I have a copy of the original post at the bottom of this update.
As this is top of mind, I tend to notice things that reinforce this view of course
I saw a really interesting article on the Huffington Post blog by Dr Arnold Klein a dermatologist that got me thinking.
In his article he talks about how in the world of beauty care the obsession today is about complexity in regimes, offers and the whole process while in reality SIMPLICITY is actually the best thing to do rationally. Of course as the market is so much about aspiration and irrationality both manufacturers and consumers behave differently.
There were 2 things that really stood out for me in his arguments:
SIMPLE IS SAFER AND BETTER
When it comes to caring for your skin, the more simple you are (he argues) the safer and better it actually is. People are doing things that make your skin more sensitive and affected that they really don’t need to
He says: “Another thing to remember is the fewer agents we use on our skin the better. Albert Kligman my teacher from Penn and the brightest dermatologist next to me, of course (only kidding) did a study on Japanese women; who are known to have sensitive skin. The study found that these women used on average 8 different products on their skin. (For comparison US women use about one product.) When the number of products the Japanese women used was reduced to one there skin was no longer sensitive.”
SIMPLY OFFERING WHAT IS GOOD IN A SIMPLE WAY SHOULD BE ENOUGH
He talks about how manufacturers tend to create complicated offers to try and sell more regimes and cross-sell.
He gives as an example how Neutrogena in the USA sell retinols (which he acknowledges an outstanding anti-age ingredient).
He says: “A good example of a product like this is Retinol SA from the Ageless Intensive Line by Neutrogena. Its concentration of retinol is high enough to be effective (i.e. converted to retinoic acid.) The issue I have with the Neutrogena product is that there are all these weird add add-ons that come with the product such as the facial vibrator and cleansing pads one is suppose to use. Why? Buying a new cream becomes tantamount to buying a new car. Why they can't simply sell the cream?”
Read the full article on the Huffington Post:
“Hope in a Jar --- Cosmeceutical Science : Fact or Fiction Part 1” by Dr Arnold Klein
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arnold-william-klein/hope-in-a-jar-----cosmece_b_433967.html
My original post on Simplicity as the way of the Future:
Is simplicity the way of the future? I think it could well be. I do think it is a big trend to watch out for an embrace.
After years of excess and conspicuous consumption, the economic crisis has forced a rethink in so many areas. And one theme for me seems to be that simplicity is the thing that is emerging. It is a natural reaction to excess, complexity and concerns about what we eat, use and do to our bodies and the environment we live in.
Some of this trend is fuelled by the need for organizations to find ways to cut costs too, ironically.
Many hotels, airlines and other service industries are taking out various features and items to reduce costs. In fact some hotels are prepared to lose stars from their ratings in order to strip back some of the features. Hotel chains like Travelodge are doing well on the basis of offering nothing more than a good night's sleep. They do not have complex services and features but focus on making sure that people have a good night sleep. Nothing more and nothing less. Focusing on one core and simple thing. People may get used to, and like paying less for getting the key thing: good comfortable night sleep. This is simplicity and ensuring you focus not on all the ancillary offerings, but the simple thing people need.
The increased awareness of the dangers of chemicals and the junk in the environment that is leading to increased incidence of things like eczema and skin issues is also leading to more simple and perceived safer products. We are seeing, for example, rapid growth of brands like “Simple” in the UK that tells a story of just a few key ingredients that are all you need to get the results you want. We are also seeing the growth of pharmacy brands promising to exclude preservatives and other chemicals to be just simple but effective.
There was a really interesting article recently in USA Today about the emergence of the simple trend and how it is having an impact and resonating across many other categories that is well worth reading called “How many ingredients in this scoop? The answer may be surprisingly simple”
What do you think? Got any other examples? Email me or leave a comment on the blog posting now!
After years of excess and conspicuous consumption, the economic crisis has forced a rethink in so many areas. And one theme for me seems to be that simplicity is the thing that is emerging. It is a natural reaction to excess, complexity and concerns about what we eat, use and do to our bodies and the environment we live in.
Some of this trend is fuelled by the need for organizations to find ways to cut costs too, ironically.
Many hotels, airlines and other service industries are taking out various features and items to reduce costs. In fact some hotels are prepared to lose stars from their ratings in order to strip back some of the features. Hotel chains like Travelodge are doing well on the basis of offering nothing more than a good night's sleep. They do not have complex services and features but focus on making sure that people have a good night sleep. Nothing more and nothing less. Focusing on one core and simple thing. People may get used to, and like paying less for getting the key thing: good comfortable night sleep. This is simplicity and ensuring you focus not on all the ancillary offerings, but the simple thing people need.
The increased awareness of the dangers of chemicals and the junk in the environment that is leading to increased incidence of things like eczema and skin issues is also leading to more simple and perceived safer products. We are seeing, for example, rapid growth of brands like “Simple” in the UK that tells a story of just a few key ingredients that are all you need to get the results you want. We are also seeing the growth of pharmacy brands promising to exclude preservatives and other chemicals to be just simple but effective.
There was a really interesting article recently in USA Today about the emergence of the simple trend and how it is having an impact and resonating across many other categories that is well worth reading called “How many ingredients in this scoop? The answer may be surprisingly simple”
What do you think? Got any other examples? Email me or leave a comment on the blog posting now!
1 comment:
your post is dead on...in fact, trendwatching.com's latest report has been on a trend they call "fundamentall" (http://trendwatching.com/briefing/),which is about getting back to basics, and showing-off how basic you are as a symbol of status. Interesting.
Post a Comment