The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The beauty and personal care conglomerate announced it would eliminate the descriptor — which can read as exclusionary — from all of its beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising. The company also said it will no longer “digitally alter a person’s body shape, size, proportion or skin colour in brand advertising, and will increase the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who are under-represented.”
The announcement follows a 10,000-person study Unilever commissioned across nine countries, asking consumers their feelings about inclusivity in the global beauty market. More than half of respondents said the beauty and personal care industry makes them feel excluded.
Unilever’s announcement is yet another marker of change in corporate beauty. Over the last few years, emergent direct-to-consumer beauty brands have taken a more inclusive approach to marketing and advertising. Along the way, larger beauty behemoths took notice and began to shift away from certain language. Anti-ageing became “pro-ageing,” for example. Riding the same wave towards more inclusive beauty marketing, Ulta Beauty pledged $20 million in February towards media investments that target Black and LatinX consumers, part of the retailer’s larger diversity initiative.
Beauty labels hope to court the concert set for both brand awareness and trendsetting opportunities.
Black founders carry a markedly higher burden when it comes to educating investors on the value and viability of their business ideas — but there is an art and science behind knowing when your brand is ready and what kind of investors will be the best fit.
Landing a retail partnership is often seen as a major milestone for beauty founders — but it brings a bevy of new challenges, from the logistical complexities to setting a marketing budget. Black entrepreneurs, who typically have far less capital to work with, often face tough choices.
The firm has been working on a listing since at least 2022, with previous attempts buffeted by volatile markets.