6.7.2023
Just go ahead and search #BeautyTok on TikTok and you’re sure to find some old prestige brands and a ton of niche-specific start-ups hungry for clicks, likes, and ultimately, market share. What’s surprising is that a large majority of the brands dominating Tik Tok are not the same as retail. We’ve noticed a handful of similarities and trends amongst the most viral beauty brands on TikTok that can be incorporated into any brand or product strategy.
It goes without saying that we’re now living in the A.C. Era -- “After COVID.” Working from home has become the norm, getting anything from a new brake pad to a diamond engagement ring delivered overnight is nothing new, and the term #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has gained tremendous popularity amongst consumers young & old alike.
The TikTok user base is up 87% since the pandemic, and it goes without saying that today’s most popular skin care and cosmetics trends are driven by the social media platform. Just go ahead and search #BeautyTok on TikTok and you’re sure to find some old prestige brands and a ton of niche-specific start ups hungry for clicks, likes, and ultimately, market share.
Here’s a list of top 10 TikTok Beauty Brands Ranked by Number of brand hashtag videos on the platform:
What’s surprising is that a large majority of the brands dominating Tik Tok are not the same as retail. These entrepreneurial brands are creating demonstratable problem-solution content & linking direct to their own site or Amazon for purchasing. Today’s beauty brands simply cannot ignore the trust consumers have in not only user-generated content, but also the convenience of immediate online purchase.
With this in mind, we’ve noticed a handful of similarities and trends amongst the most viral beauty brands on TikTok that can be incorporated into any brands strategy --- here’s what we found:
One of the most popular brands on TikTok, The Ordinary, heavily focuses on highlighting its ingredients and their benefits rather than their branding, celebrity followers, or any sort of aspirational marketing. Their packaging is straight to the point, clinical, and authentic. Even their name highlights their brand ethos – powerful products for regular people.
It’s not enough to simply create a great product that has effective ingredients anymore – the ingredients + packaging + brand ethos must blend as one message. Despite the organic & sustainable ingredient trend taking over the industry, The Ordinary is using very clinical ingredients like squalene, peptides, azelaic acid, and hyaluronic acid. The key differentiator is they are explaining these ingredients transparently in terms of where they are sourced from, why they use them, and the benefits to the end-user. Best of all, this explanation is on TikTok for all to see.
While being organic and sustainable is a trend that is here to stay, brands must resonate each ingredient used within it’s brand DNA and content for the end user to believe it. Simply claiming benefits or sustainability with no explanation or detailed sourcing story is a marketing strategy no longer relevant to today’s consumer.
Another popular brand on TikTok is Olaplex, whose key products strengthen and protect all hair types. The key word here being “ALL hair types.” What would traditionally be a brand for regular straight hair sold via a beauty counter or salon is now a multi-cultural, gender agnostic, e-commerce powerhouse.
Their content shows all races using & benefiting from their products --- not only that, but they show men using their products on their hair & beards. What comes through clearly after viewing the brands content is that this is not just a gimmick. Their products specifically include formulations that can be used across hair types and genders with demonstratable results.
In the past, segmenting ethnic hair from “regular” hair or men’s products from women’s was the norm – but in today’s A.C. Era, including everyone with a diverse range of products proves more viral than categorizing based on ethnicity or gender. We’re all human after all right?
Using our two previous examples, both Olaplex and The Ordinary shows videos of how and where their products are made. Olaplex shows themselves testing products in a salon environment, which matches the brand’s ethos. The Ordinary shows their scientists and product development specialists in an actual lab testing & perfecting their formulations.
Too many consumers have been upset by online brands who are manufacturing overseas in an unknown facility with generic products. While the active ingredients may not change, customers simply do not want to align with a “me-too” brand. They want to align with passionate brands that have a greater purpose than just products. They want a brand that stands for what they stand for – integrity, humanity, and togetherness.
While Dropshipping was hugely popular in the past, customers demand to see the creation process to know that the brand has this integrity. Anybody can order finished products from Alibaba and start selling them online – but, consumers want to hear from a real person on why the brand does what it does and who the actual scientist or team is behind the product. And, it must be 100% authentic – reality TV has made us all excellent at detecting a phony.
It can be a daunting task to incorporate all the hottest trends into your brand & product mix – don’t worry, that’s what we’ve been doing for our customers since 1983. We’ve helped brands go from start up to 9-figure exit in no time with our proprietary products, formulations, testing, and end-to-end turnkey services.
Our team always has their finger on the pulse of what’s hot, what works, and what doesn’t. Not only that, our in-house designers can make sure your packaging matches your formulations and brand perfectly so you too can go viral. Need to show how your product is made in the lab, manufactured in the plant, or demonstrate it’s use in a salon? No problem – we’d love to host you and your content team. Need to make your brand more inclusive? That’s our specialty. RNA is one of few manufacturers who can call the worlds largest ethnic & men’s beauty brands their loyal customers.
Give us a call or send us an email – we’d love to discuss how we can help build your brand this year and beyond.
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