Why Gen Z is becoming a top audience for beauty brands

From packaging and products to marketing efforts, brands are going all out to woo this consumer base

If you haven’t yet noticed, GenZ is taking the beauty industry by storm. A clutch of beauty brands are redefining their marketing strategies, positioning their products for virality on social media, launching quirky campaigns to engage with their audiences, and even leverage tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT to effectively communicate with this digitally-savvy consumer base. 

GenZ—the generation born between 1997 and 2012, now in the age group of 18-25—is making the beauty industry rethink traditional standards, driving them to adopt more sustainable practices. From multi-functional products like stackable lip and cheek tints and brow gels to clean, vegan formulations, skin tints for a glazed look as well as vibrant packaging, brands are increasingly shifting their focus to cater to this consumer base. Just look at the proliferation of beauty brands adopting a Gen Z-first approach and you would know. 

In markets like the United States, brands such as e.l.f Cosmetics, Glossier, Maybelline, Kosas, Tower 28 and Rare Beauty are some top picks among Gen Zs. In fact, e.l.f. successfully tweaked its marketing and social media strategy to become a Gen Z favourite, with products like the Power Grip Primer and Halo Glow Liquid Filter Foundation. e.l.f has seen much of its success on platforms like TikTok, which several brands in the US are leveraging to communicate with Gen Z.

A trendsetting generation

Closer home, across India, we’re seeing a similar surge in beauty brands that are launching with a Gen Z-first approach as well as those tweaking their product offerings to cater to Gen Z. Take the case of Gush Beauty, started by 25-year-old Sheil Jain last year. Her idea behind launching a fuss-free beauty brand with clean ingredients was simply because there weren’t many brands speaking to an audience like her. “No one was really talking to young girls starting on their beauty journey, and that’s the opportunity we saw in the market.” Jain goes on to add that their goal was to uncomplicate make-up, with easy-to-use, multi-functional products. Visual innovation is core to the brand too, evident through its colourful packaging. Some of their bestsellers include the super stack 4-in-1 liquid lipsticks and 3-in-1 face palette that comprise contour, cream blush and highlighter. 

“While affordable prices and sustainable formulations are very important when Gen Z is your target audience, it's not always just about the products,” shares Jain. “As a brand, we want them to accept us as a part of their lifestyle. Gen Z are now searching for brands with values that match their own.” 

Some months ago, organic beauty label Juicy Chemistry launched its line of make-up under the brand Color Chemistry. According to co-founder and COO, Megha Asher, Gen Z makes up about 45-50 per cent of their consumer base, an important and growing segment. 

“Our lip and cheek tints, concealers, glosses and eyeshadow quads are specifically developed to target Gen Z buyers who love multi-purpose, easy-to-use, high-performance and skin-loving formulations. These are also fuss-free, travel-friendly and offer a wide shade range for every mood,” says Asher.

She points out that Gen Z is perhaps the most ‘woke’ segment of the current market. “They know exactly what they need from their everyday products and are well-versed with skincare and beauty labels. Brands now want to capitalise on that awareness.”

Beauty wars brewing 

As the beauty wars in India heat up, with Reliance Retail 's launch of its online beauty platform Tira, and even e-commerce players like Tata Cliq and Myntra increasing their focus on the beauty segment, it will be interesting to see how it all ties in with an eye firmly on Gen Z buyers. 

Anmol Sikka, director, beauty and personal care at Myntra, says that they currently have a collection of over 1,400 beauty brands available on the digital platform, including homegrown ones like Elitty, Arata, Sunscoop, along with K-beauty brands like Etude and Innisfree that cater to this audience. 

“Clean skincare brands that solve genuine problems for Gen Z buyers are also becoming popular, such as Minimalist, Foxtale, Chemist at Play and Plum, and are catching this audience's attention, along with conscious makeup brands like FAE Beauty, LoveChild by Masaba, Barry M, Jeffree Star Cosmetics and so forth,” says Sikka.

Sikka adds that one of their recent live sessions to introduce Masaba Gupta’s make-up line, LoveChild’s ‘shaadi-inspired’ creme blushes and highlighter palettes, attracted over 40,000 viewers, making it one of the largest live launches for a beauty brand on M-Live. “Apart from social commerce, our tech innovations such as the AI skin analyser (skin and hair), virtual try-ons and product finder have been well-received by Gen Z shoppers.”

Riding on the influencer economy  

For 23-year-old Dhriti Hardasani, who works as a PR professional, most of her beauty finds are on Instagram or YouTube, and likely via influencers who ideally share a similar skin type as her. Hardasani says that functional, fuss-free products are her go-to choices, such as dual lip and cheek tints. “One of my current favourites is a travel-friendly eye-palette that also does the job of setting my brows in place. I like purchasing mini-sized make-up as I keep switching up my beauty and skincare routine and it’s also easy to travel with,” she shares. 

It’s this sentiment that brands are increasingly tapping into when it comes to Gen Z buyers. MOIRA Beauty, a US-based brand which now has a presence in the Indian market, believes that the ‘digital native’ Gen Z consumer is gradually taking over as a substantial consumer base for the beauty industry. 

Avleen Bansal, head of make-up training, Moira Beauty India, notes that Gen Z is a proactive generation when it comes to social media platforms. “We’ve been very focused on influencer marketing. Instagram and YouTube creators have become powerful influencers, as they can reach a large and actively engaged audience through their posts and stories.” 

About 45 per cent of the brand’s marketing budget is spent exclusively on influencer marketing to target Gen Z, Bansal points out. Some of the brand’s popular offerings include the Glow Getter Lip Oil, Diamond Daze Liquid Shadow, and eye-catching lip liners in bold colours.

Jain weighs in, pointing out that while word of mouth can play a huge role when it comes to a product or a brand becoming viral, which ultimately has a snowball effect, it is also about creating products that people love to use, and products that actually solve their problems.” All our products are topped up with hydration boosters and multiple skincare actives like moringa oil, shea butter, mango seed butter and hyaluronic acid. So it isn’t just about instant gratification;, there’s delayed gratification, too, which ultimately makes people want to talk about it more.”

With Gen Z emerging as a key audience in the beauty segment, brands are increasingly quick to take note, making them adapt their strategies to conform to this generation’s ideology of honest ingredients and skin minimalism.

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