A Shade of Difference
Chloe Gold speaks to Estée Lauder about the growing demand for beauty brands
to adapt their products to different ethnic groups and how they are marketed
differently within travel-retail
RESEARCH conducted by leading cosmetic and skincare companies has revealed that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about health issues such as pollution, stress and climate change and the impact it is having on their appearance – the result is that many customers look for a beauty regime that addresses those concerns. Over the past five years travel-retail suppliers have been adapting their approach to specific markets with very different needs with regards to skin-tone and beauty regimes. Findings show that while Western women are more likely to follow the three-step beauty regime [cleanse, tone and moisturise] in Asia, particularly in the Japanese market, it is a common practice for women to follow seven steps. This has led to a surge of suppliers incorporating revolutionary new technologies in their products to keep up with new trends and demands as Lise Jorgensen, Vice President, Estée Lauder Global Skincare Product Development tells Frontier.
“We know that Asian skin is in fact different,” says Jorgensen. Their attitudes, habits and practices are also quite different than other consumers from different regions. At Estée Lauder, we want to bring the best to every one we reach and to do that, we need to develop products that are relevant to each consumer’s wants and needs. It is important for us to address our Asian customer needs with the same
level of attention as we do with any other customers.”
Asia is seeing a massive boost in demand for 'Asian’ beauty and skincare products. The Chinese
market in particular has seen a boom in this area with particular interest in anti-ageing, whitening
products, and more demand for face-masks. Increasingly influenced by the West, the Chinese market
has become more interested in make-up, where traditionally Chinese wore little or none at all.
Virginie Descamps, Vice President Estée Lauder and Tom Ford Travel Retailing Worldwide (pictured
left) says: “Because we talk to every woman based on her personal needs, we already developed formulas with regional variances that address the particular needs of people with different cultural backgrounds, beauty rituals, preferences on textures, colours or fragrances. In travel-retailing, we are very focused on regional preferences in our TR exclusive portfolio and ask our field to tailor their assortment based on the passenger profile.”
Estée Lauder prides itself on being at the forefront of scientific research and so catering to the growing demand for products specifically designed for Caucasian, Asian and African skin-tones.
“For the past four to five years, we have seen the role and importance of addressing uneven skintones
emerge to become a top five skin concern globally – not just in Asia,” says Jorgensen. “To address
this, we have created regionally relevant skin care n lines – with CyberWhite EX in Asia, Revelation in
Europe, and HydraBright in North America. The future of skin care will continue to see many important breakthroughs that are based on scientific findings. The role of Genetics and Skin have already brought new insights and opportunities, such as seen with the launch of our ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme and our exclusive Youth Molecule – which taps into activating the longevity gene. Scientific research in the area of Energy will also continue to bring new levels of performance never before seen."
“The core consumer needs and desire to address uneven skin-tone is of high interest across all regions; as we know it is one of the first signs of accelerated aging. However, each of our regional product lines were specifically designed to address the different textural, experiential and benefit needs of their respective market. The technologies are also quite different. CyberWhite EX taps into 3 distinctly different yet powerful technologies to address different types of spots found on Asian skin [surface spots, age spots, and barely visible spots]. Revelation addresses first signs of aging using the power of a Tri-Vitamin C technology and HydraBright focuses on brightening skin with an exclusive melanin targeted enzyme in combination with anti-oxidants to shatter the appearance of spots while also preventing future ones.”
Jorgensen reveals that all of Estée Lauder products will be merchandised to support its philosophy
via its new line organisation called Beautiful Skin Solutions – a new simple and easy to navigate system
targeted in helping its travelling customer to find the best repair and moisturise products to address her
primary needs and concerns, at the counter.
“We address every woman’s beauty needs based on her personal concerns, such as dehydration ordiscolouration,” explains Jorgensen. “We have been listening to our consumers and developing
technologies, ingredients and formulas that address those concerns – we have been studying it and answering it day after day. One of our most popular products is Advanced Night Repair. It is or every woman, every day whatever her skin concern or ethnicity. We invented the repair category in 1982 and are still number one repair company today.”
This Autumn, Estée Lauder will have a diagnostic system in place to uniquely analyse customers’ skin within just 5 minutes. The Estée Lauder Advanced Skin Profiling System will provide an in-depth 11-point analysis using exclusive, high powered scopes to scientifically identify concerns that are affecting the appearance of skin. The system is programmed with 21 different languages to meet the needs of the travelling customer and has the ability to also look at all ethnic skins across the many different regions and destinations.
According to Descamps, the creation of skincare and beauty products specifically designed to suit the Indian woman is opening up a new market. “India is one of the markets with the most potential.
Our company just opened its first two freestanding stores there. The brand already had the right colour palette and designed new shades for the Indian customer. By conducting market surveys, we also identified which skincare lines were most adequate for that consumer.” Descamps concludes, “We are staying ahead of the game and our competitors by truly understanding what consumers need and developing breakthrough technologies, innovative products and addictive experiences that consumers truly love.”
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