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INTER VIEW

FUTURE 50: WHAT’S

NeXT IN BeAuTy

After the recent success of Beauty Matter, the beauty event that was held in New
An interview with York last April, I met Kelly Kovack who conceived and innovated the event as well

Kelly Kovack, as being its strategist. For this second event (the first was held in Los Angeles
Founder and CEO before the pandemic), she succeeded in bringing together the most important
personalities from the American beauty market as well as many others. Participants
of Beauty Matter included founders of brands from all over the globe and investors ready to invest
on the brands that will be the “Future 50”. Beauty Matter is the ideal social event
to create new connections with the brands of the next 50 years!
by Grazia Zuccarini, Global Marketing,
Public Relations & Communications Consultant
about performance marketing: you can EM: What’s next in beauty?
EXPORT MAGAZINE: The title of the have a business that sells beauty products, KK: One of the many trends that is
event is “Future 50.” Kelly, why this but this is not necessarily a brand. Finally, growing is linked to women’s products,
visionary title? we really dug into the products to see if aimed at women’s health: vaginal
KELLY KOvACK: The idea of the title there really was innovation. products, sexual wellness, products for
Future 50 came from that fact that there the menopause, fertility supplements.
are so many independent and extremely EM: The most innovative For millennials, all these topics are
dynamic brands that it is an art form to brand at the event? no longer taboo and the market is
understand which of them will survive, KK: L’Oréal has been incredibly responding with dedicated brands
which ones will make the difference and innovative, they have really leaned into and products. At the same time female
have a long life on a market which is technology so some of the innovations investors are increasingly involved in
increasingly saturated, as we know that that are coming out of their innovation the conversation, taking control of these
many of these start-ups will be sold in a lab, especially in personalization is brands and overviewing the research
few years’ time to then disappear from the groundbreaking, but that is just one to create the best quality products for
market. And the brands that on the other example, they are very, very bullish on themselves. Another opportunity comes
hand will be successful and have a long Web3 and the meta-verse. So, while I think from acne which is no longer a taboo.
lige, how will they stand out? Will they that L’Oréal and other big brands are very Sometimes the new opportunity is about
really be able to change the cosmetics innovative, I also think that the future is products and innovation, and sometimes
industry, will they be the Future 50? going to look a lot like the past: a merger it is just about the language we use.
and acquisition strategy so they’re going
EXPORT MAGAZINE: How did you select to acquire brands to reach consumers and EM: A last question about sustainability
the guest brands that you invited to incorporate them in their portfolios. and beauty ….
your panels at the event? KK: There is nothing new on the one
KK: We out together a qualitative- EM: What do you think about big hand, but then on the other hand all
quantitative list of the brands and we groups buying emerging brands and the brands are doing the same thing!
started to do research, concentrating hardly being able to manage them? But I have to feel optimistic because I
above all on the qualitative points. KK: Well, I think that every acquisition is see that there is a lot of work around
We did research on the founders and on different, and I think that strategies have also this topic. I can see innovation coming
the teams that they have put together, started taking a slightly different path: if you out of universities and colleges are it
because it is the teams that make the look at Estee Lauder, in their last acquisitions is so groundbreaking. I think there is
difference, lastly we investigated the with The Ordinary and with Dr. Jart and now a lot of innovation around materials,
investors that are behind the various they’ve made a couple more where they but the challenge is that they’re not
brands and then to what “type of money” start out with a minority investment and with commercially viable yet. We’re seeing
they have because there are many the agreement within a timeframe and they more commitment from the strategics
different ways of growing depending on have the ability to increase their majority, and even brands like Chanel have
crowd funding. Then we really dug into the therefore it’s like getting to know the made a lot of investments in packaging
brand: is there really a brand here or are brand before you decide to actually make suppliers that are doing research and
they just selling products? We always talk that acquisition, so that’s one strategy. development in sustainable materials.
Graziacommunications.com

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