Growing influence of social media, celebrity culture, as well as association of appearance with success in personal and professional lives fuel image-consciousness among consumers. The inherent interest in image generates demand in Consumer and Packaged Goods marketed towards enhancing appearance and counteracting appearance-aligned concerns, such as aging.

Consumers’ desire to succeed in society and impress their peers, paired with strong associations of appearance with success in both personal and professional lives, fuels Image Consciousness. This trend has traditionally been linked with the personal care category, as products are often bought out of the desire to impress others; recently, however, it has started manifesting itself in other categories, such as baby care and food.

Trend drivers
• Social media and selfie culture mean that consumers always feel in the spotlight.
• Celebrity culture intensifies consumers’ search for an aspired, but not always achievable image.
• Association of image with success encourages consumers to trade-up.

Consumer targets
• Women and Young Adults are much more likely to be on the lookout for beauty products.
• Image-consciousness is catching up with men and Baby Boomers, as they want not just to impress their peers, but also to look as energetic as their younger colleagues to impress their employer.

The importance of social media, which has become a normal part of daily routines for many, leads to consumers taking ever more photographs and posting them online, to express themselves, as well as impress their peers. The importance of this digital environment also means that consumers constantly feel observed, which fuels their desire to look their best at all times.

Functionality must be incorporated into daily routines so consumers don’t have to go out of their routines. Convenient on-the-go options of image-enhancing products will appeal to consumers. Use of ingredients that have proved popular in other categories will lend an efficacy halo to the product

The report “TrendSights Analysis: Image Consciousness; Exploring consumers’ attitudes towards image and beauty” explores how image conscious trend impacts. Furthermore, this report helps to understand which audiences are most affected by the Image Consciousness trend and to compare the presence of this trend in each industry across the FMCG space, and learn what the key opportunities are.

Companies mentioned in this report: Estee Lauder Inc., Eyup Sabri Tuncer , IC lab, Kastenbein & Bosch, Kid Licks, Pet Head, Tesco.