Decoding the North American beauty market with BeautyMatter and British Beauty Council

UK – BeautyMatter and the British Beauty Council brought together industry experts and brand representatives for an event exploring the keys to success in the competitive and saturated North American beauty market.

Kelly Kovack, founder and CEO of BeautyMatter, kicked off with a data-driven overview of the market, which reportedly surpassed China in 2020, emerging as the world's largest beauty and personal care market, valued at more than £74.7bn ($93bn, €86.9bn). The surge is attributed, in part, to heightened opportunities and interest in countries such as Canada and Mexico.

UK-born brands including The Inkey List, Fable & Mane and Lush shared insights on entering the North American market, and the similarities between Canadian and British consumer preferences were highlighted. Colette Laxton, co-founder of The Inkey List, observed that Brits and Canadians tend to respond positively to softer marketing approaches, while Americans prefer more direct, or ‘louder’, activations. She recommended keeping campaign taglines to three words or less, and encouraged brands to get creative with loyalty schemes, as ‘free delivery and discounts are expected by US consumers’. Regarding strategies to launch in the US, brand founders unanimously praised local approaches that acknowledge the nuanced and state-specific nature of the US market. Lush, in particular, has found leveraging local cultural contexts beneficial through advocacy initiatives and ethical campaigns.

When it comes to retail, Kovack underlined the challenges faced by smaller brands in scaling without partnerships with major retailers such as Ulta, Sephora, Target, Walmart and Amazon. She also observed that while 'the big 5’ primarily cater to the ‘mass-tige’ market, as evidenced by SpaceNK's integration into Walmart, brands are encountering difficulties in the US because department stores there lack the level of reinvention seen in the UK.

Additionally, drug stores are grappling with an increase in thefts, leading to the installation of cabinets. These reduce convenience, ultimately impacting mass beauty sales. For further insights, stay tuned for our upcoming Modern Burglary report.