Hello, and welcome to the Highlight Reel, a series where we interview CPG and retail industry leaders who are building products people love. My name is Chelsea Stone. I lead content at Highlight, a product intelligence platform that are helping brands build better products for people and the planet. Today, we're joined by two industry trailblazers from the beauty, personal care, and sustainability worlds, and we'll be talking about how beauty and personal care brands can innovate products to help sell sustainability.

 

Welcome. Thank you both so much for joining us today. Kaylee, why don't we start with your introduction, please?

Yeah. So I'm Kailey Bradt. I'm the founder of Syndeo.

 

At Syndeo, we're building innovation infrastructure to help propel new sustainable technologies into the consumer market. My background is actually in chemical engineering and product development educationally.

 

I have previously started a beauty brand, so I know all about that. And I really spent a lot of time behind the scenes understanding how to get new innovation to market in beauty and kind of what we can do to make it better.

Awesome. Thank you so much, Sarah. How about you?

Yes. I am Sarah Trawczynski, and I head up innovation and product marketing at Billie. Billie is a brand that is built to champion women kind.

We develop products in the body and shave space that do away with the pink tacks and also do away with the shame based narratives that a lot of women face, while solving real pain points. I've spent my whole career working in the startup space, doing kinda everything from concepts to launch to bring products to market.

Thank you so much. So excited to have you both here today. I'm gonna get right into it because you guys have so much expert knowledge to share with us today with our very first question.

 

How do research and development teams in the beauty and personal care spaces operate today? What's really driving product development today?

And, Sarah, why don't we start with you?

Yeah. Absolutely.

 

So I would say that in today's climate, beauty brands approach product development in two main ways, or, honestly, a hybrid model of both. So the first way is through utilizing contract manufacturers.

 

And what a contract manufacturer is, it's it's a third party, lab that basically develops your formula for you with kinda, you know, chemists and experts on their team and then handles, like, the end to end product development all the way through, like, commercialization and producing the product. I would say that most indie brands really start out in this space.

 

You know, you don't need to invest and really do, you know, have, like, a manufacturing facility of your own. You really kinda rely on that third party manufacturer, and it's kinda like a low barrier entry way to launch a product quickly to market.

 

The second way I would say that currently product development teams operate today is usually in larger enterprises. Companies have the funds to have their R&D teams in house and even sometimes have their factories in house.

 

And I think what's really cool about this is it often allows for customization, right, that is harder to get with, like, a third party contract manufacturer. Then kinda in, like, the mid size sector, you have companies that utilize both contract manufacturers and in house r and d and manufacturing capabilities.

Thank you for that lay of the land. Yeah.

Kailey, did you have anything to add to that?

Well, in terms of, like, what drives product development, I think this is something that, is actually, like, depending on the model that you have can change a bit. Obviously, whenever I'm working with a brand or advising a brand on product development, I always say start with the customer.

Well, we're obviously biased coming from Highlight. Of course, we believe in consumer led product development and using data as a North Star to help guide you.

 

So that makes sense. Thank you, Kailey. Is this different, though?

 

How is this different from how it used to be? What have you seen changed over time since since you've been in this industry?

Yeah. I think, you know, indie brands, when we first started, were a very small fraction of the market. And, now they're over a quarter of the market share in beauty and personal care, which is huge, which means a lot of the way that things were done had to change and adapt to these smaller brands and be able to work with their teams.

 

Previously, you know, if you had a large company, you owned end to end the entire development cycle. Now with indie brands being a a huge market share, there's a very fragmented supply chain that exists.

 

And so you really have to work with all of your vendors and partners kind of like their internal, external partners rather than just someone that you purchase from to make sure that you're really having a say in the product development process.

Yeah. And to build off of that, I would add that with this kind of wave of democratizing beauty, right, what we're seeing is consumers are really clear about what they want.

 

And through kind of the rise of social media apps, especially with TikTok, it's really easy, I think, to start to get a read, you know, on what consumers are asking for in the market that's actually solving real pain points. So kinda to Kailey earlier point, I think, you know, in the past, it was often r and d teams working in silos, right, of what they thought was innovative or what they thought the consumer needed versus now we're seeing a shift, right, of consumers are being really transparent and very direct.

 

You know, oftentimes, we have real feedback on these, you know, quick apps, and they're actually looking for brands to react to that and bring those products to market.

So interesting. I wonder if it is even more urgent in the beauty space as well, compared to other parts of CPG.

 

Of course, I think consumers are becoming more discriminating and more aware of what they're putting into their bodies, what they're putting on their bodies.

 

But it feels like there is, a real urgency for that in beauty, compared even to some other sectors.

 

Yeah.

 

Yeah. You have your work cut out for you.

Yeah. Absolutely.

And I think the contract manufacturers model really allows brands to quickly bring a product to market. You know, I think in the past, right, it took, like, years of research from r and d teams, but now, you know, CMs have kind of the whole range of products they can offer you.

 

Almost like a white label solution, right, where you kinda just, you know, put on your label and call it yours to maybe a product that's somewhere in between, right, where you tell them the marketing ingredients you want, the positioning you want, kind of the trends that drive the product, and they come back with something for you. So all that to say is I think consumers, yes, want things quickly, and now we kinda have the infrastructure to make that happen, with kind of the contract manufacturers model.

 

Yeah. I will say one of the challenges, though, and it's getting better at working with these external vendors, is transparency is being demanded from consumers greatly. And that obviously relates to sustainability and how do we, trace our impact and how much do we know that we can share with the consumer.

 

So I think that's something that the trend with contract manufacturers and formulation houses has been that they're finally sharing more with the brands because there is that pull from the consumer as well.

That's great to know that the consumer's voice is influencing, how these processes are working, Yeah. And that companies and brands and manufacturers are responding.

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah. So moving beyond R&D alone, how do r and d teams and brand marketing teams work together today?

 

And you touched on that it's different depending on the size of the company, whether it's emerging or enterprise. What does that look like, company to company?

 

Who would like to start first?

Sarah, you wanna go?

Sure. Yeah.

 

Absolutely. So I think it really depends, a, like, what size you're at and, like, what scale. But I think the way we see, teams working with these contract manufacturers could be a mix.

 

Often, what I see and kinda in my role where I sit is really the innovation idea comes from the brand. Right?

 

So we, as kind of the innovation team, are serving the market. We're doing social listening, seeing what consumers are asking for, you know, reading reviews online of pain points of products, you know, that we could solve.

 

And then we're also kinda capitalizing on trends, right, kinda understanding, like, where is the market going and how can we kinda address that gap. So we're really crafting a full kind of business case for why are we, you know, launching this product, what's the gap in the market we're addressing, and then bringing that to the CMs.

Now oftentimes, like Kailey said, the CMs will have kinda, like, you know, twice a year, innovation sessions with the brands. But oftentimes, those concepts are purely built out of, like, r and d versus, like, looking at kind of the whole marketing story right behind the product and the reason to launch.

 

So I think it's really great when brands can, you know, kind of be in in the innovation seat. I think they have the closest link with their customer and then kind of bring those concepts for the CMs to develop.

 

Although, it is super helpful, right, when a CM does have their own library of ingredients and can kind of propose innovation, you know, on a twice a year basis.

Well, it's funny to hear you say that because in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about the manufacturers that we work with with at Highlight and the way that they, you know, the ones the savvy ones, they're they're using this consumer research, to inform the, what they're developing to to then sell on to brands, so that they're really using a a holistic research approach to understand what is gonna win on shelf. So it's exciting to see, this being prioritized more on both sides.

 

Kailey, did you have something to add?

Yeah. I would say, in terms of, like, in brand working with the product marketing team and product development team, I feel like they continue to get closer and closer.

 

It's almost like they're growing together because of this demand for transparency and more, like, you know, a look into supply chain, more look into ingredients, and really elevating ingredient stories beyond just like, you know, this is, x from this location. It's like, is it upcycled?

 

Is it fermented? What are these new ingredient trends? They the the consumer wants to know more.

 

And then as you mentioned, you know, there's things that we're getting emerging data data on, for example, like carbon footprint that has to tie back to sustainability. So being able to make sure that's communicated effectively to the consumer will really help, you know, sell sustainability.

And I think you mentioned two really great points there. I think as more brands kinda ask for either, a, more innovative ingredients or, b, like, more sustainable the demand to change.

 

Right?

Yeah.

And I think it really takes a lot of brands asking for those things, right, whether it's manufacturing with wind and solar power, right, or using, you you know, more sustainable ingredients, right, at that level, I think it's really the brands that drive the change and, like, the CMs are great with kinda adapting to that.

Yeah. I love to hear that.

 

It's interesting, though, to think about the way that consumer demands can influence these processes because, as a consumer, right, I'm not a scientist. I'm not a supply chain expert.

 

I want the products that I purchase to be more sustainable, but I don't necessarily know what that means. When I'm looking at a product, I'm trying to look at, you know, the labels on the pack, certifications.

 

You know, sometimes I feel really confused as to how I can make the best possible decision. And in some of the research that we've done at Highlight with our, with our product testing community, a lot of the feedback overwhelmingly that we get about, how consumers perceive sustainability is actually actually around packaging, which makes sense.

 

Right? We all sort of judge a book by its or its cover, its what's right in front of us. But, of course, it is not the determining factor in whether or not a product is sustainable.

 

So, all that goes to say, how do we, give consumers what they're demanding, but also make sure that consumers understand what it is, that they want, right, if you're looking for something more sustainable? And, Kailey, do you wanna take this one first?

Yeah. I think, education is the answer, and it's so important to give context to the information that you're sharing to your point so it doesn't feel overwhelming because it's very easy to feel overwhelming. And I think in food, this is very you know, it it resonates highly as well because a lot of what is in beauty product, like, on the ingredient list is not actually the term we use for marketing.

 

So we might say peptide, but, you know, it's a really long version of a peptide. And I think for for consumers, like, giving them enough information to kind of satisfy their question, without making them feel overwhelmed is a really important balance.

 

And, actually, a a trend I'm seeing now is that we kind of have these niche influencers. So, you know, the rise of the dermatologist, the the rise of the sustainability or supply chain expert, the formulation chemist, because they can explain it with context, and trust, which helps complement the brand.

 

So I see the brands using, this kind of method to help communicate in today's kind of overwhelming, amount of information that that we're giving them.

Not to put you on the spot, but have you found this to be a challenge at Billie at all with wanting to build products that are more sustainable, but also needing to make sure that you go that extra mile to educate your consumers and make sure that they know what they're getting is, better for the planet?

No. That's a great question.

 

And I think exactly what Kailey saying, it can be lots of times overwhelming for a consumer to know, you know, what's sustainable for versus not on shelf. And at Billie, right, especially kind of with our expansion to retail, right, getting into Target, Walmart, all drug and grocery channels, it's a way different landscape being on shelf in aisle versus online.

 

And what's really hard about that is the consumer really is making a purchase decision in seconds at the aisle, not minutes, right, versus online. They're taking a lot of time, right, to kinda read through the PDPs, kinda read through all the information.

 

And so, to Kailey earlier point, I think that sustainability is hidden in many different parts of the supply chain, and it's not just packaging. Right?

 

So you have very limited kinda space on front of pack, maybe with, like, a shelf talker or with, like, a shelf strip, or an end cap, you know, if you're kinda given that real estate, to communicate sometimes, like, big ideas. And I think what's really interesting is that oftentimes, like you said, the consumer is only looking at packaging, right, as a measure of sustainability.

 

So I think a being really clear with the real estate that you do have using really, like, concise verbiage that the consumer can easily digest. Like, an example of this is maybe saying % recyclable, right, versus saying closed loop system.

 

Like, you know, within the industry, we know what a closed loop system is. But saying it, like, very plainly, I think, goes a long way.

 

I think also utilizing maybe QR codes on packaging, right, to kinda tell more, you know, in-depth storytelling is a great way to communicate that. But, yes, to answer your question, at Billie, we definitely saw that as we moved into retail, we had to kinda reposition, right, how we market the product.

 

Even things like, you know, we have our refill system, a razor, which is lots of, like, replenishment, right, where you just purchase blades and kinda minimize the plastic of buying a new handle every time. That's something the consumer doesn't think about.

 

Right? But you have to educate them on. Yeah.

A lot of work to be done for sure. Okay.

 

Bit of a pivot back to our product development, conversation. But, in talking about how, brands and manufacturers can work together, how r and d teams can work with brand marketing teams, in your mind, what is the ideal?

 

What should we be working towards to have sort of the perfect product development process? Do you wanna start, Kailey?

Yeah. I think, it really starts with just having an open line of communication, a really, like, trustworthy relationship with all of your partners. And I do think, like, this landscape is is changing a bit.

 

Like, for example, what we're building at Syndeo doesn't really exist yet. Right?

 

Like, how do you connect these new technologies that haven't even reached a Centimeters or haven't even reached a raw material distributor to get them in market and be understood really quickly so that they're adopted fast quickly? Essentially, like, when you have this product development relationship, the ideal scenario is obviously that you're developing together.

 

And so now I feel like more parties are involved. There's, again, more more to be understood.

 

And I think the marketing teams are coming in and getting pulled into some of these early conversations about what this looks like. It's not just handing off the data, but it's being involved in the entire conversation because they they're the ones interacting with the customer, not necessarily the product team.

 

So that's that's the ideal scenario for me is, like, let's get everyone in a room and have a conversation rather than just a game of telephone, which is traditionally how it's been, and really finding the right partners that will be open and honest with you.

Yeah. Yeah.

 

Absolutely. I think the main thing too, which you definitely hit on, is making sure that the marketing teams are involved in, like, round zero of bringing a product to market. I think often where we see disconnect is r and d develops in a silo, and then they basically, like, hand off this fully baked concept to the marketing team to somehow, like, you know, shape the story around it.

 

And then often it's an afterthought, right, to how are we gonna communicate this innovation to the consumer. So I think exactly what you said, get getting everyone in a room early on where the marketing team is actually shaping, you know what I mean, the product features and attributes, and, you know, the unique selling proposition is key.

 

So we have kinda seamless integration for how we're gonna position that market and not just, you know, working in a silo.

I feel that one, as a content marketer. Your your job is essentially as translator a lot of the time.

 

Yeah. And, taking something that a scientist worked on as someone who's a layperson can feel really intimidating. But, of course, it's so important to put in simple, compelling terms so that people understand, the impact of what they're buying.

 

So, yeah, very, very big goal. And perhaps this goes without asking, but why is it important that we change this approach to product development?

 

What would you say, Sarah?

Yeah. I would say it's important to change this approach so we actually get the most sustainable, you know, the most innovative and the most experiential products to market.

 

I think when these teams work in silos, they often have sometimes different objectives. Right?

 

So, when we integrate them, we actually give better products to the consumer. An example of this is our R&D team at Billie.

 

Right? Our, innovation team is we are working directly with raw material suppliers, looking through their catalogs, understanding, you know, what things are at the raw material level versus just relying on CMs. And when we kinda empower ourselves to be part of the conversation and educate ourselves about these materials that we use, you know, we're more empowered to work seamlessly with those r and d teams and actually include them kinda in the products.

And I know that you'll have something to add, clearly, because this is why Syndeo exists. Right?

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I mean, look. The the frustration and, like, the reason I built this business was literally because I I was experiencing it myself.

 

Every time I was trying to bring something new, you know, maybe the Centimeters wasn't open to it or even on the back end. There's a lot of new biotech ingredients, for example.

 

They don't have all the documentation. They're still kind of in a startup phase themselves, but they have a really promising innovation that, like, you wanna see in market.

 

And as the brand, you end up taking on, like, almost an advisory role, to want to to adopt that. And so I think the biggest thing is if we can, again, like, have these these new rules, like, in a head of innovation, you know, head of sustainability, these things didn't exist, you know, twenty years ago.

 

So I think there's a a lot of emerging, like I say, roles, infrastructure, things that are coming to market to help us build this better. And, of course, like, it's it's not an option. It's a requirement. Sustainability is is baseline now. And I love to see that, but we have to make sure that we're implementing it and we're not just getting the stats and then not doing anything about it.

 

Yeah. I love that. And I think what you're hitting on is super important of, like, having these new roles that really cross the bridge right between technical and between, like, you know, marketing teams. For example, like, these innovation roles, I always love to say that they're, like, the perfect mix of art and science.

Mhmm.

Right? You're kinda understanding, you know, the quantitative data behind, you know, why an ingredient is efficacious, right, the percentages it needs to be used at. You're also looking at, like, the whole business, right, understanding the business case for launching this product.

 

And then you're also looking at the consumer need, the trends, the social listening, and it's a very generalist role, but it's so important to kinda bridge the gap between, you know, cross functional departments.

Yeah. It's absolutely so important, which actually brings me to my favorite question, today. Do you all have any examples of breakthrough technologies, or industry developments, that were success stories, right, of brands doing things, making changes that were able to sell sustainability? And, Kailey, I think I'll start with you.

 

Yeah. I I love, like, the peptide story, so I'm always gonna be talking about peptides. But I think this is an interesting one, like and it goes back to consumer education and that that takes time.

 

So peptides literally discovered by a scientist in 1973 that they were in a higher concentration, specifically copper peptides in younger people. And then you we didn't see them come to the cosmetic market until February.

 

And even now, we're seeing peptides more and more be adopted, talked about. It's growing.

 

Last year was 20% year over year in searches. Polypeptides was a 60%.

 

So this is ingredient that really took time, but now we're seeing successful marketing of it. And a brand example, I think, is K18.

 

I love to speak about K18. They're an amazing brand story from the perspective of the science.

 

They licensed the technology actually from a university in Portugal and were able to bring it to market, with, you know, amazing branding, great positioning, and actually in a category that was experiencing a lot of growth. So Olaplex obviously built this bond repair category for hair, and then k eighteen came in with a peptide that showed tremendous results, one single SKU, and was a top selling SKU at Sephora.

 

So it's a great story of innovation and also just, like, pairing down your routine to that one product that's truly gonna make an impact for you, not feeling like there has to be, you know, 20 product SKUs when you launch a brand, which is very different than how we used to approach launching a brand, especially in a Sephora. So I I think that is, like, the greatest success story of recent times where we can really focus on a minimal routine, products that work, proven efficacy, new technology.

 

It's everything in that for me.

Sarah, I don't know if you had any to add or or even, failures, you know, that we can learn from as product innovators.

Yeah. I would say a great success story in recent years, is DEW Skincare.

 

They really came into a market, right, that was asking for sustainability. Consumers wanted to know more where the ingredients were coming from, wanted to use, you know, sustainable aluminum packaging, but there was kind of barrier to entry, right, with how to use the tubes.

 

And they really took these complex, like, lofty ideas and partnered with Bluebird Climate to make it very digestible on their PDPs. So if you actually go to their PDPs, what you'll see is a breakdown of, you know, sourcing of the ingredients, kind of transparency with the supply chain, and also really easy to use, you know, end of life disposal instructions, you know, where to recycle or get rid of certain elements.

 

And I think what's great for them is they took packaging that oftentimes wasn't the most user friendly and were able to communicate it in a way that really resonated with consumers in a product, you know, efficacy perspective. I think what's interesting is consumers say, right, they wanna be oftentimes more, you know, sustainable, but they don't wanna sacrifice product quality for it, or they don't wanna sacrifice, you know, product dispense, right, or kind of the whole user experience.

 

So I think Dieux was a great example of how they didn't sacrifice product quality or even packaging and partnered with Bluebird to make those stats so easily digestible, online. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, we see that over and over again in our research. Right? That, while there are certain sacrifices, I think, that consumers today are saying they're willing to make, in order to, make a purchase that is more sustainable. What's interesting is that, in twenty twenty five's original research, which you'll have access to and be able to download the full report, we saw a bit of a change in the trends. Right? In general, year over year, we've seen that, people are more and more concerned with making sustainable purchases. But when it came to the question around, are you willing to pay more for a sustainable product, we saw increases across all age groups except for Gen z, which, by and large, we see as, you know, the biggest advocates for sustainable purchases.

 

So it was really surprising to see that drop. And, you know, my first instinct was something around, like, oh, well, it's it's been a tighter year economically.

There's inflation. There's uncertainty. But when we really dove into the qualitative research and and read through the open end responses from the Gen z, respondents, they aren't willing to pay more because they simply expect it. Right? They expect brands and manufacturers to be responsible, to be innovating products that are sustainable, and they don't believe that this should be more expensive. They believe that it's table stakes.

 

So I think it's very interesting to see these attitudes growing amongst consumers, and and it'll be interesting, you know, when you think about the implications for brands that are innovating for not just this year, but five, ten years from now. So Yeah.

I do I do think there is, like, a common misconception as well that if you're doing something sustainable, it has to be more expensive. And there's actually solutions on the market that are literally, like, the same price point, and they're just unknown.

And, again, I think, like, if you don't have this cross functional role that we've talked about of innovation or sustainability or even an outside consultant or agency that's working with you to guide you through that process, like, it's hard to be aware of these things because there's so much going on, especially in beauty and personal care, to account for. So I think, this will see changing, you know, that attitude from the brand side over the next couple of years.

This is another of my favorite. All these questions are my favorite, but I'm excited to hear what you have to say here.

Where does sustainability hide that isn't easily perceived by the consumer? We talked about judging a book by its cover, plastic packaging, but, where should consumers actually be paying attention, to look for sustainability?

 

Who would like to start? Kailey, you take it away.

I'll give I'll give my favorite example of the water bottle because I think packaging can be so misleading, especially when it comes to sustainability. And it's literally, like, as simple as thinking through, you know, the label, like re reading and understanding.

 

So if you're going to buy a bottle of water, and this is literally a scenario I found myself in recently, is like, okay. There's a plastic bottle and there's a glass bottle.

 

The plastic bottle and we're in New York City, you know, comes from Upstate New York, and then the glass bottle is being shipped from overseas, like, let's say Europe, it's, you know, it's obvious that actually the plastic to me has less impact. Right?

 

I understand that. And that's that's a lot of where things hide. It's not even necessarily, the packaging or even sometimes the ingredients, but actually the distribution, which is hard, I think, for consumers to think about, and it's also something that we as brands don't normally share.

 

Bluebird Climate is actually one of those companies that considers distribution so you can get a sense of, environmental footprint at point of sale, but you can't do that in store. Right?

 

And there's also everything that happens before. So when you're talking about a beauty product specifically, you have processing.

 

I love the example of, like, the shampoo that I had worked on previously where we had a waterless shampoo, and we obviously didn't package and ship water, which saves a lot of carbon emissions. But when you looked at the processing, there was over 90% of the, energy saved.

 

And that's because shampoo literally goes through this heating and cooling phase for twelve hours conventionally to form an emulsion. These are all things that, like, how do you tell the consumer quickly?

 

Right? There's so much to say. So I think there's sustainability hiding a lot. It's it's working with places at the point of sale, whether it be third party cert or you know? I think we'll see more of these companies like Bluebird Climate, Repurpose Global that does plastic negative certification, these kind of things.

Like, what can we tell a consumer quickly that they'll understand?

 

To add to that, I would say that there's three kinda areas or buckets I would say that often are hidden, right, especially when it comes to the consumer. I think the first is what Kailey hitting on with, distribution or supply chain.

 

Right? So kinda figuring out the logistics of your company early on to minimize, you know, how far a product has to travel. Right?

 

So this could be as simple as making sure that the CMs you choose to partner with are close to your warehouse. Right?

 

Maybe you have two warehouses, right, on either coast that's close to your, you know, retail partners, but it's really making sure that, you know, the product isn't traveling more than it needs to in order to kinda limit carbon emissions. I think the next thing to focus on too is partnering with CMs who are using renewable energy.

 

I think often the consumer has, you know, no idea if the product was, you know, powered by wind, solar energy. So I think that's great.

 

And, we see CMs more and more kinda going into these sustainable energy sources, which is amazing. So there's definitely solutions out there, and there's tools, right, that can kinda help you connect you to those CMs.

 

I think the third is really setting up your business model in a way that makes sense. So for example, at Billie, right, we're all about the refill system.

 

Right? So the consumer buys a handle once and then is basically shipped refills, and that really is more sustainable for two reasons. Right?

 

You're not rebuying that plastic handle multiple times. But then, you know, when you're shipping the product to you, you're just getting small cartridges, right, versus a heavy package of the whole, you know, starter kit again.

 

And I think another company that's doing great at this is Graza. Although, you know, their main container has a beautiful dispense with some plastic, they're leaning into refills, right, in an aluminum can that's actually incentivized by the government to recycle.

 

And I often see people shifting through the trash in order to collect these cans. And what we see is there's oftentimes, you know, already solutions in the market to incentivize consumers to recycle some of these products.

 

So Graza is capitalizing on that with their refills.

Big Graza fans over here. We love Graza.

Yeah.

 

And we love aluminum, one of the most recyclable materials on planet Earth. Infinitely recyclable.

 

Yes. Well, we are running out of time. But before we end, I really would like to give both of you the opportunity to, give some advice to, products that are trying to sell sustainability, make the impact, or I should say the lack of impact, of their product clear to consumers, and, any other closing remarks that you'd like people to meditate on this this Earth Month?

 

How can we how can we make the CPG world, at least, better for the planet? I'd like to go first.

I always say start. Like, use what you have already. You know? I think so much of our consumer decision making, it it really does need to start with how can we make little changes. I am trying to use up what I have this month and not buy anything new, which is hard, especially when you work with product all the time.

 

But I also and if you're my friend or my mom or my grandma who will probably tune into this, I'm always, like, giving things away after I'm done trying or testing, just making sure that, they go somewhere that will be useful. So I would say if you do buy something this month, you know, and you don't like it, just pass it along to a friend and kind of get in these new habits.

 

I think there are a lot of amazing brands that are kind of combining a lot of what we talked about. I love Krave Beauty.

I'm a huge fan of Leah. She does such a great job really explaining and thoughtfully launching product.

 

Her whole product philosophy is, like, sell, you know, less skews to more people rather than more skews to the same people. And I think that's really resonated with her audience over the last couple of years, and she goes through a lot of the behind the scenes and, you know, why they choose plastics sometimes over glass and things like that.

 

So I think it's a great place to be educated around sustainability when it comes to beauty and personal care. Love that.

That's great. To add, I would say from a brand perspective, do everything that you can. Right?

 

Not to kinda put the onus of sustainability necessarily just on the consumer. Right?

 

So we talked about some great ways, that sustainability is hidden. Right?

 

So I would really optimize your business, from a business model perspective, lean into refills. Right?

 

Lean into things that, you know, kinda take the onus away from the customer. Really look at your supply chain.

Right? Really look at where your warehouses and contract manufacturers are positioned and partner with people who also have kind of the same values as you do. I think the other big thing brands can do, other than kinda like the hidden buckets we talked about, is really tying sustainability to a performance benefit.

 

I think it's really important. What we see kinda in this Highlight, you know, data is so valuable, is that consumers still want products that, you know, look and feel good and that, you know, have efficacy behind them. So I think if you can, in any way, tie the sustainability benefits to how the consumer is gonna experience the product, I think that's a huge plus and will actually drive purchase intent.

 

An example, right, is, like, you know, maybe if you have a press on brand, really linking it to these press ons last, you know, five times longer, right, than the, you know, than the competitors. And what that does is its sustainability, right, because you're repurchasing those press ons less, but it's also, you know, an efficacy benefit of this product works and it kinda, you know, owns up to what the consumer expects and wants from the product.

 

So I think oftentimes, you know, if sustainability isn't in silo, it's not appealing to the customer. So I think really linking it to something that will drive the purchase decision is super important.

I literally had to stop myself from replying amen to, like, six of the things that you just said. So I couldn't agree with you more.

 

I'm so excited about the possibilities ahead of all of us. The fact that more and more brands and manufacturers, and, of course, consumers care.

 

We wanna see these things. So, thank you both for the work that you're doing to put these things out into the world and make them a reality. Of course, thank you so much for being with us today.

 

For our viewers, please stick around. We'll be, conducting a live q and a right after this.

 

And post event, we'll also let you know how to stay connected with our wonderful panelists today and learn more about them. So stick around.

We will see you in a moment.

Hello, everyone. Welcome back.

 

A huge thank you to our panelists, Kailey and Sarah, for sharing their in-depth expertise. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did.

 

So I am gonna welcome them to the stage now as well, so we can dive into some of these questions that, you all had for them. And, I'm excited to dive right into Sebastian's question because it was a really good segue from Sarah's closing remarks.

Sebastian's looking for some specific tactical guidance on things that brands can do, to more effectively market sustainability or sell sustainability. Sarah, I know you had mentioned a few things specifically, like tying sustainability to product efficacy.

 

You talked a bit about the difference between in store versus online. We talked a little bit on certifications.

Like, what what can we add to this so so Sebastian has something, tactical to walk away with today.

Yes. Absolutely.

 

I think that's a great question. I have a couple additional things potentially to add on.

 

I think the first is say what you actually do as a brand, and do it with specificity. Like, for example, instead of saying, you know, we're eco conscious.

Right? Like, tell the consumer exactly how you're being eco conscious. So maybe it's our bottles are made with a % PCR, right, and sourced from California for, you know, short supply chain.

 

So I think it's all about breaking it down, you know, by the category, whether it's packaging, ingredients, manufacturing, supply chain, you know, shipping, end of life, really getting specific with the claim versus making, like, very broad statements, right, that often aren't substantiated. I think the second way, is to educate the consumer without coming across as preachy.

 

Right? I don't think that, you know, guilt tripping or, you know, those shame based narratives are as efficacious as really, positioning it as something empowering. Right?

 

And that aligns with the customer's lifestyle. So I think just the tone of voice there matters as well.

 

I would say the third thing that we touched on is really using third party verification, and certifications to kind of bolster, right, the claims you're making. So looking into companies like b corp, Leaping Bunny, Climate Neutral, Cradle to Cradle, we'll all kind of be able to validate the claims that you're making on pack and on your PDPs.

 

We already talked about, you know, making the product desirable, but I think, again, really linking the efficacy, right, with sustainability is super important.

 

And kind of reinforcing this all through beautiful storytelling, will kinda, like, seal the deal.

 

So to answer the question, I think being specific and clear rather than using, like, vague lofty claims is the way to go. I think showing your receipts and data.

Right? So really leaning into certs, third party certifications, really builds that trust with the consumer. And then also just making the customer feel good, like this is part of who they are, right, versus leaning into more, you know, shame based narratives.

Love that. And I I have to add as well, if you have a bunch of ideas for this messaging based on Sarah's advice, claims that could work, that's where product testing comes in, right, to then take it to real consumers and say, okay. Which one of these claims resonates with you the most?

 

What do you wanna see on pack? What do you wanna see on our website? What do you wanna see on a a a store shelf? So, you can actually figure out what's driving purchase, by getting that real consumer data.

 

And, Kailey, did you have anything to add to this question as well?

Yeah. Absolutely.

 

First of all, I would say, like, listen to what the consumers are asking. I I will say the consumer is so much more educated than they used to be, and they start asking really specific questions.

 

Don't be afraid to answer those. I also think for smaller brands, you know, it's it's about the journey.

 

You're not gonna do everything absolutely right from day one. So being transparent with your customer of, like, what you can and can't do with that time is really resonating well.

 

And I'll tell you, like, a scrappy thing we did with my shampoo company was that we had a small bottle about this big that replaced it, essentially four eight ounce bottles. And we literally weighed the first of all, we used a hundred almost a % recycled plastic.

 

I won't say a hundred because we added pigment, but almost a % recycled plastic in that ocean bound recycled plastic because it went with our waterless story. Like, we did what we could there.

 

That was the best option at the time. And then we weighed that amount of plastic, and we compared it to four eight ounce bottles.

 

And we literally took the percent reduction in plastic and calculated it, and we literally put it on a scale on TikTok and showed our audience. And we were just being transparent.

 

We're like, hey, this is the best solution. Here's how much plastic we're saving because they understood that and we're able to be really clear and concise about it.

 

And it was like a cool little science experiment, you know. So you can get creative with your marketing, especially online with TikTok and these formats that don't have to be so edited to just share the story as it is today.

I love that. And as a consumer, I the first time Kailey told me that story, learning that concentrated formulas, can be a more sustainable choice. I the next time I went to Sephora, I took that advice and I looked for that.

 

So, we're all feeling empowered both from the brand side and the consumer side today. Oh, another great question, has come in.

 

Consumer expectations transcend physical experiences in into the digital world. How should brands leverage technology to provide more value to their clients?

 

I leave it up to you too. Who would like to take that?

 

Kailey?

 

general, just the merging of these, like, physical and digital worlds are very important. So I think, like, whatever you're experiencing physically, if you can find a way to link that to daily activity or habits, you know, like tracking.

 

These kind of things will just help someone have more data to make better decisions around their daily life. So I really like to think about, like, how can we integrate and enhance those physical experiences offline because truly, like, what you're providing is a physical product, and they have to remember how, you know, that online, or offline experience makes them feel and make sure that they're consistent.

 

So I think consistency there is really, really key.

Sarah, did you wanna add anything to Kailey comment?

Yeah. Absolutely.

 

I think that's super important. Right? So making kinda, like, offline experiences from online ads.

I think to kinda go in the other direction as well, with, like, the rise of AI, there's so many tools that brands can leverage to really bring those IRL IRL connections into the digital space, to kinda come to mind off the top of my head. And the first is, like, personalization technology.

 

Right? I think it's kinda becoming the new standard of care where consumers expect beauty not just to work, but they want it to work, like, personally for them. And we see this with a lot of, like, AI powered diagnostic tools.

 

Right? We see real time skin care stinks scans that brands are utilizing and really just making, like, personalized recommendations, you know, digitally. And I think examples of this is, like, function of beauty, right, where they have custom formulas based on your hair goals, you know, through taking, like, an online quiz.

 

You know, KOSA's is also kinda, tailoring product recommendations, you know, through AI to really kind of fit your skin behavior. So I think personalization is kind of the new frontier, when it comes to beauty and tech.

 

I think the second thing that comes to mind is really transparency tech. Right?

 

So turning ingredients into storytelling and being able to show your supply chain online, through tools like Bluebird Climate we talked about. It's a way that really kinda, enhances your storytelling.

 

You can use QR codes. You can, you know, break down your products, you know, travel, how it was formulated, and really kinda use AI as well to to make claims there. So personalization, as well as transparency come to mind.

Love that. In the couple of minutes we have left here, a little lightning around. We have this great question from Alan.

 

And to try and summarize it here, essentially, what's stopping brands from being more transparent, about their product development processes? Do you guys have any thoughts?

 

I know, Kailey, you're you're constantly helping brands overcome these challenges, so maybe some come to mind.

Yeah. Absolutely.

 

I think it's two things. I mean, depending on the size of the brand, if you're smaller, there's limited resources. There's limited time.

 

You really have to focus on, like, staying alive instead of, you know, really digging in. But I do advise brands to really take the time to start to look into this.

 

I don't think we are able to continue the same kind of non transparent story anymore. I think mid sized brands and app, like, there's no excuse not to share.

 

So being able to ask the right questions, I think a lot of the time that's kind of, you know, you get stuck trying to figure out what questions are the right questions to ask to learn this information. And it's something I'm thinking about actively.

 

Like, do I post these questions on Substack? Like, here's the list of what tasks your raw material supplier.

 

You know, here's what to look for. So I'm thinking about, like, how do we make that more accessible so anyone can ask those questions.

 

But then also on the brand side, it's the responsibility to interpret it correctly to the consumer like we talked about, in our conversation today. So it doesn't feel overwhelming, and it really has the impact that it should.

Love that. Sarah, did you have anything to add to that?

Yeah. Two things to add.

 

I think what's currently stopping brands, I think there is a little bit of a barrier to entry with some of these third party certifications. Right?

Some can be definitely thousands of dollars, especially upon, like, renewals. So really finding partners, right, at every single stage, I think is important.

There's definitely more budget friendly options, you know, third party search that do monthly plans, right, versus yearly plans, or take on projects, right, versus the whole portfolio at once. So definitely take a look and go deeper into the third party search and see, like, what the best option is for you.

 

I think the second thing that may be stopping brands is fear of, like, imitation maybe or losing competitive advantage. I think often brands, don't wanna disclose, right, the labs or suppliers they work with or even the formulators, so other brands don't reverse engineer a copy.

However, I think that in reality, transparency is a moat. It's not a liability.

 

And what I mean by that is I think by being transparent, you actually do end up building brand equity. Gen z is so, like, three times more likely to purchase, you know, from a brand that is more sustainable.

 

So I think really treating it as, you know, a strength versus, you know, the fear of invitation is super important.

Love that. And that's such an important reminder as we wrap up today.

 

Everyone who attended today, now there's no more excuses. We have to be more transparent as an industry.

 

Consumers are demanding it, and we have a responsibility to do it to the planet. So thank you so much, to Sarah and Kailey for lending their expertise.

Thank you to all of you for joining. I've learned something. I hope you all have as well. Please look out for an email from us within the next day or so.

 

You'll be able to access this recording on demand, watch it again, share it with your colleagues and friends and family. We'll also share a link to the sustainability report so you can see all that great consumer data from Highlight community.

 

We polled 2,600 of our product testers for that data. And then we'll share ways that you can stay connected with our speakers today and make sure you continue their to follow their sustainability journey as well.

 

So thank you again, Kailey and Sarah, and, we hope to see you at the next highlight reel. Happy Earth Month, everyone.

 

Thank you.

 

Thank you. Thank you.