Kids and beauty: vegan, D2C and the new influencers

Health and beauty was one of the clearest examples of young consumers changing a category from the outside. Kids and teens were not the biggest spenders in it, but their concerns, their platforms and their peer networks set the direction the market followed.

Vegan and cruelty-free went mainstream

Animal cruelty was one of the leading concerns for kids across every age group we surveyed, globally. It ran highest in Germany and Mexico, where 37% of 3 to 12s named it.

37_%Of 3 to 12s in Germany and Mexico named animal cruelty as a concernKids Insights, Germany and Mexico, 2020.

That concern translated directly into shopper behaviour. Preference shifted away from chemical-based products towards cruelty-free and plant-based alternatives, across categories from make-up to deodorant, opening a clear route for retailers and manufacturers of vegan beauty.

The brands kids chose

Neutrogena was the favourite beauty and skincare brand of US teens, having grown 33% year on year. The sharpest growth in that market went to Garnier and Olay, up 65% and 73% respectively.

In the UK, The Ordinary made an impression fast, going from not registering as a favourite in 2019 to being used by 6% of the demographic. Dove led globally for bath, shower and washing, strongest in the US, Canada and the UK, while Nivea ranked first among 10 to 18s in Germany, Spain and Italy.

One absence was as telling as any of those numbers: no health and beauty brand appeared in kids' top ten favourite brands in any market we surveyed.

When it comes to health and beauty we are seeing some significant developments, from increased awareness of the environment and the importance of a healthy lifestyle, to the increase in peer to peer influence. Though it is interesting that we see no health and beauty brands in kids' favourite top 10 brands in any of the countries we survey.Nick Richardson, Founder, The Insights Family

The rise of direct-to-consumer

A wave of ecommerce-first brands reached young consumers without a retail intermediary. Kylie Cosmetics ranked 16th favourite with teenage girls in the US, and Glossier 34th, both built on direct distribution that gave them control over how products were bundled and upsold.

Influence moves to TikTok

Beauty was ahead of most categories in building trust through influencers rather than advertising. TikTok's highest earner at the time, Addison Rae, launched her own make-up company, ITEM Beauty, in August 2020, with 55 million followers behind it. The pattern that mattered was structural: a new generation of influencers gave brands a route to young consumers that traditional media could not match.

Inclusivity and diversity

In the US, the issues young people cared about shifted sharply over the course of the year. Concern about racism rose 241%, human rights 138% and gender equality 169%. Beauty was one of the first categories where brands were held to those expectations in product and casting, not just in marketing.

241_%Increase in US kids naming racism as a concern during 2020Kids Insights, US, 2020.

The spending economy

The commercial scale was already significant. Annual spending on toiletries and cosmetics among 10 to 18s was worth £709 million in the UK, €789 million in France and €444 million in Spain. In the US the same market was worth $13bn.

Children are the next generation of consumers and the key trends we are witnessing today are likely to shape the future shopper. It is therefore important that brands truly understand their audience.Utku Tansel, Head of Global Industry Reports, The Insights Family

Figures from the Kids Insights Global Health & Beauty Report, published 2020. Based on surveys of more than 5,000 children a week across five continents and 13 countries, more than 277,000 children a year.