Online appearance boosts beauty business
WELLINGTON: Beauty and wellness companies are cashing in on Covid19 as video calling makes people much more selfconscious about how they look.
The burgeoning industry anticipates billiondollar growth opportunities for New Zealandmade branded products, as well as treatments.
A couple of small New Zealand beauty brands are looking to raise a few million dollars to support their international growth ambitions.
Jeuneora aims to raise $3 million through Snowball Effect’s crowdfunding platform, while Kester Black is using the Australianbased crowdfunding platform Berchal to raise
$A3 million ($NZ3.12 million).
Earlier this month, Australiabased Silk Laser invested
$A52 million into nonsurgical beauty franchise brand, The Cosmetic Clinic and its Australian parent, and has plans to build another four clinics in New Zealand next year, bringing the total number to 22.
Silk chief executive Martin Perelman said a recent Australian survey of 2000 men and women by Allergan Aesthetics found nearly a third (31% ) had become more aware of their beauty flaws since they began using video calling, while more than a quarter (27%) had become more judgemental of other people’s facial features.
He said those attitudes had resulted in a pickup in demand for beauty treatments, with 67% concerned about their appearance and 48% spending more on products designed to make them look healthier and younger.
‘‘People are spending more money on making themselves feel and look good, especially when they’re in lockdown. They’re on video conferencing that’s here to stay . . . and that’s where we’ve sort of accelerated our growth,’’ Mr Perelman said, adding the growth had been mostly in injectable treatments, such as botox and other fillers.
He said clients were spending an average of $A473 a year preCovid, whereas they were now spending about $A606, as injectable treatments were more expensive than other treatments, such as hair removal.
Mr Perelman said the New Zealand market was ripe for expansion and expected the number of Cosmetic Clinic franchises in New Zealand to grow to about 30 over time.
He said the company was also looking to manufacture cosmetic products in New Zealand for export, as there was value in the New Zealand Inc brand.
Jeuneora was already finding international success with a locally made collagen powder supplement designed to enhance skin, which was initially launched through a lowcost social media campaign.
Jeuneora reported $7 million in sales over the past year, from just $700,000 in 2018, with
$1.4 million in international sales.
Ethical beauty brand manufacturer Kester Black’s managing director and founder Anna Ross said its revenue had increased 53% over the past year to $1.1 million and projected further growth through an international launch of its products.
She said the increase in video conferencing could be behind the recent sales growth, but noted there had been a drop in the industry market share of lipstick sales, although her company had not been affected.
‘‘And what’s really fascinating is that eyes have seen huge growth, obviously because of mask mandates. So lots more people are buying into products like eyeliners and brows just for Zoom, and because of mask mandates,’’ Ms Ross said.
She estimated the ethical beauty industry, which was part of the broader wellness movement, was expected to double in size to $22 billion annually by 2024, from
$11 billion in 2016. — RNZ