MB Talks with Jennifer Carlsson – The Beauty Brand Expert

Content Type: Marketing

Consumer, Cosmetics, Events, Health & Beauty, Industry, Interview, Marketing, Retail, Sustainability

Posted on 6 July 2023

With global revenue over $571 billion US dollars and trending upwards, health & beauty has proven to be a resilient and dynamic sector.

Able to reshape itself around expanding innovations, shifting consumer demands, and intensifying competition, it takes a keen eye and expert knowledge to navigate this ever-evolving industry.

In an exclusive interview, MacGregor Black’s global health & beauty specialist, Kriisti Atherton, sits down with Jennifer Carlsson, the beauty brand expert and Founder of market research business, Mintoiro to delve into her journey, her expertise, and what makes her such a sought-after figure in the industry.

Kriisti Atherton: So, Jennifer, for those who haven’t come across your profile yet, can you introduce yourself and tell us what makes you the ‘Beauty Brand Expert’?

Jennifer: Oh wow, where do I start?

Well, my name is Jennifer Carlsson, I’m a 30-year-old beauty brand strategy consultant, data analyst and designer from Stockholm.

I’m also the founder of my own professional services business, Mintoiro, and I launched the Beauty Design Awards in 2020.

At Mintoiro, I work closely with independently owned beauty brands to help them get loved by the people that care, and take market share from big corporations…

At the moment, I spend most of my time doing competitive market research, which I love, and it also helps be inform the consulting work I do.

I guess a lot of people might also know me from LinkedIn. Every month I post updated lists of the ‘Top 100 Brands Trending on Instagram’ across skincare, makeup, haircare, and fragrance. Those I’ve been posting for a few years now.

What makes me the beauty brand expert? Hmm, since I’m constantly doing research, I’d say I probably know more about beauty brands than anyone else. I’m not claiming to know more about the industry than anyone else, of course, but on brands specifically, I know what I’m talking about.

I always say that I’m an information sponge. I want to know everything about everything, I want to understand every aspect of the beauty industry and exactly how everything works.

I’m always talking to people in all parts of the industry’s value chain, and I learn so much from those conversations. But when I think of what really makes me an expert, I think of a quote that one of my mentors, Errol Gerson used to say… ‘the main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing’. You’ve got to do one thing well and focus on one thing at a time, because if you’re trying to do two different things at 50/50, you’re never really doing anything at 100, and how could you gain that expertise? Beauty is my main thing and I’m always giving it 100.

Kriisti Atherton: So why is Beauty in particular an industry you’re so passionate about?

Jennifer: I mean, I’ve always been into fashion and makeup. I really love the industry; I love the people I get to chat with, and coming from a design background, the creativity in the beauty industry just speaks to me.

In my early 20’s, I used to be a fashion blogger. My main focus was cute Japanese street styles and I was quite well known in that scene.  

When I initially started my own business, I decided I was going to do design, so when the time came to launch Mintoiro, it just made sense to design for Beauty Brands. For my first year in business I was mainly doing brand identity and packaging design for cosmetics brands.

Kriisti Atherton: You mentioned earlier that you spend a lot of your time compiling market research for your clients. Can you talk us through your process?

Jennifer: There’s lots of different parts that go into it.

I’m constantly adding more to my database, most of which is gathered through manual data entry. This is time consuming but really beneficial because, coupled with my eidetic memory, it gives me a good overview of everything that’s in my database. The only exception to this is social media metrics, I update this every month, but I use a scraping tool to gather that data and automatically import it to my database.

For my ‘Top 100 Trending Brands’ lists, the way I rank companies is completely data driven and based on followers, engagement, and growth over time. This is important because it’s not interesting to look at what brands have the most followers; I try to capture which brands are steadily growing whilst maintaining an engaged audience.

I also look at the products that brands are launching, their ethics, certifications, which markets they’re in, their target audience and who owns the brand. I have so much fun doing the research, some people find it boring, but I just love it.

Each report can take several months to complete, and when it’s done, it’s really exciting to be able to see all the patterns emerging in the industry.

I’ve recently finished a report on emerging colour trends for beauty brands, which was grounded in tons of data analysis, but presented it in a really visual way. I looked at the latest colour trends in beauty product packaging, and as part of the research, I tagged the exact colour shades of over 16,000 products from over 3,500 different beauty brands. I then split the 35 trend colours I identified into 7 different colour moods.

I also tagged the colours of around 4,000 runways looks from the 2023 Spring and 2023 Fall collections, as well as looking interior design, sneakers and other adjacent industries, as you tend to see a lot of overlapping trends across different industries.

It takes so much time to do this research. Straight up, it just takes so much time. I don’t have a secret thing that gathers it all super quickly for me, I’m doing data entry pretty much all the time. But I really enjoy doing the market research side of things, so the time it takes isn’t a problem for me.

Kriisti Atherton: Your audience is really engaged with your content, including myself and a number of my clients. But from your perspective, why do you think it is that so many brands choose to work with you in particular?

Jennifer: I’m very interested and engaged in the beauty industry specifically.

When I’m researching, I look at brands from a holistic perspective because you can’t get a full picture of what’s actually going on in the industry from just looking at quantitative data.

I talk to all kinds of people in the industry, I look at visual aesthetics and I also try on a ton of products from a range of different brands, which gives me another type of data to add to my holistic view of the industry. Fortunately, lots of brands send me their products to try, even some that I wouldn’t typically be able to buy myself because they don’t usually ship to my location.

I’d say I also have a really good overview of everything going on in the industry so, if you want to understand your competitors and how you can differentiate your beauty brand; I’m the person to talk to.

For the brands that may not have the budget to fund a huge research project, I also offer pre-made research reports on my website, because I want to make my research affordable for beauty brands at all different stages of their growth cycle.

Kriisti Atherton: You recently attended the Clean Beauty in London event and gave a fantastic speech on ‘The Latest Trends in Sustainable & Conscious Beauty’, what were the key trends you identified?

Jennifer: My talk at Clean Beauty in London mainly focused on brands doing sustainability the right way to show that doing better is possible. That’s something I care about deeply and I’m well-read on the subject.

I find it shocking how much greenwashing is going on in the beauty industry, particularly around the use of plastic. I’m not a purist, I’m not saying that brands can’t use any plastic, but I think they should be honest about the fact that plastic is not sustainable, right? Brands should be truthful and tell their consumers that “we choose to use plastic packaging to be able to offer our products at an affordable price point”, which could up the conversation for consumers to tell the brands “we would pay more for your products if you stop using plastic packaging”. But if consumers are being led to believe these products are already sustainable, then the brand can’t really have those conversations.

People are getting really tired of the greenwashing and sooner or later, they’re just flat out not going to accept it. For example, using biofuel or fossil fuel doesn’t make much of a difference. Turning either into plastic causes just as much pollution and people based near plastic plants are getting sick from the chemicals.

In Mississippi, there’s a stretch of land where over two hundred petrochemical production plants are based, and people call the area ‘Cancer Alley’. When you look at the whole picture like that, you start to realise the bigger issues and how necessary it is that we as an industry approach them.

Kriisti Atherton: As well as a more focused approach towards sustainability, what other trends have you noticed shaping the beauty industry?

Jennifer: Well, I’d say a lot of beauty brands are rethinking the way they approach marketing.

I’ve heard a lot of brands saying that they’re not getting as much return on their ad spending, which I think will see a lot of companies exploring alternative options. I mean, to see a good return on paid advertising, brands should really be spending at least 25K a month on it, and honestly, if a brand has that much to spend, I’d say they’re better off using it elsewhere.

My advice would be to take that money and spend it building partnerships with more influencers, I think the optics of that is way better than just throwing money at ads. Especially if you’re working with influencers that aren’t that big yet, and have a targeted beauty audience, because they produce genuine content that’s real and honest. And if you’re a brand that’s aiming for transparency, this fits well with that goal. Plus, you’re giving money back to hard-working, diverse content creators in the community.

Although, I’d say that if brands go down the influencer route, they need to do it right. I’ve heard some horror stories about beauty brands paying marginalized influencers less than their other influencers, which is just unacceptable. Aside from the fact it’s totally wrong, it’s also likely to hurt your brand’s reputation as people in the beauty industry talk to each other and these things always come out before long.

So, yeah, doing things right is super important, people don’t want to buy from brands that don’t.

Kriisti Atherton: I’ve combed through pretty much every inch of your blog by now and I’m always recommending it to others. In addition to your own, which other blogs/publications would you recommend for beauty fans to check out?

Jennifer: One of my favourites is the Founded Beauty podcast by Akash Mehta, he’s one of the founders of Fable & Mane, which is a plant-based haircare brand inspired by ancient Indian beauty secrets!

On the podcast, Akash interviews beauty founders and entrepreneurs about their business journeys. It’s extremely insightful and it’s a great podcast for people who really want to understand the industry.

Kriisti Atherton: And Jennifer, as The Beauty Brand Expert, which brands should our audience be keeping an eye on right now?

Jennifer: Oh, wow, that’s hard to say. There are loads of really great brands out there.

One brand that I mention often is Dip.

They’re a haircare brand that does shampoo and conditioner bars. I’ve tried a lot of products like this and theirs is the best on the market.

They mostly work with smaller refill stores, and they don’t spend anything on advertising, their brand is spread entirely by word-of-mouth. I think that’s so interesting. Plus, they’re really inclusive, they don’t do different bars for different hair types, they’ve made sure their product can be used by anyone, you just pick the scent you like.

Also, a Swedish brand that I’m really liking at the moment is Manasi 7. I’ve been using their products recently; they have a cheek and lip tint that I actually use for both my lips and cheeks. I also really like their branding. In Sweden, there’s a big market for minimalistic designed brands with a very specific look to them, and these guys have nailed it.

Oh, I’m also really fascinated with exploring the Indonesian beauty market at the moment. They have some really cool looking brands with great formulations. They look like luxury brands that could be sold in Sephora. A good example to check out is the brand Dew It Skin. I love their products.

Kriisti Atherton: You’ve given us some great insight into your expertise and what you’re doing as The Beauty Brand Expert right now. What’s next on the cards for you and your business?

Jennifer: My biggest focus in 2023 is creating the research reports that I sell through my website.

I find the work very satisfying and enjoyable, and creating my own reports allows for me to put all my strong sides to use.I have a few different types of reports in the pipeline and I’m excited to reveal and share them with everyone soon!

I’m also doing Beauty Design Awards for the fourth year running. The award is completely free, and brands are welcome to submit their products for consideration until the end of August. You can find more information on the website, beautydesignawards.com.

The award looks at the holistic experience of a product, so both packaging and formulation are just as important.

Kriisti Atherton: Jennifer, thank you so much for your time today and we look forward to seeing yours and Mintoiro’s success in 2023 and beyond.

Latest blogs & insights

Advertising, Case Study, Consumer, Cosmetics, Fashion, Health & Beauty, Industry, Insight, Marketing, Retail, Social Media, Technology

Posted on 27 October 2022

When social media first popped up in the late 90’s, none of us could have predicted the astronomical growth it would undergo, nor the influence it would ultimately hold over our lives.

What began as a way to simply connect with friends, has since become one of the most powerful global platforms of our time, able to reach millions of targeted people in milliseconds and influence the way we shop, vote, and even feel. Evolving far beyond your typical networking tool, social media has opened up opportunities for not only the every-day-scroller, but for businesses also.

But is the way we use social media set to change? And have brands had enough?

MacGregor Black takes a closer look at social media, and why some brands are taking a permanent break from it.

Social Media vs… The Battle of the Brands

With Facebook alone connecting 2.11 billion users all over the globe, it’s no surprise that social media has come to play an integral part in many of our lives. But with such scale, how is it possible to monitor and control 2.11billion individual narratives? The simple answer is… it isn’t.

With such publicity, comes scrutiny. And as platforms such as Facebook continue to embed themselves deeper into our society, many users are beginning to highlight some of their potential negative effects. One particular issue that continues to dominate the conversation, is social media’s relationship with our mental health.

In recent years, research has provided us with a plentiful evidence pool linking social media usage with a number of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia. According to a 2022 Healthline study of 1,042 U.S citizens, 29% of participants of all age groups felt they needed to take regular social media breaks, in order to feel a benefit to their mental health. This number increased to a shocking 46% amongst 15–24-year-olds.

So, what can be done about this, and who’s responsibility is it to take control?

Lush Cosmetics

Noting the negative effects that social media was having on many of its customers, global cosmetics company, Lush, took a stand; and in 2021, decided to cut ties with online platforms Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook.

The British retailer released a statement to accompany their decision:

“From 26th November 2021, the global Lush brand will be turning its back on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, until the platforms take action to provide a safer environment for users. This policy is rolling out across all the 48 countries where Lush operates. In the same way that evidence against climate change was ignored and belittled for decades, concerns about the serious effects of social media are going largely ignored now. Lush is taking matters into its own hands and addressing the issues now, not waiting around until others believe in the problem before changing its own behaviour.” 

Tesla Motors & SpaceX

Pre-dating Lush’s decision by almost three years, in March 2018, tech billionaire Elon Musk joined the race against social media; deliberately deleting both Tesla’s and SpaceX’s Facebook business pages.

Having regularly aired his opinion publicly, it is widely known that Elon Musk distrusts the way Facebook handles their consumer data. The decision then came to pull both his business pages, following a tragically historic week for the social media company, one that still sits fresh in our memory. In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal prompted a wave of mistrust against Facebook, which later gave rise to the #deletefacebook hashtag.

At the time of the scandal, WhatsApp Co-Founder, Brian Acton tweeted in protest, “it is time #deletefacebook”, in which Musk responded sarcastically, “What’s Facebook?”. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur then went on to tweet that he thought Tesla’s Facebook page was “lame”.

In a final act, Musk was challenged by Twitter users to delete Tesla’s and SpaceX’s pages, “if he really was ‘the man’”, and in typical form, Musk declared he would delete them immediately. Sure enough, in under 30 minutes both business pages were cut from Facebook, and the following media attention, combined with the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, caused Facebook’s stock to plunge 6%.

Elon Musk has since gained the reputation as the modern day ‘Robin-Hood’ of free speech, as in April of this year, the eccentric billionaire made another daring move. This time, against Twitter.

In an effort to force change, on April 14th of this year, Musk made a bid to buy the social networking site for $54.20 per share, putting one of the world’s richest people at the helm of one of the world’s most influential platforms. Musk declared that, should the deal go through, his first priority would be to crack down on data management. However, only weeks after Elon’s rather rambunctious offer, he sought to terminate the deal, citing concerns over the social media company’s use of bots on the platform, artificially inflating their user numbers. Claims which were later supported by a company whistle blower. Twitter has since sued Musk to follow through with the acquisition. The judge overseeing the case has given both parties until the 28th of October to close the deal or face a trial in November.

Bottega Veneta

In 2021, globally established fashion house, Bottega Veneta announced their own bold move to completely cut social media from their marketing strategy.

Creative Director, Daniel Lee, stated in an interview with The Guardian that, “there is a mood of playground bullying on social media which I don’t really like. I wanted to do something joyful instead… I don’t want to collude in an atmosphere that feels negative.” However, despite personal comments from Lee, the Bottega Veneta company refrained from releasing an official statement to explain their swift exit from social media. Leading fans to believe that perhaps this was the company’s latest strategic move in creating the ultimate luxury brand?

Kalyani Saha Chawla, former VP of Marketing & Communications at Dior believes luxury brands need to re-consider the fine balance between over-accessibility and exclusivity, quoting to Grazia UK that,

“luxury brands are diluting their image by using the same social mediums that every high street brand is utilising. Luxury stands for exclusivity, and if it’s all over Instagram and Twitter, it becomes too accessible, which might not resonate with a niche audience.”

A message that sat fittingly with Bottega Veneta’s social media departure, as it came less than a month after it unveiled its exclusive “Salon 01 Spring/Summer Show”, which was being secretly recorded at the time. Shortly after Bottega Veneta’s decision to ditch social, luxury apparel brand, Balenciaga quickly followed suit, wiping all of its content from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Perhaps another strategic move with this decision also preceding the brand’s first haute couture show in over 50 years…

Answering the Burning Question… What Happened Next?

In today’s society, it’s near impossible to picture a global company succeeding without a social media presence, but alas…some of our favourite cosmetics companies, automotive developers and high-end fashion brands claim they are already paving the way to find a successful future without ‘the Gram’.

Lush Cosmetics

After announcing their departure from its social media channels in 2021, cosmetics brand Lush turned to creating what they felt would be, authentic, quality content on the company’s online site instead. At the time, the company released a statement assuring shoppers that, ‘there are plenty of other places to take a dip into the Lush world’, stating that customers could still engage with the brand through shops, events, through the customer care team and on other digital platforms like Lush Player, Lush.com and their Lush Labs app. However, it’s worth noting that some individual stores and Lush staff continued to be active on social media and the company even encouraged customers to continue using branded lush hashtags to promote their content organically. Meaning Lush would remain true to its anti-social media protest, whilst also still staying fresh on the screens of shoppers across the globe.

SpaceX & Tesla

Following Elon Musk’s bold decision to delete both SpaceX and Tesla’s business Facebook pages, the company went on the make an even bolder move in 2020, officially dissolving it’s entire PR department; dubbing it the first automaker to no longer engage with the press. When asked to comment on the move, the billionaire business magnate stated that he wouldn’t go back to having a PR department because he ‘doesn’t believe in manipulating public opinion,’. He responded to a twitter user that encouraged the reinstatement of the Tesla PR team, saying, ‘Other companies spend money on advertising & manipulating public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product. I trust the people.’

So, with a much-reduced social media presence and absolutely no PR staff, how does a multi-billion-dollar business like Tesla expect to stay ahead of the curve?

Well, the American clean energy company relies heavily on one of the most effective marketing strategies out there, word of mouth. Tesla runs a highly popular referral program that encourages customers to share their love for the brand with their friends and family. Tesla enthusiasts, and their referees can earn rewards like free supercharger miles and cash to spend on energy efficient products. Not only that, but the electric vehicle manufacturer also manages multiple customer forums, hosts a global ‘owners club’, and is regularly involved in giving back to the communities they operate in. All of which are great ways to establish a strong brand message without even so much as a ‘share’. However, it’s worth noting that Musk himself has been a driving force behind Tesla and SpaceX’s ongoing success. His loud, charismatic, and sometimes even controversial social media presence certainly draws enough attention to both brands…

Bottega Veneta

Founded in 1996 in Vicenza, Italy by Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro, Bottega Veneta has since firmly established itself as a high-end, luxury fashion house. Their fine leather handbags and quality crafted accessories don the frames of wealthy style icons in all corners of the world, that no doubt, enjoy scrolling as much as the rest of us.

Which is precisely what Bottega Veneta was counting on…

Despite not posting on their business account anymore, Bottega Veneta lives on through the Instagram pages of their loyal customers, influencers, and external partnerships. Rather than coming directly from the brand, content like product launches, events, and brand promotions make the rounds mainly through organic, user-generated content. Which enhances the brand’s exclusive image and cuts out a huge chunk of their workload. So, in theory, they can kick back and reap the rewards as customers are naturally drawn to their brand.

A strategy in which Bottega Veneta took to heart as at the time, the luxury brand doubled down on its quarterly online magazine in what they hoped would offer, “more progressive and more thoughtful” content. A goal in which many say they have successfully achieved since then. 

MacGregor Black’s Global Head of Marketing, Mark Thursby, commented:

“I couldn’t agree more with Kalyani Saha Chawla, in that many Luxury brands sit in a precarious position. One that almost caused the demise of the iconic British Fashion Brand Burberry during the 1990’s, where high demand was met with ease of accessibility. And I believe social media is currently turbocharging just that, or the false impression that luxury products are easily accessible.

Social media is a great equaliser in that it grants the average user access to countless celebrity and influencer lifestyles, mixed in with our friends and family. However, when our feeds are excessively filled with luxury goods, this directly drives demand to a potentially dangerous level. Therefore, when accessibility meets it, in the form of ‘replica’ products, via short-term financing options such as fashion rental, or services such as Klarna, a brand can pass a point of which it’s presence in a market is too heavily saturated and it ceases being perceived as ‘luxury’.

The same theory applies across the board. From cars, to homes, to holidays, and even our own physical appearance. When social media creates the illusion that all of these brilliant products are easily attainable, and not just that, they’re owned by your neighbour, your best friend, and the people you went to school with, the potential to damage a person’s self-esteem can be severe.

Therefore, with brands withdrawing from social media it’ll be very interesting to see what impact that has in the long-term. Will losing the central voice of their brand, do the opposite of what they aim to achieve, and create a more customer-controlled brand image? Or will it dampen demand down to sustainable levels and drive traffic through more ‘traditional’ channels where brands can better manage the battle between demand and access?”

Whilst there are many advantageous qualities to the root-and-branch reform of social media, something brands should consider is, one of most identifying features of a successful business is its powerful approach to customer loyalty. What social media offers consumers is the ability to receive quick responses via direct messaging, as well as the opportunity to engage with brands honestly and publicly on live comments. Some argue that, as a result of axing social media, businesses run the risk of potentially thinning the line of communication between themselves and their customers.

Is This the Way Forward?

Without doubt, social media is one of the most impactful and cost-effective marketing tools available today. But as we’ve recently discovered, some brands are beginning to stand up and take notice of the damage it may be causing to, not just to their customers or their brand image, but to wider society in general. Dubbed with a disregarding attitude towards mental health, rocky data management processes, and the potential to banish a brand’s luxury image, is the social media sparkle slowly dwindling?

And as globally recognised brands like Bottega Veneta, Tesla and Lush radically re-think their social media strategies, many of us are left asking the question, is this the beginning of the great social media snub?

Latest blogs & insights