For many years, “anti‑aging” was the narrative: fight wrinkles, mask or reverse signs, hide time. But according to the consensus at the summit and related industry research, that narrative is shifting. Consumers aren’t simply asking to look younger, they’re asking to feel better, longer. They want healthspan, not just lifespan.

“Consumers are aware they are living longer, and are wanting to do that in the best way they can.” — Emilie Hood, Euromonitor, Vogue Business

It’s no longer about “erasing years” as much as maximizing quality of years. This change is not just semantic, it changes everything from product design to marketing messaging.

Today’s wellness and beauty buyer is bio‑curious, data‑driven, and skeptical. They want proof: real clinical evidence, measurable biomarkers, trustworthy claims, and transparency.

• They compare ingredient label claims.
• They follow scientific publications or summaries.
• They expect innovation to be backed by science, not just marketing spin.

“In an era of AI, where you can fake anything, it’s really hard to fake a whole company with people…Science is essential, but people want proof and stories first.” — Sophie Chabloz, Co-Founder of Avea Life

Beauty is increasingly understood as holistic. Skin health, mental wellness, sleep, hormonal balance, gut microbiome – all are part of the conversation. Brands wanting to lead are expanding their portfolios or forming alliances that bridge supplements, diagnostics, skincare, and lifestyle.

A good example is OneSkin, which built its brand around the OS-01 peptide and now positions itself at the intersection of beauty and longevity. By combining biotech research, consumer diagnostics, and lifestyle education, the brand reflects this shift toward holistic, inside-out longevity.

Diagnostic tools are moving from clinics to homes, from optional to essential. Measuring biological age, mitochondrial health, oxidative stress, or microbiome composition are no longer sci‑fi: they are becoming central to personalized beauty‑wellness routines.

“When you think about longevity, there are three levels: people, body, and cell. What makes you age faster is imbalance… Biomarkers are essential because they tell us where that imbalance starts, so we can act before it becomes visible.” — Pascal Houdayer, CEO of Laboratoires Boiron

Companies are developing skin diagnostics (via apps, devices) that not only analyze visible skin condition (texture, hydration, fine lines) but also infer unseen damage or risk. These diagnostics then feed into recommendations – topicals, supplements, treatments – that are tailored to the individual.

Emerging actives are targeting aging at the cellular level: peptides, exosomes, postbiotics, mitophagy inducers, and molecules like NAD+ boosters. These are no longer niche, they are being integrated into more mainstream formulas.

One example: research into postbiotics such as urolithin A, which promote mitophagy – a cellular “clean‑up” process preserving mitochondrial health. As many cannot produce sufficient urolithin A naturally via diet, supplementation or formulations bridging topical plus ingestible delivery are becoming a significant trend.

AI plays three interlocking roles:

• Diagnostic & Predictive: Analyzing user data – skin images, lifestyle, biomarkers – to forecast future needs before visible issues emerge.
• Personalization: Recommending specific actives, routines, or behaviors tailored to individuals.
• Scaling Expertise: Allowing brands to deliver near‑custom care at scale (via apps, digital platforms, subscription models).
  

Perfect Corp is one such example: guided skin diagnostics (hydration, fine lines, etc.), then matching personalized product and treatment suggestions in real time.

“Skin AI as an integral component of broader health monitoring systems, providing early warning for internal conditions and contributing to preventative health strategies.” — Wayne Liu, President, Perfect Corp

Top brands are no longer siloed into skincare, supplements, or wellness. They’re merging:

• Skincare with ingestible (nutricosmetics) or postbiotics.
• Diagnostics / testing with product lines.
• Behavior / lifestyle interventions (sleep, stress, diet) as part of their offering.

This integration responds to consumer desire for holistic solutions.

Consumers want both potency and ethics. Active ingredients need rigorous validation.

At the same time, sustainability is no longer optional: eco‑friendly sourcing, clean/ethical ingredients, sustainable packaging, and carbon/impact transparency are table stakes.

Storytelling that works is rooted in science. Brands that can explain why an ingredient, diagnostic, or behavior matters tend to win trust.

Some tactics:

• Publish or reference clinical/biomarker data.
• Use expert voices (dermatologists, scientists).
• Create educational content rather than just promotional.

Be honest about limitations: what the product can’t do is sometimes as valuable as what it can.

“Storytelling will always have more impact than facts alone, but it must be rooted in truth. In longevity and beauty, people are looking for authenticity — a balance where science provides credibility and storytelling creates connection.” — Arif Isikgun, Ai Beauty Consultancy

Below are the specific directions likely to grow strongest in the near future, based on INNOCOS Beauty & Longevity Summit plus wider market signals.

These trends highlight not just where consumer demand is heading, but also where science, technology, and brand strategy are aligning to create entirely new categories of beauty and wellness.

Every trend has its challenges. For brands and investors moving into longevity, these are the main obstacles to watch:

• Regulatory Complexity: Claims about longevity, biomarkers, diagnostics are under greater scrutiny. Misleading claims could backfire.
• Scientific Rigor & Replicability: Some actives and investigations are still early; small studies or animal data may be promising but not yet sufficiently conclusive.
• Consumer Fatigue & Skepticism: Overselling is a problem. If brands overpromise without proof, trust erodes fast.
• Access & Cost: Personalized diagnostics, biotech actives, hybrid clinics tend to cost more. Ensuring accessibility or scalable versions is key.

Data Privacy & Ethical Use: Health, skin and biomarker data are sensitive. Brands must handle data carefully and transparently.

Here are some compelling quotes from my own interview sources and INNOCOS longevity summit sessions:

If you lead or work in a beauty / wellness / supplement brand, what should you consider now so you’re not just reacting, but leading?

Throughout the INNOCOS interviews, a handful of brands consistently emerged as benchmarks for innovation and credibility in the longevity space. These companies are shaping the way consumers think about beauty, health, and lifespan.

SHA Wellness Clinic: They have built a holistic ecosystem where nutrition, beauty, medical expertise, and mental wellness converge. Several interviewees pointed to SHA as proof that consumers are willing to invest in premium, multi-disciplinary longevity offerings.

Timeline Nutrition: With years of research into urolithin A and the recent relaunch of its longevity skincare line, Timeline was praised as a pioneer in bringing cellular health science into beauty. Their strategy bridges the gap between biotech rigor and consumer-friendly beauty products.

OneSkin: Mentioned as a brand to watch, OneSkin leverages its proprietary peptide OS-01 to frame skin health as a biological marker of overall aging. By combining biotech research with consumer education, OneSkin demonstrates how brands can own the narrative of longevity at the cellular level.

Elysium Health: A name that surfaced in multiple conversations, Elysium represents the supplement-first path into longevity. With its NAD+ booster and a portfolio expanding toward broader healthspan support, Elysium is seen as an early mover setting standards for supplement transparency and science communication.

Best performing supplement ads from Elysium based on their ad longevity

Together, these brands show that winning in longevity because they are building trust, investing in science, and delivering holistic solutions that resonate with both the rational and emotional sides of consumers.

Here are some of the future directions to keep close tabs on through 2026 and beyond:

• Predictive Aging – not just measuring age but projecting skin’s future condition under different lifestyle scenarios (diet, UV, sleep) and giving actionable plans.
• Multi‑Modal Delivery Systems – combining topical, ingestible, lifestyle behavior, environmental exposure interventions in one integrated regime.
• Regenerative Therapies – growth factors, stem cell derivatives, DNA repair enzymes, senolytics as cosmetic / wellness adjuncts.
• Longevity & Mental Health Interface – more overlaps between beauty & mental/emotional health, since stress, sleep, mood directly impact skin and aging.
• Circular Longevity – products and brands built with sustainability, zero‑waste packaging, ethical sourcing becoming not just “nice to have” but expected.

Longevity in beauty is unavoidable. Consumers expect it; science enables it; markets reward it. Brands that recognize this are shifting away from anti‑aging slogans toward holistic wellness, healthspan, and vitality.

As one executive said at the INNOCOS Beauty & Longevity Summit:

“It’s not about more years, it’s about more vitality per year.” 

The future belongs to those who act now, grounded in science, authenticity, and empathy.

We selected a diverse mix of supplement brands with strong digital ad presence, primarily from the US like MaryRuth, Olly, MUD\WTR or Thorne. But also included top players from the UK (e.g. The Nue Co., Feel London, Hairburst, Spacegoods), Australia (e.g. Simply Nootropics, Happy Mammoth), and Western Europe (e.g. Timeline Nutrition, Puori). 

Each brand was chosen based on consistent ad activity and creative variety, ensuring a representative view of what’s working globally.

/Our statistical methods are written at the end of the article if you’re interested in the methodology./

The global supplement market continues its upward trajectory, fueled by shifting health priorities, increased preventive care awareness, and a wave of digitally native brands reshaping how supplements are marketed and consumed.

In this analysis, we focused on a strong advertising presence across Meta platforms, primarily from the U.S., U.K., Western Europe, and Australia. This mix reflects the epicenter of innovation in wellness – where functional health, performance optimization, and longevity have converged into everyday consumer needs.

From legacy names like AG1 and Onnit to new-wave disruptors such as Spacegoods, David Protein, and Feel, the market is no longer dominated by pharmaceutical aesthetics or clinical messaging. Instead, we see a clear shift toward lifestyle branding, identity-based differentiation, and community-led credibility.

Supplementation today sits at the intersection of performance, beauty, mental clarity, and biohacking, blurring traditional category lines.

With growth projected to continue at over 7% CAGR globally through 2030, brands that master strategic creative and cross-platform storytelling will be best positioned to capture attention and market share.

In our analysis of 500 high-performing top supplement ads, two clear patterns emerged: the dominance of single image formats and the overwhelming preference for demonstration-style creatives.

Single images accounted for 43.4% of all ad formats (217 ads), continuing to prove that simplicity and clarity still work in supplement advertising. Brands like AG1 and JSHealth heavily utilize static visuals to communicate benefits quickly and effectively, especially in retargeting scenarios.

UGC (User-Generated Content – somewhere others call these CGC) formats followed closely at 29.2% (146 ads), reflecting the growing trust consumers place in peer-to-peer recommendations.

Brands such as Happy Mammoth and Hairburst rely on UGC to build authenticity and emotional resonance.

Video ads made up 17.4% (87 ads), while animations came in at 9.8% (49 ads), and carousel ads were nearly nonexistent, with only 1 recorded.

When it comes to creative styles, demonstration led clearly, 42.2% of all ads (211) focused on showing how the product works. These range from usage instructions to ingredient breakdowns. 

For example, True Sea Moss often shows its product being mixed into smoothies, while Spacegoods uses unpacking visuals and ingredient highlights to communicate quality.

Value-driven creatives came next at 17.4% (87 ads), with brands like Bloom Nutrition showcasing key health benefits, product bundles, or limited-time offers. CTA-focused ads made up 14.2% (71 ads), often pushing urgency or direct purchase intent. Social proof ads, at 13.8% (69 ads), included reviews and testimonials, reinforcing trust through customer validation.

Lifestyle creatives made up 11% (55 ads), with brands like Live Conscious using aspirational visuals to reflect their brand identity. Meme-style content appeared in just 1.4% (7 ads), typically used by younger or more niche brands like Spacegoods to stand out with humor or edge.

Overall, the creative and format distribution reveals a clear focus on function, trust, and clarity, favoring formats that communicate quickly and styles that directly demonstrate product effectiveness or user satisfaction.

When it comes to supplement ad performance, where you send your traffic matters just as much as what you show. Our analysis reveals that Product Pages are the most frequently used destination, accounting for 56.8% of all landing pages. This highlights how many brands still opt for the most straightforward path to purchase.

Brands like AG1, JSHealth, and Cymbiotika often use clean, high-converting product pages to keep user flow simple.

Meanwhile, Collection Pages (9.8%) and Main Pages (8%) follow, offering broader discovery experiences or more controlled funneling of attention. Email subscription and bundle offer pages also appear with moderate frequency, suggesting a growing interest in first-party data capture and AOV optimization strategies.

More advanced formats like quizzes (4.4%), science explainers, and testimonial-driven landers were used far less frequently, signaling underused opportunities to build trust or personalize user journeys. Tactics that high-performing DTC brands could lean into.

On the ad duration side, campaigns most often fall within the 100–300 day range, with a peak around 150–250 days. While shorter tests and seasonal bursts still exist, this indicates a trend toward longer-term evergreen campaigns, especially among brands with a clear product-market fit and scalable funnel.

To uncover what truly makes a supplement ad campaign durable, we applied Cox proportional hazards regression to the dataset, an advanced statistical tool used to analyze the time until an event occurs, in this case, an ad going offline.

The model is highly predictive with a concordance of 0.85, meaning we can accurately distinguish long-running vs. short-running ads about 85% of the time. Global tests (Likelihood Ratio, Wald, Logrank) were all extremely significant (p < .001), showing that these variables matter a lot in explaining ad survival.

This is a critical matter of interest, because this shows that ad duration isn’t random. It’s systematically shaped by strategic choices, from ad format to landing page type. Brands that understand this can design campaigns not just for clicks, but for long-standing power.

We evaluated every available variable and set AG1 as the benchmark, given its industry-leading scale and consistency across Meta platforms.

The model allowed us to calculate the hazard ratio for each brand, essentially, the risk of an ad ending on any given day compared to AG1. Brands with a hazard ratio below 1 run ads that tend to last longer, while those with ratios above 1 tend to rotate or kill ads sooner.

The most critical finding: 215 days emerged as the inflection point for ad duration across the dataset. Brands with average campaign durations below 215 days are more likely to suffer from short-lived campaigns due to underperforming creative, weak offers, or lack of strategic media planning.

Brands above this line, however, have clearly cracked the code for evergreen performance.

Note: These insights are based on the top-performing ads from each brand. When we refer to “underperforming,” it’s strictly in relation to other high-performing competitors within this elite group, not in the context of general ad performance.

To illustrate:

• Arrae demonstrated one of the strongest survival profiles, with a 67% lower risk of ad termination on any given day compared to AG1. Their campaigns are likely benefiting from strong positioning, consistent creative angles, and a narrow but well-optimized product offering. So definitely worth checking out their ads if you want a solid benchmark.

• In contrast, ATP Science stood out for the wrong reasons, its ads were 34 times more likely to be terminated on any day versus AG1. This may point to more frequent testing without a clear winning formula or an over-reliance on short-term promotions.

• Brands with hazard ratios near 1, such as JSHealth and Seed, performed close to the benchmark, suggesting solid but not standout performance.

When we look at the chart, the orange-dotted brands are grouped below the main curve, these are the ones that didn’t perform as well. The green-dotted brands are the outliers that maintain longer-running, higher-yielding campaigns. This separation is not random; it directly correlates with choices around creative type, landing page, ad format, and market positioning, factors we explore in the following sections.

In short: ad longevity is not luck, it’s the result of deliberate creative and strategic decisions.

Some supplement brands manage to keep their ads running far longer than others. This extended lifespan may signal higher ad efficiency, these campaigns are likely delivering strong results in the form of better click-through rates (CTR), higher conversion rates, or simply better return on ad spend. 

But ad longevity doesn’t always mean performance alone. These longer-running ads might also be part of a broader “always-on” or evergreen strategy, where the goal is to build consistent brand awareness and customer acquisition over time, not just quick wins tied to sales events or seasonal trends.

We ran a statistical comparison between the long-running ads and the rest, and the results were clear: there are key differences in how these ads are built and delivered. Individual Pearson’s Chi-square tests revealed significant relationship between ad longevity and the format, creative type, and landing page used as well.

In plain terms: brands that keep their ads live longer tend to make different creative decisions than those who cycle through ads quickly.

Understanding these patterns gives us a better grasp of what makes supplement ads not just high-performing, but sustainable over time.

When comparing the ad formats used by long-running supplement brands with those that run shorter campaigns, clear patterns emerge.

Single image ads are not only the most frequently used format across the board, they’re also highly effective. Long-running brands use them at a much higher rate, suggesting this classic format still delivers consistent, sustainable performance. Their simplicity, clarity, and fast load time likely contribute to better engagement and higher conversion rates over time.

User-Generated Content (UGC), while known for building trust and relatability, appears underutilized among brands with short-lived campaigns. However, it is far more common among long-running brands, indicating that authentic, peer-style content may support campaign longevity more than many marketers expect.

Video ads, on the other hand, are more frequently used by brands with shorter campaigns. This could suggest that while videos may generate attention in the short term, they might not sustain interest or conversions over extended periods without strong storytelling or repeat value.

Animation and carousel formats remain relatively underused overall, but especially among high-performing long-term campaigns, which may reflect either production cost considerations or weaker direct-response performance.

This breakdown challenges some assumptions, particularly that flashy video content is always superior.

Instead, the data suggests a return to fundamentals: clear messaging, social proof, and static imagery may offer stronger long-term returns in the supplement space.

Format is key. Animation and video ads burn out fast (only ~ 10% chance of being long-running in both cases), while UGC ads stand out with a 41% probability of running much longer.

Brands whose campaigns consistently stayed alive over time were more likely to rely on Demonstration creatives.

Nearly half of their ad mix showed the product in action, contextualizing its use and embedding it into real-life scenarios. By contrast, brands with shorter-lived campaigns leaned much more heavily on Value creatives: promising functional benefits or outcomes directly, without showing the journey or the context.

This pattern is telling. Value-based messaging is powerful in the short term; it pushes urgency, sparks immediate interest, and can accelerate clicks. But it also seems to exhaust its narrative quickly, leading to ad fatigue and shorter lifespans. Demonstration, on the other hand, does more than sell: it teaches, it shows, it visualizes. It builds familiarity and trust, giving campaigns a kind of narrative resilience that sustains them long after the first impression.

For marketers, the implication is clear:

If the goal is sustained performance, we need to resist the temptation of pure benefit-driven ads and instead design creatives that demonstrate the experience. 

Storytelling in the form of action appears to extend not only engagement, but the very life of a campaign.

In the following visualization, you’ll see that brands with long-running ads lean heavily on product pages (58%) and main pages (14%). These choices drive consistency and clear brand experience, which appears to sustain campaigns over time. Other brands in our sample, on the other hand, spread their bets wider: they rely also heavily on product pages (56%), but also allocate traffic toward testimonial pages (5%), collection pages (10%), and blogs (7%).

This tells us that long-lasting campaigns are built on focus and clarity. By keeping traffic on tightly controlled, conversion-optimized environments (like product or main pages), these brands reduce friction and extend campaign lifespans. Meanwhile, shorter-lived campaigns often experiment with broader storytelling (blogs) or social proof-heavy assets (testimonial pages). These can spike engagement but don’t seem to sustain ads in the long run.

After identifying which brands run ads significantly longer (or shorter) than average, we wanted to go deeper: what factors actually predict whether a campaign will belong to one group or the other? 

To answer this, we turned to logistic regression analysis. Unlike simple frequency comparisons, logistic regression allows us to isolate the effect of ad format, creative type, and landing page type while controlling for everything else. In other words: instead of asking “what’s popular?”, we asked “what truly increases or decreases the odds of long-term ad success?”.

Sending traffic to a bundle page or testimonial page almost guarantees short runs. But push to a main page, quiz or a store locator? Your ad has more than a 50-70% chance of sustaining.

Not all ads are created equal. Some campaigns burn out after a few weeks. Others keep driving clicks, sales, and brand awareness for more than a year.

When we compared top supplement ads with those that faded out earlier, the differences were clear:

Formats that last. 

• Long-term campaigns lean on single images and UGC content. These formats may seem “basic”, but they’re proven to stay relevant longer than animation-heavy or flashy video ads, which often fatigue quickly.
• Animation ads were negatively associated with long-running campaigns.
• Video ads also showed a significant negative association.

Creatives that connect. 

• Lifestyle and demonstration-style creatives dominate among long-running ads. Instead of just promising benefits, these ads show how the product fits into everyday life. That difference in storytelling makes campaigns feel fresh and relatable even months later.
• Other creative types (CTA, Social proof, Value) were not statistically significant.

Landing pages that convert. 

• Here’s the game-changer: long-lasting ads don’t just send traffic to standard product pages. They often link to main pages, quizzes, or other tailored experiences that build brand consistency and trust over time.
• Bundle deal pages were significantly negatively associated with long-running ads

The big takeaway? Ad longevity isn’t just about creative quality. It’s about building a conversion ecosystem where format, story, and landing experience reinforce each other.

Brands like PRoMixx Nutrition, Opositiv, Vitable, Cymbiotika, Neurohacker Collective, and Happy Mammoth all cracked this code, keeping their campaigns alive for 400+ days.

If you want ads that stand the test of time, rethink the whole journey. Not just the first impression.

Cox Regression (Survival Analysis)

Cox regression is a statistical method used in survival analysis, ideal when the question is:
How does one or more variables affect the timing of a specific event?

In our case, the “event” can be interpreted as the end of an ad campaign, but in other contexts, it might be things like product abandonment, program dropout, relapse, or even death.

Instead of predicting a number or a category, Cox regression uses two key pieces of information as the outcome:

• Duration: How long something “survived” (e.g. how many days an ad ran)
• Status: Did the event occur?

The model estimates what’s called a hazard ratio, which tells us how a certain factor increases or decreases the likelihood of the event happening at any given time.

This allows us to quantify the impact of things like ad format, creative type, or landing page strategy on how long high-performing ads tend to run.

Logistic Regression (Predictive Profiling)

Logistic regression is a statistical method we used to predict the likelihood of an ad falling into a high-performing category, based on various creative and strategic factors.

Unlike Cox regression, which looks at how long something lasts, logistic regression answers a different question:
What increases or decreases the chances of an ad being successful?

Pearson’s Chi-squared Test

Pearson’s Chi-square test is a statistical method used to determine whether there is a significant association between two categorical variables.

The test compares the observed frequencies in each category with the frequencies we would expect if there was no relationship. If the difference is large enough, the result is considered statistically significant, meaning the variables are likely related.

*Special thanks to Flóra, our senior creative copywriter and data analyst, who helped put together the statistical models and the main findings.

For years, the beauty industry could not do anything wrong. New products, bold packaging, viral trends, and almost everything sold. From 2022 to 2024, beauty grew fast, riding on hype, social media, and a never-ending wave of consumer curiosity.

But now, in 2025, beauty trends are changing. Growth is slowing. Audiences are pickier. There are more choices than ever, thanks to a wave of new indie brands. And the same playbook that worked just a year ago? It’s no longer enough.

Consumers haven’t stopped spending, but they have started thinking harder before they buy. They’re asking:

• Is this product really worth it?
• Does it actually work?
• Does this brand stand for something I care about?

That’s why 75% of beauty executives now say “value perception” is the number one thing shaping the market. 54% see uncertain consumer spending as the biggest risk to growth going forward. (Source: BoF x McKinsey Beauty Report 2025) 

In short: it’s not about how much you shout, it’s about what you stand for.

What people consider “beauty” has expanded. It’s no longer just makeup or skincare. Beauty supplements market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10–12% globally through 2027.

In the U.S., 33% of beauty consumers now purchase ingestible beauty products regularly.

Now it includes:

• Wellness and supplements
• Personal care rituals
• Aesthetic treatments
• Emotional well-being
• Longevity & biohacking

To succeed in this new, expanded beauty space, brands must evolve from selling surface-level results to offering real value. That means:

Once upon a time, beauty brands could group people by age, gender, or income and be done with it. But in 2025, that’s a fast track to irrelevance.

Today’s beauty buyer isn’t defined by demographics. Instead, it’s about mindset, values, and habits. One 26-year-old might shop like a minimalist wellness freak, while another is a glam maximalist skincare junkie. They might both buy beauty, but they’re buying for completely different reasons.

Same demographics, different values and style

To win, brands need to go deeper. That means building attitudinal segments – understanding how people think, what they care about, and how beauty fits into their lifestyle.

Beauty shoppers are overwhelmed. With thousands of new brands, products, and promises launching every year, attention is fractured and trust is hard to earn.

People now shop across price points, mix drugstore essentials with luxury, follow creators not brands, jump from Sephora to TikTok Shop, and experiment with a new brand the second it feels fresher, faster, or more aligned. Brand loyalty is fragile.

At Evolut, we believe the future of beauty belongs to brands that build micro-universes. Not just selling a product, but inviting people into a lifestyle that reflects their tastes, values, and goals.

Here’s how you can start:

Define your core customer by attitude and aspiration, not just age or location
Speak to them with visuals, copy, and community content that reflects their world
Create offers and bundles that solve specific needs, not just general beauty categories

Typology “Radiance Routine” Bundle

We’ve entered the post-hype era. For years, beauty brands grew fast by launching shiny products, using viral packaging, and riding influencer waves. But in 2025, customers are waking up.

Now they ask:

• Is this just trending or is it actually good?
• Will this solve my problem?
• Why should I trust you over the 15 other brands offering the same thing?

Brands that don’t have real answers get filtered out. The ones that prove value early and consistently rise to the top.

Nowadays, Reddit is leading the way for millions of skincare consumers with brutal honesty and fact-based discussions.

It’s not enough to be “clean,” “sustainable,” or “inclusive.”

Consumers want performance. Results. Proof.

And they expect it across all price points, whether they’re buying a €10 lip balm or a €120 serum. Today’s beauty shopper isn’t loyal to a price tier; they’re loyal to what works.

Your formula needs to deliver. And your messaging must explain how and why with clarity and confidence.

Instead of blowing budgets on influencers with fake engagement, smart brands are reinvesting in product development. Because here’s the truth:

A product that actually works creates better word-of-mouth than any ad.

Some of the fastest-growing beauty brands in 2024–2025 are science-first or performance-backed brands. They lead with education, not hype. They let real results become their best campaign.

Treat your R&D like a marketing asset. Document it. Share it. Tell stories around it.

One of the smartest ways to prove value is to let customers experience your product before they fully commit. Think:

• Entry-level SKUs
• Travel-size kits
• Samples with smart targeting
• Subscription mini-trials

This creates what we call the “non-return effect”. Once they try the real quality, it’s hard to go back to what they used before.

Big brands like Saint Laurent and Augustinus Bader use this method to make premium products more accessible without diluting brand value.

A travel kit from AB and an entry level cream from YSL.

Today’s most successful beauty brands are not pushing only sales, they’re teaching their audience as well. They explain ingredients, rituals, and results. They give people reasons to care.

They use demonstration and value-driven content to communicate the brand and product USPs from multiple angles. In doing so, they also address and overcome preconceptions about the brand. How?

Consumers don’t want more noise. They want guidance. If you give it to them, you earn trust and long-term loyalty.

Not long ago, founder-led beauty brands were everything. A bold personality, a compelling backstory, and a few viral videos. That was enough to drive loyalty and sales.

Not anymore.

In 2025, being the face of your brand isn’t enough to build trust. Today’s consumers are asking harder questions:

• Does the founder’s background actually add value or is it just a marketing story?
• What are the brand’s real USPs if you remove the founder from the picture?
• Does this brand speak to me or just repeat the founder’s story?

The era of “personality-first” branding is fading. What matters now is the depth of the brand itself.

Consumers are shifting from “follow the founder” to “find the tribe.”
What wins now is a shared aesthetic, a belief system, and a culture people want to belong to.

Think about it:

• Glossier built a universe of beauty minimalists
  
• Rare Beauty created space for emotional wellness
  
• Fenty made everyone feel included

None of them rely on the founder’s daily presence anymore. The brand has grown beyond the individual and that’s what makes it strong.

At Evolut, we guide our clients to build founder-integrated brands, not founder-dependent ones. You don’t need to erase the founder, but you must elevate the brand beyond the face.

Your brand should be able to:
Speak clearly without a face on camera
Deliver consistent emotion through packaging, content, and UX
Build loyalty around values, not vanity metrics

Here’s how to start:

• Clarify your core identity: Build your identity around rituals, values, and benefits, not just personal stories.
  
• Create a brand voice guide: So your tone stays consistent across platforms, teams, and campaigns, even when the founder isn’t the one speaking.
  

Let your community become your new co-founders: The founder reflects the audience’s journey, not just her own expertise. This builds relatability and trust, not ego-driven branding.

Let’s face it: beauty marketing is oversaturated. Too many ads. Too many influencers. Too many brands fighting for the same clicks.

What once worked – outspending or outposting your competitors – is now a recipe for ad fatigue and wasted budget. The ROI of empty reach is collapsing.

Attention is earned through meaning, not just media.

There was a time when one Instagram shoutout could sell out a product overnight. But that era is over.

In 2025, audiences are tuned in but skeptical. They’ve learned to recognize staged photos, scripted hashtags, and “authenticity” that’s clearly bought. And they’re not just ignoring those posts, they’re actively turned off by them.

A 2024 survey by CreatorIQ found that:

• 67% of Gen Z say they are “less likely to trust an influencer who promotes too many brands.”
  
• 59% say they prefer content that is educational or product-use based, rather than purely lifestyle-oriented.
  

And most striking: trust in macro influencers has dropped 30% since 2021, while micro and niche creators have gained traction as more credible sources.

Brands need to stop thinking in “influencers” and start thinking in collaborators.

Winning brands today don’t just make ads, they build content ecosystems.

They use:

• UGC to build social proof
  
• Behind-the-scenes to build transparency
  
• Founder insights to build authority
  
• Tutorial-style content to build trust and product confidence
  

This doesn’t just sell, it creates attachment. And in beauty, attachment leads to repeat purchases, community, and word-of-mouth.

Like Dieux Skin, which earns repeat customers through ultra-honest communication and science-backed transparency. Their brand feels human, which keeps people coming back.

The founders of Dieux Skin openly share product and ingredient insights, and respond to reviews with refreshing honesty.

Beauty buyers still shop in many places. But they discover, evaluate, and decide in different places than before. That’s why your message has to travel well.

Example:

• TikTok = curiosity & vibes
• Instagram = aesthetics & reviews
• Google = clarity & intent
• Email = conversion & retention

AI Search (e.g. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) = Trust & first impressions

A simple ChatGPT search for clean beauty products now replaces the need to compare websites one by one on Google.

AI is the newest battlefield. Consumers are asking AI tools to summarize product comparisons, recommend routines, and filter brand credibility before they even hit your site.

For a while, it looked like physical stores were out and online was everything after Covid. But in 2025, we’re seeing a hybrid reality.

Yes, digital matters more than ever. But here’s the twist:

Smart brands aren’t choosing one. They’re building multi-touch ecosystems and and make each one feel native to the platform and the user.

Consumers love marketplaces. They’re fast, familiar, and usually cheaper. But for brands, they can be dangerous territory.

Why?

• You lose control of the customer experience
  
• Discounting can kill your positioning
  
• Competing products sit next to yours, 24/7
  

The challenge: how to leverage marketplaces without becoming dependent on them.

Our advice: use them to acquire, but own the relationship elsewhere (like email or direct subscriptions).

AI is transforming the way consumers shop, especially online.

What’s next? Agentic commerce: AI tools that help consumers shop for themselves.

Think:

• Product finders that act like digital beauty advisors
  
• Smart bots that build carts based on your skincare goals
  
• Personalized offers triggered by behavior, not broad targeting
  

60% of beauty execs are exploring AI, but only 10% are using it meaningfully.

Start small, test AI in support roles (like product recommendations or personalized flows), and prioritize customer trust.

Revieve is a great digital beauty platform that transforms how consumers discover and shop for skincare. Powered by AI and computer vision, it acts like a virtual beauty advisor – analysing skin concerns, offering personalised product recommendations

For years, tech buzzwords floated around the beauty world – “personalization,” “smart skincare,” “AI-powered routines.” Most of it was hype. But in 2025? The shift is getting real.

Brands are starting to use tech not just for show, but to solve actual problems:

Let’s break down where the smartest brands are putting their energy and how you can use these tools without losing your brand’s human touch.

No more one-size-fits-all. Beauty consumers expect experiences tailored to their:

• Skin type
  
• Tone
  
• Goals
  
• Mood
  
• Shopping habits
  

Use tools like Dynamic Yield or Klaviyo to personalize product recommendations, email flows, and homepage banners based on behavior. Even simple tweaks in copy can dramatically lift conversions.

Klaviyo product feed interface showing personalised recommendation settings.

The beauty industry may be facing pressure, but globally, it’s still on a path to growth. The catch? It’s uneven. Some regions are booming, while others are cooling off.

If you’re thinking about expansion, media buying, or even where to place partnerships, you need to know:

• Where consumer demand is rising
  
• What challenges each region faces
  
• And how to tailor your strategy to the local mood
  

Let’s break it down.

Growth forecast: ~6%
What’s driving it: High GDP, innovation, strong DTC scene
Watch out for: Political volatility, ad saturation

North America is still a top-tier market, especially for premium and wellness beauty. But it’s also one of the most crowded spaces. Brands need clear positioning, tight and niche messaging, and cross-channel execution to stand out.

What works:

• Value-backed storytelling
  
• TikTok-native product discovery
  
• Subscription and refill models
  
• Expert-led content (especially in skincare and wellness)

Growth forecast: ~3-5%
What’s driving it: Solid infrastructure, rising wellness category
Watch out for: Economic stagnation, price sensitivity

Europe is steady, not explosive. Think long-term brand building over fast wins. Sustainability and ingredient transparency matter more here than almost anywhere else.

What works:

• Region-specific campaigns
  
• Sustainability-first messaging
  
• Subtle, design-forward aesthetics
  
• Deep localization (language, retail, influencers)

Growth forecast: ~3%
What’s driving it: Beauty culture, e-commerce leadership
Watch out for: Slower post-Covid recovery, geopolitical tension

China remains a massive opportunity, but brands need patience and hyper-local strategy. Western cool factor isn’t enough anymore. Success depends on how well you understand platforms like Douyin, Little Red Book, and Tmall.

What works:

• Tech-enhanced shopping
  
• Local KOL (influencer) partnerships
  
• Value-based pricing
  
• Science-backed skincare narratives

FYI: You need a local agency, your EU or US agency won’t be able to handle your chinese campaigns, since a local entity is required.

Growth forecast: ~7-9%
What’s driving it: Emerging middle class, rising interest in self-care
Watch out for: Currency instability, infrastructure gaps

LATAM is hungry for new beauty experiences, but access is still uneven. The key is to keep things accessible while building emotional connection.

What works:

• Affordable luxury positioning
  
• Beauty education (especially in skin & haircare)
  
• Localized influencer marketing
  
• Lean, mobile-first e-commerce

Growth forecast: ~10-11%
What’s driving it: Rising wealth, retail sophistication, youth population
Watch out for: Cultural sensitivity is non-negotiable. Missteps around religion, modesty, or representation can result in immediate backlash.

These markets are young, digital, and image-driven and love both prestige and personal care. But brands must respect culture, religion, and regional preferences.

What works:

• Prestige positioning with heritage storytelling
  
• Premium retail experiences
  
• Arabic-language content & local voices
  
• Exclusive drops, limited editions, seasonal collections, and Ramadan/Eid-exclusive offerings

Success comes from local precision. Adapting shade ranges, seasonal timing (think: Ramadan campaigns), and respectful messaging that aligns with tradition but speaks to modern aspirations.

Growth forecast: 6-7%
What’s driving it: GDP growth, digital adoption, tourism
Watch out for: Tourism dependency, talent gaps

Think Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia. These markets are growing under the radar. Many are mobile-first, value-focused, and ready for beauty that feels accessible, global, and personal.

What works:

• Mobile UX optimization
  
• Fast, relatable video content
  
• Tiered pricing
  
• Social commerce (especially TikTok Shop)

The beauty industry is no longer about who can shout the loudest, spend the most, or launch the trendiest product.

Today, the brands that win are the ones that speak clearly, deliver real value, earn trust, build community, and stay consistent day after day, channel after channel.

Growth is still on the table. But it’s no longer about going viral overnight. It’s smarter. Slower. More intentional. And built to last.

At Evolut, we help beauty and lifestyle brands navigate exactly this kind of shift. If we were building your playbook from this report, here’s where we’d start:

• Refine your brand core
• Create a value-focused content system based on our own method
• Build an omnichannel strategy
• Tap into attitudinal targeting
• Use tech where it enhances trust, personalization, or clarity
• Prepare for localized expansion
• Think community-first, not campaign-first

In a world where attention spans are getting shorter and identities are rewritten daily, fragrance has found its place, not as an accessory, but as an extension of the self. 

While makeup and fashion still dominate the visual grid, scent has become the invisible signature of digital personalities.

It’s what can’t be posted but must be talked about. On TikTok, creators are narrating who they become when they wear them.

• ‘This is my confident date-night scent.’
• ‘This smells like walking through a dream in July.’

Scent is personal branding, distilled.

TikTok creators @professorparfume and @perfumerism are sharing their insights on fragrance scents.

One of the most striking shifts we’ve observed at Cosmoprof Bologna is the rise of emotion-first and genderless fragrance storytelling. Instead of ‘for her’ or ‘for him,’ consumers are gravitating toward perfumes that align with feelings, memories, or aesthetics. 

On platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, we see fragrances curated like mood boards: sun-warmed skin, salty breeze, crushed mint.

Vahy’s Pinterest board

Fragrance lovers today know more, say more, and feel more strongly about what they like. They want to know the perfumer’s story, the sourcing of each ingredient, and how it compares to a discontinued vintage scent from 1998.

This kind of detailed knowledge works perfectly on short videos, where creators focus on one scent note or even review how satisfying the cap sounds when it clicks shut.

Personal taste is the new status symbol and rare and unique scents matter more than big brand names.

Social media has become fragrance’s most unlikely playground. The visual language of TikTok and Reels – with its storytelling, surprise, and sensory tension – pairs beautifully with the mystique of scent. 

In a scrollable world, the most successful fragrance content doesn’t just inform; it evokes feelings. It builds curiosity. It creates longing. And that’s exactly why fragrance marketing in 2025 is less about product features and more about the feeling you leave behind.

Fragrance used to be discovered in department stores.

Today, it’s discovered in a 15-second vertical video – shot in someone’s bedroom, lit by natural light, narrated with passion. TikTok has become fragrance’s most unexpected territory. Not because the platform is visual, but because it thrives on emotion, relevance, and cultural tension – exactly what fragrance is made of.

At Cosmoprof Bologna, a TikTok strategist put it plainly:

Lots of the content regarding perfumes on TikTok are super savvy, super specific, super detailed.

And that’s the magic. TikTok rewards deep dives, not overviews. The best-performing content is often about things you’d never think to notice: how a cap clicks, how the atomizer sprays, how a scent evolves in real time on the skin. Micro becomes macro.

Suddenly, a forgotten niche brand from Ireland is trending, not because of celebrity backing, but because someone described it as ‘smelling like cold marble floors after a storm.’

The sophisticated aesthetic of Cloon Keen, Ireland’s luxury fragrance house.

On TikTok, creators are building quizzes like ‘Guess the scent by the cap,’ or using green screen overlays to explain the story behind a single note. Duets, reactions, blind smell tests, even ASMR unboxings, it’s all content. And it’s all commerce.

This shift is about how consumers want to relate to brands. They don’t want to be sold to. They want to participate.

A creator rating a scent as ‘main character at a summer wedding’ carries more influence than a perfectly polished ad campaign in fragrance marketing now.

Legacy names still hold weight, but the algorithm favors the underdogs.

‘It’s much more interesting on TikTok to talk about something you’ve never heard of,’ said one panelist. And they’re right.

This is the era of discovery-first branding, where unfamiliarity becomes a feature, not a weakness. 

Indie brands, especially those with bold aesthetics, complex backstories, or region-specific ingredients (like Middle Eastern ouds or Irish botanicals), are winning the scrolling game.

In this context, savviness equals status. The more obscure and emotionally resonant a fragrance is, the more powerful its social currency.

TikTok has essentially turned scent discovery into a social sport.

Fragrance used to be an invisible luxury, a whisper behind the wrist. But now, it has to perform on the feed. The explosion of Reels, Shorts, and TikTok has forced fragrance marketing to visualize the intangible. It’s not easy, but it’s becoming an artform.

We’re seeing brands lean into hyper-stylized, dreamlike visuals – often borrowing language from indie cinema, vintage fashion editorials, and even video games. From slow-motion pours of liquid over velvet to blurred shots of sunlit bodies running through fields, it’s all about capturing the feeling of a fragrance in a single frame. 

As one panelist put it:

Consumers are really looking for a new kind of storytelling – more visual, more cinematic, more inspiring. – Pascal Fontaine, Founder of Amoi Parfums

This trend harmonizes with the rise of what Evolut calls aesthetic-based branding – the idea that your scent isn’t just something you wear, but a vibe, a moodboard, a character you become. 

This is why creators now curate perfume wardrobes for different roles.

Perfume wardrobe curation IG post from @vanessasskin.

There’s a scent revolution coming from the East and the West is paying close attention. In 2025, the Middle East is reshaping the global fragrance industry.

Long dismissed or exoticized by Western perfume houses, Middle Eastern olfactory traditions – rich with oud, incense, musk, and ritualistic layering – are now leading global fragrance innovation.

What was once seen as niche is now the new language of luxury.

As highlighted in the BeautyMatter BWME 2024 report, regional brands are no longer waiting to be ‘discovered.’ They’re building global identities on their own terms, rooted deeply in culture, tradition, and brave choices.

Fragrance houses like Ajmal, Arabian Oud, Swiss Arabian, and Lootah are commanding both heritage and aspiration, exporting not just scent but a lifestyle rooted in storytelling and ritual.

Europe’s recent obsession with oud is just the beginning. Consumers are now leaning into the entire Middle Eastern fragrance philosophy – one that centers ritual, slowness, and sacredness.

Burnable fragrances (like bakhoor), fragrance oils, and layering rituals are gaining popularity because of their meaning.

As noted at Cosmoprof, there’s a growing demand among Gen Z and Millennial consumers for cultural authenticity and something that feels real. Middle Eastern fragrance traditions deliver both.

Scents last longer, speak louder, and built on ancient traditions.

We’re witnessing a global re-education. Terms like attar, mukhallat, and oudh are entering everyday fragrance vocabulary on TikTok and Pinterest.

The storytelling around these ingredients is no longer filtered through a Western lens. Creators from Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha are owning the narrative, showing how scent connects to identity, gender, faith, and family.

In BeautyMatter’s words, ‘fragrance remains the largest and fastest-growing category across the Gulf region,’ with consumers spending more on perfume than skincare or color cosmetics. Why? Because scent is cultural currency. A form of self-expression. A symbol of generosity and prestige.

For global fragrance brands, the message is clear: this is not a trend only. It’s a huge shift in what scent means and how it’s worn. Collaborations with Middle Eastern artists, perfumers, and cultural historians are no longer optional. They’re essential.

The Middle East’s moment is coming.

We’re living in the golden age of niche fragrance. Not because small brands are suddenly louder, but because the consumer is looking for solutions differently. Mass-market perfection is old school.

Now, it’s the unpolished, unique, hyper-personal scents that draw attention. A perfume that smells like ‘wet pavement in Tokyo’ or ‘melted plastic on a playground slide’? Suddenly, everyone wants to try it.

In 2025, indie fragrance brands are thriving because they offer something the mainstream can’t: surprise.

While heritage houses chase trend cycles, niche creators are making perfume emotional again – weird, poetic, and sometimes uncomfortable. And that’s exactly why they’re winning the game.

Today’s most magnetic indie brands don’t speak in vague abstractions like ‘feminine’ or ‘floral.’

They speak in micro-moods and microscopic moments: a perfume for heartbreak recovery, another for walking home after midnight, one for the smell of vinyl records and forgotten basements.

It’s fragrance marketing for the ‘emotionally literate consumers’.

This is especially resonant in summer, when scent becomes part of personal rituals. Not just parties and vacations, but solo walks, creative highs, long, humid afternoons spent doing nothing. Indie brands tap into that with intention.

As one panelist at Cosmoprof noted:

Consumers now prefer storytelling that’s real, emotional, and specific. There’s no room for fluff.

Brands like BornToStandOut are proving that weird works, as long as it’s honest. With scent names like Sex & Cognac and Dirty Heaven, they’re not chasing trends, they’re creating their own mood. It’s indie, it’s loud, and it sticks.

L’ANIMAL by BORNTOSTANDOUT – rule-breaking imagery

Many of these niche brands follow the ‘unbrand’ aesthetic. Minimal packaging. Absurd names. Handwritten batch numbers. They don’t try to impress, they invite curiosity.

This unpolished approach works because it aligns with a larger cultural shift: audiences are tired of being sold perfection. They want intimacy, voice, and oddity. They want to discover something their algorithm didn’t feed them.

Dedcool brings a new wave of Gen Z fragrance marketing to TikTok.

Platforms like TikTok and Substack are helping these brands build cult followings without traditional campaigns. A single unboxing, a smell-memory voiceover, a behind-the-scenes look at formulation – that’s enough to launch a micro-hit that sells out overnight.

Consumers will start seeking fragrances that make them feel like they are discovering something completely new – something only they have access to.

Shared by Ariana Silvestro, CEO of Scent Lab at BeautyMatter’s FUTURE50 Summit where industry insiders predicted a sharp turn away from influencer-fueled trends.

In 2025, it’s no longer enough to sell a beautiful scent. The most successful brands are selling a way of being. Fragrance has become more than a personal accessory – it’s a social signal, an emotional anchor, a lifestyle choice.

The question is not ‘What perfume are you wearing?’. It’s ‘What does your scent say about your values and your mood?’

That’s where lifestyle branding steps in. At Evolut, we believe a fragrance brand is all about the mood it creates. It shows up in your Instagram feed, in the newsletter you open with your morning coffee, in the TikToks you save at midnight. It’s not just seen, it’s felt.

That’s the power of true omnichannel presence. That’s what makes it unforgettable.

The playbook has changed: from prestige to participation. And the smartest brands aren’t trying to dominate. They’re trying to belong.

The rise of the ‘scentellectual’ – a fragrance-savvy, curious consumer who wants to understand compositions, notes, and mood-building – is redefining what brands must deliver.

As Kristen Sgarlato (KES Innovation) noted at BeautyMatter’s FUTURE50, fragrance is now the new playground for consumers who’ve “graduated” from skincare. Education, transparency, and personalization are no longer brand extras, they’re expectations.

The most meaningful perfumes today don’t just sit on the skin; they anchor us to a feeling, a story, a season of life. And this summer, more than ever, people are choosing fragrance not for status, but because it fits who they are.

From TikTok’s ultra-specific scent storytelling to the rise of Middle Eastern ritual, from the poetic boldness of indie brands to the wellness-minded reset of functional fragrance – the message is clear: emotion is the new luxury. 

The brands that succeed moving forward will be the ones that can translate invisible feelings into sensory rituals, micro-memories, and lifestyle ecosystems.

For fragrance marketing enthusiasts: go deeper. Create with intention, not just scale. Because the future of fragrance isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about being felt – deeply, memorably, and personally.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have birthed a generation of consumers who crave novelty and immediacy. Viral beauty products can go from unknown to sold out within days. As a result, brands now feel they must launch new products constantly just to stay relevant.

Slide series promoting Bubble’s latest skincare release with playful packaging, lifestyle imagery, and key benefits highlighted

Often, brands barely have time to build momentum around existing products, because in today’s market, new often matters more than great. But how did we get to this point?

Social nowadays is creating this democratic way of expressing… one hand incredibly powerful, on the other very scary. – Sarah Ricciardi, Designer & Creative Director

Behind every product launch lies an complex ballet of formulation, packaging, testing, compliance, and marketing. And yet, as one indie brand founder shared at the panel, those timelines often collide with the rapid pace of social demand.

We were working on this brow pen for two years, almost done, then this big name came out with the exact same product. But we kept going. – Indie beauty founder

That story underscores a larger truth: the faster the industry moves, the more brands must choose between speed and substance. Cutting corners risks reputation. Taking time risks irrelevance.

The cost of staying slow is steep. According to McKinsey’s Beauty Report (2022), brands that fail to launch products at least once per quarter see 30% lower engagement rates on social platforms compared to their more fast-moving competitors.

In the past, beauty trends followed seasonal or annual cycles. Now, micro-trends, like ‘latte makeup’ or ‘cloud skin’ can peak and fade in less than a month. This constant churn forces brands to pivot their strategies constantly.

Good things take time, but TikTok doesn’t wait. – Nikki De Jager, Nimya

Worse still, trend fatigue can lead to emotional detachment from brands. Consumers grow bored quickly. They chase the next launch like it’s a dopamine hit.

For brands, this often means keeping products in pre-launch development limbo, only to scrap or rush them once someone else gets to market first. It’s a costly game of innovation roulette.

Even with a stellar idea and a willing audience, the machinery of production isn’t always fast enough to support the pace of digital attention.

We thought we could do an eyeshadow palette in two weeks. Then we realized it takes months, especially with shipping and customs. – Isabelle Tambue, Essence Cosmetics

This reveals a systemic conflict: consumers live in a digital now, but products exist in a logistical later.

Some brands have responded by setting up modular product pipelines or pre-developing trend-reactive SKUs. Others lean on limited editions to create hype with minimal commitment. But for smaller brands with fewer resources, it’s often a stressful guessing game.

ColourPop is known for its extremely fast product development cycle, with new launches nearly every week. They use a modular product system, where base formulas (lipsticks, eyeshadows, blushes) are pre-approved and ready to customize with new shades, packaging, or collab branding.

ColourPop post about a trending phone case and a matching lip balm

Result:
They can react to TikTok trends or viral memes within a 4–6 week window, making them one of the most responsive beauty brands on the market.

Fenty leverages limited-edition drops (e.g., holiday highlighters or celeb collabs) to generate urgency without overcommitting to inventory. They often tie these launches to events or cultural moments (e.g., Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance).

Result:
This creates social buzz, drives immediate sales, and allows the brand to test new ideas without long-term production commitments.

Beauty Pie’s membership model allows them to test new products in smaller batches directly to loyal subscribers. This reduces pressure to launch widely and gives the brand built-in testers for innovation.

A curated flat lay of Beauty Pie’s trending multi-functional products, showcasing the ‘skinification’ of makeup – where skincare meets cosmetics

Result:
They gain data, feedback, and engagement without the high costs or risks of global retail rollouts.

From a behavioral science perspective, consumer addiction to novelty is real. Psychologist Dr. Kit Yarrow describes this as the ‘dopamine drip of discovery.’ Each new product launch offers a chance for social validation, self-expression, and escapism.

But there’s a catch: overexposure can also lead to emotional burnout. This puts even more pressure on brands to be both innovative and meaningful.

One panelist remarked:

We’re not selling a lip gloss, we’re selling a birthday feeling. That’s the story.

Meaningful connection is the only way to anchor a brand in the consumer’s memory amid an ocean of fleeting trends.

Adding to the complexity is the fragmentation of global markets. As one speaker shared, products and packaging must often be adapted for vastly different cultural, political, and aesthetic environments.

Sometimes we need to change packaging from Italy to Emirates. Each local market is different. – Sarah Ricciardi, Sarah Ricciardi Studio

Despite regional nuances, one universal trend emerged: consumers worldwide now expect prestige-brand experiences, even from drugstore offerings.

This “elevated baseline” raises the bar for everyone, creating intense pressure on packaging design, storytelling, and product innovation across all price points.

Sustainability was another hot-button issue during the discussion. Brands universally acknowledged its importance, but also the tension it creates with launch velocity and budget constraints.

For indie brands, sustainability is like…unreachable. It’s so expensive. – Nikkie De Jager, Nimya

Big brands can afford to switch to eco-friendly packaging, like using recyclable materials instead of shiny, hard-to-recycle finishes. But for smaller brands, going green often feels out of reach.

A smart starting point? Choose simpler, recyclable packaging and be honest with customers about the steps you’re taking.

The Danish brand Unique Beauty is known for running their manufacturing facility entirely on 100% wind energy and using circular ingredients in their formulations

As one solution, panelists suggested more transparent storytelling –“We can’t do everything, but we’re trying.” This kind of honesty builds trust and lets consumers join the journey, rather than judge the progress.

The future of beauty branding may not lie in simply chasing speed, but in mastering agile depth: releasing quickly while maintaining emotional resonance, functionality, and quality.

This doesn’t mean brands need to launch 20 SKUs a year. It means they need to be strategic, emotionally intelligent, and responsive in their storytelling, even if their product cycles can’t always keep pace with TikTok.

To succeed in this climate, brands must accept what one panelist described as the ultimate balancing act:

You’ve got to be fast, but good things still take time. Stand behind your product.

In the end, relevance in beauty is not just about what you launch, but how and why you launch it. If you can connect, create meaning, and move with intention – even in a rapid-fire culture -you’ll do more than just survive the speed.

You’ll lead it.

You couldn’t walk through Vitafoods without hearing about GLP-1. The once-niche hormone involved in appetite regulation has exploded into the public consciousness thanks to medications like Ozempic. But its side effects, like facial volume loss and skin sagging are creating new opportunities for supplements.

When people lose weight quickly, they worry about looking gaunt or tired. We’re exploring GLP-1 support products that preserve muscle tone and skin elasticity. — Frédéric, Purasana (Belgium)

In the coming year, expect a rise in multi-functional supplements that support metabolic balance while protecting skin hydration and collagen levels.

Ingredients like hyaluronic acid, elastin peptides, adaptogens, and targeted proteins are being formulated to ride the GLP-1 wave in a wellness-safe way.

Purasana’s vibrant Instagram feed highlights the true multifunctionality of their products

From a supplement marketing strategy perspective, the opportunity lies in cross-category positioning: weight management + beauty + aging support, all in one clear narrative.

Collagen remains the backbone of beauty-from-within, but the way brands talk about it is changing. The generic “glow boost” claim is out. In are specific collagen types (I, II, III), clear sourcing information, and precise pairings with bioavailability boosters like vitamin C, magnesium, or hyaluronic acid.

We’re seeing a huge push toward marine collagen and UC-II collagen for joint and skin health. — Berglind, Kavita (Iceland)

According to the Future of Collagen panel, one of the biggest gaps in the market is consumer education around collagen types. Despite the rise of more targeted formulations, a staggering 95% of consumer conversations online don’t mention the collagen type – suggesting that most buyers still choose based on brand or packaging, not molecular structure.

The panel also highlighted the emergence of biotech-based and vegan-friendly collagen alternatives, especially in Asia and North America, where demand for plant-derived options is accelerating, even though they may not be molecularly identical.

Another key takeaway: collagen works best when it’s stacked with supportive nutrients, and brands that guide consumers in how to combine products are seeing stronger retention and loyalty.

People want to know not just what type of collagen they’re taking, but what to pair it with to see real results. — Elizabeth Thundow, Kline + Company

This shift is driven by educated consumers – especially Gen Z and millennials – who demand proof, not promises. Brands that win will be those that simplify the science without dumbing it down.

Collagen is one of our top-performing categories, but what’s changed is how we talk about it. — Konstantin, Fitspo (Bulgaria)

For marketers, this means rethinking supplement marketing strategy around ingredient education, sourcing transparency, and stacking guidance (what to combine and when).

Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and Chaga were everywhere. These functional mushrooms are becoming the new go-to for brands looking to offer inner calm, clarity, and hormonal balance, attributes increasingly tied to beauty and longevity.

We focus on mushrooms that help with stress, immunity, and healthy aging – key issues linked to skin quality. — Martin, MycoMedica (Czech Republic)

They’re also a marketer’s dream: story-rich, exotic, and packed with dual benefits (beauty + brain health). A well-designed supplement marketing strategy can turn a mushroom blend into a ritualistic, lifestyle-based product with strong brand affinity.

Probiotics are no longer just for bloating or digestion, they’re a must-have in beauty routines. Brands are launching formulas that support skin clarity, hydration, and resilience by targeting the microbiome.

Consumers are asking for specific probiotic strains now, not just general blends. The gut-skin link is driving a lot of innovation. — Madalina, Good Routine (Romania)

We also spotted postbiotics and fermented botanical blends aimed at inflammation control and acne management. The next level? Probiotic pairings with collagen, zinc, and vitamin A.

A modern supplement marketing strategy should spotlight the emotional and visual benefits of microbiome balance – clearer skin, calmer mood, better sleep – not just gut health.

This is perhaps the most important cultural shift. Consumers no longer view skin issues as isolated, they see them as the external display of internal imbalance.

For marketers and brand builders, this means reframing skin health not as cosmetic correction, but as a system-wide reflection of well-being. True skin health isn’t just skin deep, it starts with what’s happening inside the body.

Pro tip for marketers: Use before/after visuals in gut-skin campaigns, but pair them with story-driven education: stress, gut imbalance, hormones, diet. That’s how trust (and retention) is built.

Capsules and powders are giving way to experiential formats like jellies, chocolate bites, sachets, dry shots, and dissolvable strips. These formats blend indulgence with function, improving compliance and social sharing.

The form matters. People don’t want to swallow big capsules anymore, they prefer soft gels, liquids, or even tasty formats they can enjoy daily. — Zdanék, Terezia (Czech Republic)

This shift is largely driven by a younger generation of consumers who value convenience, flavor, and experience just as much as efficacy. Products that feel like part of a daily ritual or even a treat are more likely to become habitual. 

Consumers want snacks that are enjoyable and functional. That’s where we come in with mushroom-enhanced chocolate bites. — Cherie-Anne, Kairi Chocolate (Trinidad and Tobago)

This shift also brings new visual and sensory branding opportunities. Supplement packaging and delivery methods are becoming a storytelling canvas, not just a utility.

Supplement delivery format preferences by generation, Nutrition Business Journal 2024 – presented at Vitafoods Europe

Across the board, Vitafoods attendees agreed: trust is the new premium. Consumers want to know exactly what they’re putting in their bodies, where it came from, and what it’s doing for them.

People are asking for more than just trendy ingredients. They want natural products with clear benefits, transparent sourcing, and convenience. — Isabel, Marnys (Spain)

For marketing teams, this means more than labeling. A modern supplement marketing strategy should include:

• Ingredient origin stories
  
• Clinical research summaries
  
• QR codes for third-party testing
  
• Plain-language science explanations

According to a recent analysis shared during Vitafoods, over 70% of supplement-related online searches are driven by confusion, not confidence. That’s the opportunity. Consumers aren’t looking for complexity, they’re looking for clarity they can trust.

Most people just want to know what works for them and why. If we don’t guide them clearly, they’ll find answers elsewhere. — Konstantin, Fitspo (Bulgaria)

Transparency is no longer about listing ingredients, it’s about making consumers feel informed, not lost.

One of the most surprising takeaways from Vitafoods 2025 wasn’t about ingredients, it was about marketing maturity. Many supplement brands are scientifically advanced but digitally underdeveloped.

We spend years perfecting the science… but we still struggle to explain that online in a compelling way. — Dorota, Dwatro (Poland)

While digital-first DTC players like Athletic Greens, Seed, Supergut, and Ritual dominate feeds with storytelling, emotional design, and community building, many legacy and emerging brands still treat their website like a product catalog.

High performing ad examples from AG1 and Supergut

The new bar? Your digital strategy must:

• Educate like a coach
• Inspire like a lifestyle brand
• Convert like a DTC native

This includes UGC content, influencer collaborations, micro-community building, and content that bridges use case + aspiration.

At a time when dozens of brands use the same hero ingredients, what truly sets a product apart isn’t just the what, it’s the why and where.

Winning ingredient-focused ads from Paleovalley, Cuure, and GEM

Multiple interviews revealed that consumers increasingly want to know:

• Where ingredients are grown or harvested
• Who is behind them (e.g. farmers, scientists, small producers)
• What makes a given version of an ingredient better than others

We grow our own spirulina and astaxanthin on our farm in Hawaii. That’s our biggest point of difference. Most other brands just buy it in bulk. — Stephanie, Nutrex Hawaii

Ingredient transparency is becoming ingredient storytelling and it’s especially potent when wrapped in visuals, heritage, sustainability, or origin narratives.

Instagram posts from Nutrex Hawaii showcasing powerful ingredient storytelling