What Are Clean Beauty Products And Who's Buying Them

Minisha Verma loves skincare and makeup. The 28-year-old spends her free time scrolling through Instagram posts for beauty tutorials. She mostly buys her supplies online and spends up to Rs 8,000 a month on face cleansers to lipsticks labelled 'clean'.'Top celebrities advocate clean beauty and the negative implications of toxic chemicals on skin, hair and overall health,' Verma said. She considers ‘clean beauty’ a sustainable choice in her lifestyle.Verma isn’t alone. On Instagram, the hashtag #cleanbeauty has 5.4 million posts. The trend of ‘natural’ and ‘green’ is giving way to ‘clean’, and the market is exploding. At least 127 companies are vying for a slice of the $0.84-billion industry, according to Tracxn data. More than half of these companies have received external capital, while 61 remain unfunded.Yet, what's construed as ‘clean’ is vague. Retailers such as Nykaa, Purplle, Sephora and NewU sell own or third-party brands touted as natural, clean, green, vegan, and organic, making the distinction fuzzy. Even Verma is still not sure.'There is no clear-cut definition of clean beauty that exists in the industry, leading to spurious brands greenwashing their products,' said Nitin Passi, chairman at Lotus Herbals Pvt. Clean beauty is marketed as safe, eco-friendly, cruelty-free and vegan products created without synthetic chemicals, he explained. 'One must always look for appropriate certifications and ingredient list on the packaging to understand it better.'The concept overlaps but is yet different from natural beauty.“A clean product will never use even a plant-based ingredient if studies signify that it has been sourced by damaging the natural forest cover or animal habitat or is cultivated using wrong farming techniques. In such a case, a lab processed ingredient is used,' said Merin Liza Jacob, co-founder, Green and Beige. A clean product, according to her, not only prioritises humans and their bodies but society at large.Many of the 'clean' products tout lack of sulphate and parabens, which is used as preservative, Passi said. According to companies, carcinogenic monoethanolamine and paraphenylenediamine are some of the other 'toxic' ingredients that are avoided in making of these products.Appreciation for the concept is growing. Skin and hair products maker Pilgrim’s recent survey found that almost three-fourths of the consumers' top choice was 'clean beauty' products. .Anurag Kedia, co-founder and chief executive officer at skin and hair products maker Pilgrim, attributes the growing demand to rising climate consciousness among the millennials and Gen Z.'Consumers began questioning the moguls of the beauty industry on the composition of their hero products,' he said, amplifying the demand for products that are sustainably sourced, don’t involve animal testing and use plant-based ingredients.'It was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were at home, they got the time to reflect upon their choices,” he said. “The demand for clean products boomed and it has been stronger than ever.' According to Green and Beige's Jacob, 'Every changing trend in skincare is due to the consumers who raised their voice.' Skin whitening was a hot seller in the Indian markets till recently but now it's a 'taboo' and the clean beauty has taken its place, she said.Market research firm Statista pegs the domestic clean beauty market, including products made completely or partially from natural ingredients, to grow 3.4% annually in the next five years. The global market size is estimated to expand to reach $22 billion by 2024 and $54 billion by 2027.The opportunity has drawn investors. Funds raised by ‘clean’ beauty products makers rose fivefold over a year earlier to $332.7 million in 2021, according to data sourced from Tracxn. It stands at $147.6 million in 23 rounds so far this year. Growing investor appetite for brands that take ESG (environment social and governance) seriously is also making way for such deals. .And it has spurred M&A. The Good Glamm Group acquired Organic Harvest and St. Botanica; Sugar Cosmetics picked up the majority stake in ENN Beauty; GOAT Brand Labs took over Neemli Naturals; Nykaa acquired 51% in Dot & Key; Marico bought 60% holding in Just Herbs—all in the last two years.The Body Shop, one of the early entrants in the space, is looking to become a 100% vegan brand by 2023. The company is the world's first cruelty-free brand but is just 60% vegan.'As the vegan movement grows in India, we are looking to reformulate our products,” said Antara Kundu, general manager, Asia South, marketing, brand and customer acquisition, The Body Shop. The 46-year-old British cosmetics and skincare brand is also looking to add three stores every month as demand rebounds from pandemic lows.India, however, is still a niche market compared to the U.S. or the U.K.Jacob is optimistic considering growing awareness among millennials and Gen Z customers who are making sustainable choices.Like Minisha Verma who has already selected her next buys: a hair fall shampoo, a lip care combo, a night crème and kohl..Private Labels Flood Retail As Shoppers Prioritise Spending Amid Soaring Prices

What Are Clean Beauty Products And Who's Buying Them

Clean beauty brands attracted $332.7 million in 2021 — quintupling from a year earlier.

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