Cornelius, the European distributor and manufacturer of specialty ingredients to the personal care sector, has said more shoppers are seeking aspirational purchases and accessible luxury personal care brands at an affordable price.
“Consumers are not prepared to compromise on quality,” says Ella Ceraulo, innovation chemist at Cornelius. “The rise of modern retail formats has opened up a market for high-quality beauty and personal care products that were previously unattainable. Luxury is becoming accessible for the everyday consumer.”
Mrs Ceraulo claims the industry is experiencing a democratisation of luxury with an increasing number of nonluxury brands selling products or ‘masstige’ (mass prestige) products with some element of luxury incorporated.
Brands are developing formulations to match consumers’ demand for affordable luxuries or indulgence. Examples of products entering the realms of masstige include the Dove Derma Spa range, which offers a high-end aesthetic product for consumers’ bathroom shelves, for a slightly higher price than the standard Dove product.
Mrs Ceraulo continued: “Take anti-ageing creams as an example; there are creams that cost £5 and others costing £100 for the same amount of product. Most people will purchase the cheaper end, a few will buy the latter but increasingly, consumers will opt for the masstige version - one which costs between £15 and £40.
“Many consumers do not buy into expensive premium cosmetic products over mass-market cheaper alternatives, believing that the same ingredients are present in both. In general, nothing could be further from the truth.
“Most masstige products are high-quality items that offer an excellent consumer experience but thanks to modern techniques and different formulations, the price of these products can be reduced to within reasonable margins that the majority of people can afford.”
