This article is part of our Beauty and Cosmetics feature: discover it here
After a period of intense dynamism, momentum in the beauty sector is beginning to slow, prompting brands to seek new growth strategies as consumers become increasingly discerning and well-informed. This is the picture that emerges from State of Beauty 2025, the latest report by McKinsey & Company, which suggests that last year marked a turning point for the global cosmetics industry.
The market, now worth nearly 450 billion dollars, continues to expand, albeit at a more measured pace. Following a 7% annual growth between 2022 and 2024, projections indicate that this will stabilise at around 5% per year through to 2030. The factors holding back growth are geopolitical uncertainty, market saturation and, above all, a profound shift in people’s behaviour.
The concept of “beauty” is evolving
Consumers are not cutting back on beauty spending, but they are becoming far more selective about where they choose to invest, favouring products perceived as effective and distinctive. Certain categories, like facial serums, are seen as inherently more “premium” than others. Every segment is now expected to prove that its price positioning is justified: while 83% of respondents consider haircare accessible, that figure falls to 67% for fragrances.
The prevailing attitude is increasingly pragmatic. Some 63% of consumers do not believe premium beauty products deliver better performance than mass-market alternatives. The myth of the charismatic founder is also beginning to fade: only 13% cite a brand’s founder as a key reason behind a purchase. As perceived value becomes the industry’s main competitive driver, 75% of companies are looking to accelerate sales through strategies less dependent on price increases.
The sector’s boundaries are shifting too. The concept of beauty is broadening to encompass wellness, personal care and aesthetic treatments. Geographically, the United States remains an essential benchmark, but the most promising growth markets are India and the Middle East. China, meanwhile, is recovering, though at a slower pace than before the pandemic.
As for distribution and marketing models, the effectiveness of digital advertising is declining due to channel saturation and rising costs, while the role of integrated omnichannel strategies is growing. By 2030, e-commerce is expected to account for almost a third of global sales (up from 26% in 2024), although physical retail spaces will remain central to product discovery. On the technological front, the adoption of AI remains limited: only 10% of companies use it systematically, while 60% are still in the exploratory phase.
Several trends are reshaping this landscape. Among them is the rise of indie brands (from the term independent brands), which speak directly to consumers by building narratives around their identity and the people behind them, rather than solely around products. McKinsey & Company explores this phenomenon in its State of Fashion 2023–2027 report, noting that many such brands, despite benefiting from low barriers to entry, struggle to scale meaningfully. Of the 46 brands founded in 2005 or later, with global retail sales ranging from 50 million to 200 million dollars by 2017, only five had surpassed 250 million by 2022, and only two had surpassed 750 million.
This trend intersects with the rise of K-beauty, South Korean cosmetics, which has evolved from a viral trend into a strategic global industry, driven by social media, innovation and strong export capabilities. Products such as snail mucin serums, which went viral thanks to TikTok and influencers, have helped small brands like CosRX break into international markets and eventually be acquired by major conglomerates such as Amorepacific, Korea’s largest cosmetics company.
B Corp Beauty Coalition
Alongside the market’s evolution, there is growing momentum behind greater responsibility across the global beauty sector. One of the clearest expressions of this commitment is the B Corp Beauty Coalition, a global alliance of brands certified by B Lab, which aims to tackle key challenges (the ethical sourcing of ingredients, sustainable packaging, the fight against greenwashing and the wider adoption of certification standards) through shared expertise and collective action.
Among its members is Apivita, founded in Athens in 1979 by pharmacists Niki and Nikos Koutsianas, and the first Greek company to achieve B Corp certification in 2017. It develops natural skincare, bodycare and haircare products, drawing on local biodiversity through ingredients such as propolis, honey and royal jelly, combined with medicinal plants. The company also operates from a headquarters designed according to the principles of bioclimatic architecture, located within the Industrial Park of Markopoulo, and has established partnerships with more than 41 philanthropic associations.
Arbonne, founded in the United States in 1980 by the Norwegian Petter Mørck, whose deep connection with nature began in childhood, offers plant-based personal care and wellness products supported by clinical research. The company excludes more than 2,000 ingredients from its formulations and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the “clean beauty” movement.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2003, with offices in China, India, France and the United States, Concept4 represents the Beauty Coalition’s B2B dimension. The company supplies beauty accessories, packaging and lifestyle products while embedding sustainability throughout its value chain.
One of the sector’s most innovative areas is the circular economy. Among the coalition’s members is EcoBean, a Polish B Corp founded by Kacper Kossowski and Marcin Koziorowski, which transforms coffee waste into sustainable raw materials such as coffee oil, antioxidants, PLA (a biodegradable polymer), lignin and protein additives, offering them as low-emission circular alternatives. Applications range from packaging to bio-additives for fuel and biodegradable flowerpots designed to be planted directly into the soil, where they nourish it as they decompose.
EcoBean’s approach is far from unique. The beauty industry is increasingly interested in by-products from the food supply chain. Created by the innovative benefit startup Vortex SRL SB, NASTE beauty promotes product lines based on apple pulp, as well as hazelnut, spirulina and blueberry waste. Some brands repurpose whey, pistachio shells, and grape seeds, all of which are rich in valuable ingredients.
What emerges is the picture of a dynamic sector, in which the era of “more is more” is gradually giving way to a new culture rooted in responsibility, one that extends beyond the product itself to reconsider the entire life cycle of raw materials.
Cover: photo by Envato