Mintel Beauty & Personal Care identified "Kinetique" as the key trend set to impact global beauty consumers in 2012. While the trend encompasses at-home beauty devices that harness energy and light, it also includes new ingredients that boost cellular energy.
The company noted that at-home and on-the-go beauty devices are more established in the United States and Japan; however, it anticipates that these devices will gain ground in the European market. Within Europe, the most interest in beauty devices lies in Italy and Spain, who are interested in devices for hair removal, anti-cellulite and deep pore cleansing. This is partly climate-driven but also cultural, since southern European women are more likely to be familiar with these technologies from regular salon visits. Consumer interest in the devices remains low in the UK, France and Germany.
In addition to the growth in beauty devices, there is also interest in the ingredients that harness or boost cellular energy, such as sugar and oxygen. But its counter trend, beauty ingredients that limit or shield the skin from high energy blue or violet light, will also become a focus. And anti-glycation claims, first seen in Japan, will give this trend renewed energy because of new actives coming to market, such as African Manilkara and Japanese apricot.
Point-of-sale retail and packaging elements also form a key part of the trend, and Mintel forecasts a rise in packaging and products which increase the interactivity between virtual and real worlds. Examples of sound, video and QR codes embedded in beauty packaging have already started to appear, but will start to make their mark globally over the coming year and beyond.
