5 Beauty Industry Trends That Will Impact Personal Care Manufacturers in 2022

Personal care is a fast-moving industry, so manufacturers need to stay on the front-foot to respond to customer requirements.

To help organizations keep pace with demand over the next 12 months, Aptean has launched a new eBook: The Five 2022 Beauty Trends That Personal Care Manufacturers Need to Know.

Before you download it, here’s a quick glance into some of the key beauty trends that will be shaping manufacturers’ 2022 production strategies.

Beauty Manufacturing Trend 1: Ingredient Transparency

It’s not just a legal requirement to clearly list product ingredients; consumers are keen to know exactly what goes into the goods they buy. And with 68% of shoppers actively seeking out brands that provide natural and clean beauty products, ingredient transparency and trustworthiness will reach new levels of importance in 2022.

Manufacturers have an opportunity to respond to this trend by focusing on ingredient traceability: tracking balances, serial numbers, lot and production line information in real time. Giving personal care brands the authentic ingredient information they need to build strong customer relationships.

Beauty Manufacturing Trend 2: Sustainability 

The rising eco-consciousness of consumers has made sustainability an important value pillar for personal care brands for some time now. And many companies are working with manufacturers to develop new products and packaging that offer a greener option for beauty and skincare followers.

For example: in 2022 we’re likely to see the mainstream adoption of waterless personal hygiene products such as toothpaste tables and powder-to-liquid shampoos. These innovations will challenge personal care manufacturers to adopt new production techniques while limiting material waste.

We’ll also see brands push to use less packaging on their products or eliminate packaging altogether—creating items like solid shampoo and shower gel bars. Manufacturers will need to address how these goods can be packaged and shipped in a way that uses fewer materials without compromising the quality of products on delivery.

Beauty Manufacturing Trend 3: Product Personalization

With competition high in the beauty industry, personal care brands are always looking for new ways to connect with consumers. And product personalization will become the next major battleground in 2022.

Already, companies like Function of Beauty are experiencing huge sales growth by enabling customers to tailor products to their unique specifications. Over the next 12 months, more brands will follow in their footsteps—using simple techniques like online quizzes, right through to AI algorithms that calculate optimum product composition.

The shift towards personalized beauty will impact how manufacturers collaborate with personal care companies, as the complexity of orders is likely to increase. In turn, this will put more pressure on operational efficiency and smart production scheduling, to ensure that a greater number of SKUs does not impact manufacturers’ overall output.

Beauty Manufacturing Trend 4: Speed and Convenience

Cosmetics, skincare and personal hygiene have always been fast-paced sectors, but the rapid increase in online sales over the past 18 months is pushing brands to be even more dynamic in their product development.

In 2022, personal care companies will focus on their ecommerce strategy, with many going direct-to-consumer for the first time. And a strong relationship with their chosen manufacturer will be essential to converting market appetite into satisfied customers and increased sales.

Beauty Manufacturing Trend 5: Inclusivity

Trends in beauty used to mean encouraging shoppers to buy the same thing. But in recent years we’ve seen consumers pushing brands to increase representation in their product range.

As a result, personal care companies are being much more inclusive in their product development—whether that’s increasing available skin shades, creating gender-neutral personal hygiene products or ensuring their goods are packaged accessibly.

Manufacturers play an important role in the development and production of inclusive personal care products, to balance diversity with profitability. With many ranges diversifying, operational efficiency will play an even more important role for personal care manufacturers in 2022. Organizations need to accommodate expanding product ranges without compromising on quality control or speed to market.

How Will Technology Help Personal Care Manufacturers Keep Pace With Industry Trends?

The demands being placed on manufacturers by personal care companies are greater than ever. But technologies like process manufacturing ERP software are helping organizations to move faster while maintaining high standards.

Process manufacturing ERP technology contains integrated features that enable personal care manufacturers to automate and enhance key aspects of the production process. Including:

• Recipe formulation: ERP software accurately calculates quantities to limit waste, while effectively managing the storage and utilization of ingredients (particularly natural and organic materials, which may be more prone to spoilage).

• Ingredient traceability: technology empowers manufacturers to track raw materials from source to shipment, to validate customer claims and improve quality control (even recalling products quicker if necessary).

• Inventory management: ERP systems integrate forecasting, order management and supplier management to ensure that quality ingredients are available to meet customer demands.

• Smart scheduling: by managing production schedules based on inventory availability and forecasted workload, personal care manufacturers will be able to accommodate more small batch orders while retaining speed to market.

• Overall equipment effectiveness: process manufacturing ERP proactively monitors machinery to avoid technical downtime impacting production rates. It can also support routine maintenance scheduling.

• Business intelligence: an ERP system with built-in analytics enables personal care manufacturers to understand changing demand patterns and what they mean for customer profitability, cash flow and company growth.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the relationship between personal care trends and manufacturing technology, download our eBook: The Five 2022 Beauty Trends That Personal Care Manufacturers Need to Know.

Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP for Personal Care Manufacturers

Innovating at the pace of personal care brands means manufacturing organizations being able to make intelligent, data-driven decisions and act on them quickly.

Aptean ERP for cosmetics and personal care is an industry-specific enterprise resource planning solution that reduces the time, cost and complexity of production for personal care manufacturers.

Book your free Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP demo to see how our software can accelerate your development process and help you keep pace with beauty industry trends in 2022.