With the diversified development and increasing maturity of the market, it has become crucial for the beauty & skincare supply chain to accurately grasp the major trends of the consumer market and change in response to them.

UDN summarizes and selects the three latest industry trends that are highly relevant to the Chinese market and inspirational to supply chain companies from the latest annual reports on the beauty and skincare industry.

Trend 1: Ingredients are King

According to Accenture's Beauty & Skincare Industry Insights Report released in May 2023, Chinese consumers are becoming more rational. They are increasingly concerned about the ingredients and effectiveness of products, especially product solutions for specific skin types or problems.

This trend will have two main impacts on product packaging materials:

First, the packaging materials market will be further segmented to keep up with the isolation, use and storage needs of highly sophisticated product ingredients to ensure that they are stable, safe and effective.

For example, UDN has developed the Tube in Tube for the need to mix two product inner liquids. And the disposable Twist-off Tube reduces the possibility of cross-infection, protecting the purity and efficacy of the product.

Second, brands will place more emphasis on personalized differences in packaging design to attract specific consumer groups.

WGSN's Spring/Summer 2024 Beauty & Skincare Trends report emphasized that the beauty customer base in 2024 will evolve into an increasingly diverse and individualistic one.

For this reason, UDN has redesigned its vision around its classic product lines, interpreting the design concepts with color, so that brand customers can not only see the aesthetics of the products that fit them and the current trend, but also enjoy the long-lasting and classic features of the products.

Trend 2: Eco-friendly products

According to the intelligence data released by Magic Mirror Market in the "Healthy Beauty Market Trend Insight Report 2023" in April, the sales of beauty and skincare products related to the concept of "environmental protection" have increased by 308% year-on-year in 2023. This shows that Chinese consumers have a significantly stronger preference for "environmentally friendly" and "sustainable" brands.

Moreover, against the backdrop of an overall decline in Tmall's health and beauty market sales in 2023, the market share of health and beauty products rose against the trend, showing solid market demand.

This indicates that consumers' increased environmental awareness and upgraded consumption structure, which will also force brands to gradually shift to using eco-friendly designs and taking sustainable actions in product packaging, production processes, logistics and other aspects.

Over the past 20 years since its establishment, UDN has formed a systematic environmental protection practice centered on the 4Rs of "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and Replace", which is based on environmentally friendly raw materials, low-loss production processes, and consumer recycling.

Trend 3: Digital Empowerment

In 2024, the packaging design of beauty and skincare products will pay more attention to digital elements to enhance interaction with consumers.

This trend is reflected in the use of anti-counterfeiting codes, QR codes, and augmented reality (AR) technologies on packaging, which not only provide product information, but also bring a deeper brand experience.

In this way, brands are able to establish a closer connection with consumers and provide a customized shopping experience, while collecting valuable consumer feedback and data to optimize product and marketing strategies.

UDN provides companies with precise alignment printing to restore photo-quality color effects, as well as a printing anti-counterfeiting process that maintains the brand's long-term reputation and assists in building the brand experience mission.

With the development of the beauty and skincare industry, packaging design in 2024 is not just about aesthetics, but becomes a bridge between brands and consumers.

For more information contact UDN