Yes, I know. A bit of phrase pinching there…. but while location, location, location is the holy grail in property hunting, my innovation version is absolutely true in the beauty market. And I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently - ever since being invited to act as a shortlisting judge for the Product of the Year awards for 2008.
It’s not to say that there isn’t place for classics and old favourites in the beauty market - there of course is. But a phenomenal percentage of beauty sales each year are driven by new launches - and so innovation, you could say, is the lifeblood of the industry - and the cash cow that manufacturers are constantly trying to milk…
The only problem is - and this is what struck me last week as I sampled, sniffed and spritzed around 25 of the 150-odd products which have nominated themselves in the Product of the Year process - a lot of the time, there really isn’t that much true innovation to be had. Yes, there are new miracle ingredients hitting the headlines all the time, and there are new marketing spins on new versions of the same old formats…. but it’s rare that something entirely new takes hold. In fact - even when it does, it’s often simply a re-pitched version of something already around.
Take, for example, gradual tanners. The last HUGE new category to hit high street. These products had, in fact, been around in the form of tan maintainers for a while. It was just the canny remarketing of them as tanning moisturisers that cemented their place as bestsellers…
But, that rant aside, it did strike me that some of the REAL innovation of the past year was sadly absent from the shortlist. Make-up for men, for example. However, it’s not to say that there weren’t some great launches in the mix. Especially yoghurts which boost your skincare from the inside-out (a bit like supplements. I had heard of them existing abroad, but am excited to see them finally here and in our supermarkets….) And I’m really looking forward to seeing what makes the final shortlist for the public vote…