What does it mean to be a Gen Z beauty brand today?

As the world of beauty emerges from the pandemic-induced limbo, here’s how brands can cater to the new generation shaping the future of the industry

Change does not occur overnight—or so the movies have led us to believe. After all, for any major transformation to have true import, it must be prefaced by months of prophetic warnings from sombre-faced scientists and conspiracy theorists alike. And yet, when the tectonic plates shifted beneath the beauty industry, few even felt a tremor. While the world was looking the other way with the pandemic, a new generation assumed the reins of the industry’s future. Demographic changes, of course, aren’t anything new for the beautyverse, which has proved its steadfast resilience in the face of global crises. But the dawn of Gen Z’s reign over the beauty industry is grounded in the sobering knowledge that they are the most disruptive cohort yet.

Culturally agile, self-educated and highly all-inclusive, Gen Z will define beauty for the next decade, according to a report by market intelligence firm WGSN. “Gen Zers champion the beauty of human diversity in all its forms and yet are laid low by the pressures of ‘selfie esteem’. Hungry for digital experiences and interaction, they also feel overwhelmed and in need of a tech-free sanctuary,” observes the firm’s managing director Carla Buzasi. Finding a way to translate this duality into bottom-line sales, however, is a task easier said than done. Can comic book-inspired packaging served in juicy bright colours and anchored with achingly on-trend lingo be enough to sway a Gen Z consumer into believing that the brand speaks their language? Or should marketers be focusing on this cohort’s radical need for inclusivity, offering proof that their choice of eyeshadow pigments can be an agent for social reform? And above all, how do you sell to someone who is deeply distrustful of being sold to? We investigate.

What it takes to succeed as a Gen-Z beauty brand in 2022

Close to a decade ago, Glossier breezed into the beauty industry with its my-skin-but-better aesthetic that rewired the future of the beauty industry. While other players in the arena preached perfection, the brand instead took the tantalising ease of an off-duty model, placing it within hand’s reach through sheer coverage products. It was a marketing manoeuvre that earned the brand several laurels and as much as $80 million in a Series E funding round in 2021, which would make its recent decision to lay off one-third of its corporate staff baffling to the budding marketer. While terms like unsustainable growth are bandied about among industry insiders, a closer inspection of the debris offers decisive proof of one key misstep: the failure to translate the brand’s magical grip over millennials into credibility with the new generation of beauty consumers.

In comparison, brands that possess deeper insight into the minds of the Gen Z demographic are quickly filling up the empty slots. Further proof can be found with two 24-year-olds, Olamide Olowe and Claudia Teng, who started Topicals and sold out their initial offering from within their apartment in Santa Monica. Eschewing flashy marketing campaigns, the secret sauce to their success instead lies in their ability to co-opt the Mean Girls psychology and turn words like “bad” and “ugly” on its head. The result? A line of science-backed products that promise “funner flare-ups” instead.

Closer home, the sentiment is echoed by Priyanka Gill, co-founder of Good Glamm Group and CEO of PopXo, who believes that the marketing playbook for Gen Z cannot be the same as millennials. “They are, by far, the savviest generation, not prone to falling for marketing gimmicks. They know what they want, they are true to their beliefs and they don’t settle for anything less than what they deserve. As a consequence, they trust brands that are inclusive, conscious and understand the importance of individuality,” she explains.

It was this thought she had in mind when designing PopXo Beauty to help first-timers kick-start their journey with make-up. The price-conscious line-up dabbles in Y2K aesthetics but grounds it with contemporary slang: expect words like Squad Goals, Send Noods and InstaGlamm emblazoned in swirly serifs. “Millennials are active on social media but at the same time, their trust is built on traditional placements such as hoardings, celebrity endorsements, TV commercials and a strong offline presence. However, Gen Z is extremely active on platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok and follows a different influencer set that appeals to their needs,” adds Gill.

How does one get Gen Z to hit the “add to cart” button?

Sheil Jain, founder of Gush Beauty, believes it is essential to factor in the generation’s ever-shrinking attention spans. “The way to market to Gen Z is to tell them the benefits of their purchase in a relatable and practical manner—sell how a product will make them feel,” she asserts. Those swirly fonts, however, won’t go amiss either. “Everything is supposed to look aesthetically pleasing because of the current digital upheaval. Playful and fun branding elements are in, and leveraging meme culture helps as well. Brand packaging that has been seen before doesn't work, no matter how good the product is,” she advises.

Packaging is indeed of paramount importance, confirms Mehek Malhotra, Creative Lead for India at design platform Canva and founder of Giggling Monkey Studio. “It’s not the luxurious gold foiling or minimal traditional design of fore,” she says, adding, “Gen Z packaging has a distinctly pop flavour—it’s type-driven and usually experimental with holographic elements.” However, she believes caution is key to ensure that the brand does not tread into juvenile territory. “When used in the right proportions, pop colours can make a design look young and fresh. But when it goes overboard, it can start looking like a kids’ product—there is a very fine line between being quirky and childish,” she says.

Malhotra also believes that brands that find themselves mimicking the visual language of international players may realise that their value is diminishing, “Gen Z consumers are very savvy about brands that are doing well abroad, so when Indian brands try to mimic design language, it’s instantly visible to them. Suddenly, the brand value is dimmed, despite the product being good, because it lacks authenticity in the eyes of the Gen Z consumer.”

Another way to court the new generation is by involving them in the creation process as well. As the model of influencer marketing loses its lustre, co-creation is instead stepping up as a reliable means to demonstrate credibility. Just ask starlet Anjini Dhawan, who initially came onboard with Gush Beauty for a photoshoot but decided to co-create her own lip kit, Better In Duos, after finding a sense of kinship with the brand’s ethos. She recalls, “I loved the energy of the team and the brand’s exciting approach to make-up. I initially worked on the launch campaign with a photoshoot at Alibaug, and because we got on so well, we decided to launch a lip kit together, offering a liquid lipstick and lip gloss in a muted, nude shade with hints of mauve.”

The way forward

At the end of the day, Gill believes that brands looking to not just survive, but thrive, with the new generation, will need to ensure that their consumers feel seen. “Gen Z may follow Kylie Jenner, Zendaya and Rihanna but at the same time, they listen to what activists like Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousafzai have to say. While being a fun and Instagrammable brand is important, it is also essential to ensure that your philosophy resonates with your core audience,” she concludes.

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