The second live Beauty & Wellness Forum was held this week by OZIFOX in New York City, featuring industry professionals from a variety of fields, including tattoo care, clean medicine, retail, fitness, and women’s health.
Even though the day was jam-packed with educational speakers including Dr. Will Cole, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Ashley Tisdale, Naomi Watts, and Michelle Crossan-Matos, it wasn’t all work and no play. The social wellness club Othership’s cofounder and CEO, Robbie Bent, guided members through a brief visualization. A tech neck movement break was conducted by Kristin Sudeikis, the founder, CEO, creative director, and primary instructor of Forward_Space. Additionally, during “wellness breaks,” guests could freshen their hair and makeup with Glamsquad, write a message of confidence with the marine collagen water brand B’Eau, or have a massage.
One idea was valid throughout the day. Wellness is not a passing fad brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic; it is here to stay. “There is unquestionably hunger. There is undoubtedly a market, according to Tonya Lewis Lee, owner of the dietary supplement company Movita Organics. “There are undoubtedly dollars available for this. Each of us is observing it in our workplaces. However, because customers prioritize longevity over quick immunity boosters, the patterns may appear slightly different.
Several significant themes emerged during the day, including the value of compassion, the expanding connection between wellbeing and beauty, and the necessity of community in the face of an epidemic of loneliness.
The key takeaways from OZIFOX’s Beauty & Wellness Forum are presented here.
The king is kindness!
Kindness and joy keep showing up as keywords. It’s central to the genesis stories of Beekman 1802, and Kindness.org, and it’s shrewd business. Kindness is a deliberate and effective business strategy, according to Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Beekman 1802 cofounder. Ulta Beauty has discovered that customers are asking for compassion in the beauty and health space. “They want to feel joy,” said Crossan-Matos, Ulta Beauty’s chief marketing officer, announcing the company’s new Joy Project, an effort to spread joy among its customers.
Wellness is beauty.
According to Allie Egan, chief executive officer and founder of Veracity, “the worlds of beauty, wellness, and health [are] all merging together.” Simply simply, your exterior appearance will reflect how you feel on the inside. According to Devin McGhee Kirkland, co-founder and CEO of the adaptogen-based company Deon Libra, “Your beauty comes from your wellness.” With this, the wellness and beauty industries continue to merge. “Medical and wellness are combined because the journey for skin care, body care, health, and well-being, it’s really a transition and a journey,” said Amy Shecter, CEO of cosmetic dermatology business Ever/Body.
Rituals are crucial.
Crossan-Matos said that when it comes to buying, “people want rituals.” This was also the driving force for Tisdale’s brand creation for Frenshe and Being Frenshe. It was a common theme throughout the day as brand creators stressed the value of developing rituals to encourage compliance. Brands with a ritual-based assortment will stimulate growth, claims Crossan-Matos.
Promote education.
Although wellness can be complicated, today’s consumers are more informed and willing to conduct their homework. Michelle Jacobs, cofounder and COO of menopause solutions company Womaness, stated, “There is this appetite for telling me what I need, telling me how to acquire it, and teaching me how to use these items. This packaging makes direct-to-consumer websites and marketing materials important content hubs. Oliver Zak, co-founder and CEO of the tattoo care company Mad Rabbit, stated that “your own website needs to be the hub of your brand.” “Where you have the most control over the story is there,” she said. Jacobs agreed, pointing out that they want to provide clients with a “place to start your journey.”
Be bold and simple.
While keeping the consumer’s needs in mind, be careful not to overeducate them. Cole, a specialist in functional medicine, said “More isn’t always better.” Consider using this to convey a bold but clear message. “They [consumers] love the boldness,” said Kelly Fanning, general manager of Bayer Consumer Health’s United States pain, heart, & dermatological division. But they require a straightforward shopping experience. Throughout the day, emphasis was placed on products and packaging with obvious use cases; examples include Genexa’s “clean medicine” and Stripes’ Vag of Honor product.
Dismantle taboos, particularly those related to women’s health.
Dr. Fahimeh Sasa, chief innovation officer and founder physician of fertility clinic Kindbody, said that if the subject is taboo, “we can’t educate people about it.” With this, the traditionally taboo subject of women’s health came up repeatedly during the day. However, as Stripes founder Naomi Watts noted, “A woman’s story matters at every age.” As a result, consumers, brands, and retailers are promoting the category.
Everyone can be in good health.
Access to wellness is necessary. Lewis Lee remarked, “There is such an opportunity that’s lacking when it comes to real wellness.” “It’s not simply about using a Black face in an advertisement…You need people of color in your offices who can genuinely respond to it if you want to promote your products to people of color. The majority of medical studies and clinical trials in the beauty industry have been based on white men, thus there is also a shortage of study in this area. McGhee Kirkland emphasized the value of financial support by saying, “If you’re not going to do the research or talk to the community in their language…at least support the brands that are already doing the work.”
Win by innovation.
Think about the innovative enterprises that are quickly growing, such as 32 degree ice baths offered by Othership or Genexa, or the clean medicine offered by Genexa. “Don’t give up if you ever have an idea,” said Tisdale, “especially a bold one, because you never know what might happen.”
Customer customisation is necessary.
The greatest summary came from Julie Wainwright of Ahara. “One size does not fit all,” she declared. Additionally, customers are keen to test out routines and goods tailored to their need. According to Craig Elbert, co-founder and CEO of the dietary supplement firm Care/of, “There are so many products out there that people can be overwhelmed.” Personalization is a technique for offering advice on what could be appropriate for you.
Community and experience creation!
Given the abundance of alternatives available to consumers when it comes to wellness, experience and a sense of community are crucial, particularly in light of the epidemic of loneliness. “It’s a human business,” declared Julia Klim, vice president of strategic alliances and business development at Equinox Group, stressing that the company first engages its local community before scaling up new technologies nationally. It’s the same with Ulta Beauty. “The magic happens in store,” declared Crossan-Matos. Bent, co-founder and CEO of the social wellness club Othership, echoed the value of community, saying, “Social experiences are what people want.”