beauty landscape: Gen Z is not just a demographic; they are a new paradigm for brand engagement. Brands can no longer rely solely on traditional marketing; instead, they must embed themselves authentically within the digital ecosystems where Gen Z thrives, particularly TikTok. This involves embracing rapid trend cycles, empowering genuine creator partnerships, prioritizing accessible innovation, and speaking a visual, relatable language. Olehenriksen's ability to pivot from an "elder Millennial" favorite to a Gen Z magnet by leveraging a viral moment and intentionally building on that success provides a blueprint for longevity in a fiercely competitive and youth-driven market. Ultimately, the conclusion is that for beauty brands, reaching and retaining Gen Z necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of product development, pricing, and, most crucially, their entire marketing and communication strategy, prioritizing social authenticity and immediate relevance above all else.

Implications for Brands: Rethink, Revamp, Relate

• Prioritize Social-First Product Development: Brands should consider the "TikTokability" of products from conception, ensuring they are visually appealing, deliver noticeable quick results, or have a unique story that lends itself to viral content. This integrates social strategy into product innovation.

• Shift Marketing Budgets to Influencer Seeding: Significantly reallocate marketing spend from traditional advertising to extensive product seeding programs and authentic collaborations with diverse micro and nano-influencers. This builds genuine social proof and reach.

• Embrace Accessible Innovation and Value Pricing: Develop innovative formulations and expand product lines at price points that are competitive and appealing to Gen Z's value-conscious yet trend-driven purchasing habits. This broadens market accessibility.

• Cultivate a Playful and Authentic Brand Voice: Adopt a less formal, more relatable, and often "cheeky" brand personality in all communications, resonating with Gen Z's preference for authenticity and fun over polished corporate messaging. This fosters deeper connection.

• Leverage E-commerce Integration on Social Platforms: Maximize the use of in-app shopping features on platforms like TikTok Shop, streamlining the path from discovery to purchase for impulse-driven Gen Z consumers. This optimizes conversion rates.

Implication for Society: Democratization of Beauty Influence and Accelerated Trend Cycles

• Decentralization of Beauty Authority: Society will increasingly see beauty authority shifting from traditional media and celebrity endorsements to a more democratized landscape of diverse social media creators and peer reviews. This empowers individual voices.

• Faster Beauty Trend Cycles: The rapid dissemination of content on platforms like TikTok will continue to accelerate beauty trend cycles, leading to more frequent product launches and a constant evolution of popular aesthetics. This requires quicker consumer adaptation.

• Increased Focus on Authenticity and Transparency: Societal expectations for brand authenticity, transparency in ingredients, and ethical practices will intensify across all industries, driven by Gen Z's demand for brands that align with their values. This elevates ethical consumerism.

• Visual Communication as Primary Language: Visual content and short-form video will solidify their position as primary modes of communication for product discovery, education, and social interaction, impacting how information is consumed culturally. This reshapes media consumption habits.

• Blurring Lines Between Content Creation and Consumption: More individuals will move fluidly between being beauty content consumers and creators, contributing to a vibrant ecosystem of user-generated content and informal education. This fosters active participation.

Implications for Consumers: Empowered Discovery and Personalized Beauty Journeys

• Empowered Product Discovery: Consumers gain unparalleled access to a vast array of product information, reviews, and demonstrations through social media, empowering them to make highly informed purchasing decisions. This expands their options significantly.

• Greater Access to Diverse Beauty Solutions: The focus on Gen Z often translates to more inclusive product formulations and marketing that caters to diverse skin tones, types, and concerns, leading to broader accessibility for all consumers. This promotes inclusivity.

• Personalized Recommendations: Consumers will increasingly receive highly personalized product recommendations driven by social media algorithms and influencer content tailored to their specific interests and needs. This enhances relevance.

• Participation in Beauty Trends: It becomes easier and more accessible for consumers to engage with and participate in viral beauty trends, fostering a sense of community and shared experience. This facilitates social connection.

• Demand for Value and Transparency: Consumers will continue to expect transparent ingredient lists, ethical sourcing, and effective products at accessible price points, driving brands towards greater accountability. This raises consumer expectations.

Implication for Future: AI-Driven Personalization and Hyper-Niche Brand Ecosystems

• AI-Driven Personalized Product Curation: Future beauty consumption will be heavily influenced by AI, which will analyze individual skin concerns, preferences, and social media activity to offer hyper-personalized product recommendations and even custom formulations.

• Rise of Hyper-Niche Brands and Micro-Communities: The success of targeted strategies for Gen Z will lead to an explosion of even more hyper-niche beauty brands catering to extremely specific aesthetic preferences, ingredients, or community interests.

• Integrated Social Commerce Everywhere: Shopping functionality will become seamlessly integrated into every social media platform, live stream, and digital content piece, making the path from discovery to purchase almost instantaneous.

• Virtual Try-On and Experiential Beauty in the Metaverse: Augmented Reality (AR) and eventually metaverse environments will offer highly realistic virtual try-on experiences and immersive brand spaces, further bridging the gap between digital discovery and consumer confidence.

• Influencer-Brand Co-Creation as Standard Practice: The line between influencer and brand will further blur, with more direct co-creation of products and collections becoming a standard practice, driven by the desire for authentic resonance.

Consumer Trend: The Authentic Discovery & Engagement Trend: This trend signifies a shift in consumer behavior where individuals, particularly Gen Z, actively seek out beauty products through organic, social media-driven discovery and authentic influencer content, prioritizing genuine engagement and community over traditional advertising.

Consumer Sub Trend: The "Viral Value" Pursuit: This sub-trend describes consumers' motivation to purchase products that have achieved viral status on platforms like TikTok, driven by a perception of high value (efficacy for price) and a desire to participate in popular, shared beauty experiences.

Big Social Trend: The Creator Economy's Ascendance in Commerce: This broad social trend highlights the increasing power and commercial influence of individual content creators across all industries, transforming them into trusted authorities and direct sales channels, fundamentally reshaping marketing ecosystems.

Worldwide Social Trend: The Global Youth's Digital-First Lifestyle: This worldwide trend characterizes how young generations globally are primarily engaging with brands, discovering products, and forming opinions through digital platforms, making social media the dominant cultural and commercial force.

Social Drive: The Innate Human Desire for Belonging and Validation: This drive underlies the trend, as consumers are motivated to join online communities, participate in shared experiences, and gain social validation through their consumption choices and content creation on platforms like TikTok.

Learnings for Brands to Use in 2025: Embrace Agility, Authenticity, and Community

• Become "Trend Agile": Develop internal processes that allow for rapid product development and marketing campaign deployment to capitalize on fast-moving social media trends. This enables quick responses to viral moments.

• Champion Micro-Influencers: Focus on building long-term, authentic relationships with a diverse network of micro and nano-influencers who genuinely connect with their niche audiences. This fosters trusted, organic content.

• Invest in TikTok Shop Optimization: Treat TikTok Shop as a core sales channel, optimizing product listings, leveraging live streams, and participating in platform-specific campaigns to drive direct conversions. This maximizes sales on a key platform.

• Develop "Snackable" & Engaging Content: Create short, visually captivating video content that highlights product benefits quickly, often with a touch of humor or relatability, perfectly suited for Gen Z's consumption habits. This drives engagement.

• Foster User-Generated Content (UGC): Actively encourage and amplify consumer-created content, providing prompts, challenges, or incentives for users to share their experiences with products. This builds social proof and community.

Strategic Recommendations for Brands to Follow in 2025: From Product Launch to Cultural Movement

• Implement a "Viral Product Incubator": Establish a dedicated internal team or process focused on identifying emerging trends and rapidly developing products specifically designed for viral potential on social platforms. This ensures continuous innovation for the digital age.

• Create a "Creator-in-Residence" Program: Integrate key social media creators directly into product development or marketing strategy sessions to gain authentic insights and co-create campaigns that resonate with their audiences. This builds genuine partnerships.

• Launch Immersive Digital Brand Experiences: Develop interactive AR filters, gamified experiences, or metaverse activations that allow Gen Z to virtually engage with products and the brand's world in a fun, shareable way. This elevates brand interaction.

• Personalize Product Messaging via AI: Utilize AI to analyze consumer data and social listening to tailor product messaging and content recommendations, ensuring maximum relevance for individual Gen Z users. This optimizes targeting.

• Establish a "Community-First" Engagement Strategy: Beyond broadcasting, actively engage in conversations on social media, respond to comments, host Q&As, and create spaces for consumers to connect with each other around the brand. This cultivates brand advocacy.

Final sentence (key concept) describing main trend from article (which is a summary of all trends specified), and what brands & companies should do in 2025 to benefit from trend and how to do it. The core concept is the "Gen Z Digital Resonance Imperative," signifying that in 2025, beauty brands and companies must move beyond traditional marketing to become fluent in the language of social media, strategically developing and promoting products that are inherently viral, authentic, and community-driven, by deeply integrating influencer collaborations, accessible innovation, and playful brand storytelling across platforms like TikTok to capture this influential demographic's loyalty and spending.

Final Note: The Beauty Industry's Social Evolution – A New Era of Connection

The Olehenriksen case study vividly illustrates the profound transformation underway in the beauty industry. It's a landscape where authenticity, community, and rapid digital engagement are no longer optional but foundational to success. Brands like Olehenriksen, which deftly navigate this new terrain by understanding and embracing Gen Z's unique behaviors, are demonstrating that legacy doesn't have to mean stagnation. Instead, it can be a platform for innovative pivots that breathe new life into classic formulations and connect with a dynamic generation in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. The future of beauty marketing is unequivocally social, fluid, and built on genuine interaction.

Core Trend Detailed: The "Gen Z-ification of Beauty Brands" – Adapting for Digital Natives

The "Gen Z-ification of Beauty Brands" is a comprehensive and essential strategic overhaul adopted by beauty companies to align their product development, marketing, and brand identity with the unique values, behaviors, and digital consumption habits of Generation Z. This goes beyond simply running ads on TikTok; it involves a fundamental rethinking of everything from price points and ingredient transparency to visual aesthetics and community engagement. Brands are embracing a more playful, authentic, and often "cheeky" tone, prioritizing accessible innovation, and designing products that are inherently shareable and discussion-worthy on social media. This trend is driven by the recognition that Gen Z represents a significant and growing market segment whose influence on beauty trends is unparalleled, dictating not just what sells, but how brands must communicate to maintain relevance and foster deep, long-term loyalty in a digitally saturated and value-conscious world. It's about becoming a brand that not only appeals to Gen Z, but truly understands and speaks their language, both literally and visually, across their preferred platforms.

Key Characteristics of the Core trend: Authenticity, Affordability, and Shareability

• Authenticity over Perfection: Gen Z prioritizes genuine content and honest reviews from relatable creators and peers over highly polished, traditional advertisements. Brands must foster real connections rather than just broadcasting messages.

• Accessibility in Price and Messaging: Products are positioned at more accessible price points, and marketing communicates benefits clearly and concisely, often in a casual, relatable tone that resonates with a younger, value-conscious audience.

• "TikTokability" and Visual Appeal: Products are designed not just for efficacy but for their visual impact and how easily they can be showcased, discussed, or transformed into viral content on short-form video platforms.

• Ingredient Transparency and Efficacy: Gen Z is highly educated about ingredients ("skintellectuals") and demands transparency, preferring products with clear benefits and formulations that avoid perceived "harmful" chemicals.

• Community-Driven Marketing: Brands actively engage with and leverage user-generated content and foster online communities, recognizing that peer recommendations and social proof are paramount to Gen Z's purchasing decisions.

Market and Cultural Signals Supporting the Trend: Digital Dominance, Shifting Values, and Viral Product Cycles

• Gen Z's Digital Native Lifestyle: This generation grew up fully immersed in the digital world, making social media (especially TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) their primary source for information, entertainment, and product discovery. This is their natural habitat.

• Rising Influence of Creator Economy: The democratization of content creation has elevated influencers from niche figures to powerful market movers, shaping trends and driving sales more effectively than traditional advertising. This shifts marketing power.

• Increased Focus on Mental Wellness & Self-Care: Driven by global stressors, Gen Z prioritizes mental health and self-care, viewing beauty routines as a form of personal well-being and a way to express individuality and comfort. This expands the definition of beauty.

• Demand for Inclusivity and Ethical Practices: Gen Z is highly socially conscious, demanding that brands demonstrate genuine commitment to diversity, equity, inclusivity, and sustainable/ethical production practices. This influences purchasing decisions beyond price or quality.

• Shortened Product Trend Lifecycles: Social media accelerates the rise and fall of trends, requiring brands to be highly agile in product development, marketing, and communication to remain relevant. This creates a fast-paced environment.

How the Trend Is Changing Consumer Behavior: Researching Authentically, Shopping Socially, and Expressing Visually

This trend is fundamentally transforming consumer behavior by shifting how individuals discover, evaluate, and purchase beauty products. Consumers are increasingly "researching authentically," meticulously vetting products through user-generated content, influencer reviews, and community discussions on social media, rather than solely relying on brand-produced advertising. They are "shopping socially," with platforms like TikTok and Instagram becoming primary e-commerce channels where discovery seamlessly leads to direct purchase, often driven by immediate viral appeal. This leads to "impulse-driven yet informed purchases," where the virality of a product combines with its perceived value and social proof to encourage quick conversion. Furthermore, consumers are now "expressing visually" through their beauty choices, using products not just for personal use but as tools for content creation and identity signaling on their social profiles. This also fosters "heightened brand loyalty through community," as consumers form deeper connections with brands that engage them authentically and foster a sense of belonging within online communities.

Implications Across the Ecosystem (For Brands and CPGs, For Retailers, For Consumers)

For Brands and CPGs: Reinventing the Product-to-Market Pipeline

• Rapid Innovation & Iteration: Brands must adopt agile product development cycles, capable of quickly formulating, testing, and launching products to capitalize on fleeting social media trends and consumer demands. This requires flexible R&D.

• Authenticity as a Core Brand Value: Brands must embody authenticity in their messaging, ingredients, and social interactions, as Gen Z can easily discern and reject perceived insincerity or "greenwashing." This impacts brand ethos.

• Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Growth via Social Commerce: Brands will continue to invest heavily in building robust DTC channels directly integrated with social media platforms, reducing reliance on traditional retail for initial sales and direct customer relationships. This creates new sales avenues.

For Retailers: Becoming Experiential Discovery Hubs

• Elevated In-Store Experience: Physical retail spaces must transform into interactive discovery hubs, offering unique experiential elements (e.g., in-store TikTok studios, personalized consultations, virtual try-ons) that complement online shopping. This creates unique destinations.

• Curated "TikTok-Trending" Zones: Retailers should dedicate specific areas to highlight products currently viral on social media, leveraging the power of trends to drive foot traffic and impulse purchases. This capitalizes on buzz.

• Seamless Omnichannel Integration: Creating a seamless experience between online discovery (social media, brand websites) and in-store purchase, allowing for easy product pick-up, returns, and digital access to product information while Browse. This enhances customer convenience.

For Consumers: Empowered, Informed, and Connected

• Democratized Access to Beauty Information: Consumers have unprecedented access to a vast array of product reviews, tutorials, and diverse perspectives, empowering them to make highly informed purchasing decisions. This expands their knowledge base.

• Stronger Sense of Community and Belonging: Through shared product discoveries and online interactions, consumers can connect with like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of community around beauty interests. This fulfills social needs.

• Influence on Brand Strategy: Consumers, particularly Gen Z, wield significant influence over brand direction, with their feedback and viral trends directly impacting product development and marketing efforts. This empowers the consumer voice.

Strategic Forecast: The Social-Native Brand Ecosystem

• The Rise of "Community-Owned" Brands: Brands will increasingly leverage decentralized models where community input and user-generated content directly influence product development and marketing, fostering a deeper sense of ownership among consumers.

• AI-Driven Trend Forecasting & Content Creation: AI tools will become indispensable for brands to predict emerging beauty trends, analyze consumer sentiment on social media, and even assist in generating authentic, on-brand content at scale.

• "Metaverse Beauty" as a New Frontier: Brands will explore opportunities within virtual worlds to create immersive brand experiences, launch digital products (NFTs, skins), and engage consumers in entirely new dimensions.

• Hyper-Personalization at Scale: The combination of AI and consumer data will enable brands to offer highly personalized product recommendations, customized formulations, and tailored content experiences to individual consumers.

• The "De-influencer" Movement's Evolution: Brands will need to navigate the evolving landscape of "de-influencing" and skepticism towards overt endorsements, prioritizing genuine product efficacy and transparent communication to build lasting trust.

Areas of innovation (implied by article): Social Listening for Trends, Agile Product Development, and Creator-Centric Marketing

• Real-time Social Listening Platforms: Developing or investing in advanced AI-powered platforms that can quickly identify nascent beauty trends, viral ingredients, and emerging consumer conversations across social media.

  • This enables brands to be proactive and respond to trends before they peak, optimizing product development and marketing efforts.

• Modular Product Formulations: Creating product bases or ingredient systems that can be rapidly customized and adapted to incorporate new "viral" ingredients or functional benefits with minimal R&D lead time.

  • This allows for swift market entry with trend-aligned products, capitalizing on fleeting consumer interest.

• Creator Co-Design Programs: Establishing structured programs where social media creators are directly involved in the ideation, testing, and even naming of new products, ensuring authentic resonance with their audiences.

  • This leverages the creators' deep understanding of their followers and builds organic excitement from conception.

• Interactive Digital Product Previews: Implementing augmented reality (AR) filters or virtual try-on tools that allow consumers to visually experience new products on themselves digitally before purchase, enhancing confidence and engagement.

  • This reduces barriers to trial and increases conversion rates by providing an immediate, personal visualization.

• Gamified Product Launch Experiences: Designing product launches as interactive, game-like experiences on social media, encouraging participation, sharing, and unlocking exclusive content or early access.

  • This creates hype, drives engagement, and leverages Gen Z's affinity for gaming and interactive content.

Final Thought: The beauty industry's future is inherently intertwined with the dynamic landscape of social media; brands that master authentic engagement, rapid innovation, and direct consumer connection will not merely survive but thrive by becoming integral to Gen Z's digital lives.

Source: https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/skin-care/olehenriksen-peach-glaze-skin-lip-treatment-serum-sephora-1237975031/