GLP-1 medications, used to treat type II diabetes and obesity, have risen in popularity in recent years as people worldwide look to manage chronic conditions and ongoing weight concerns. And the ripple effect into beauty cannot be underestimated, according to Pia Fisher, senior beauty strategist at trend forecasting agency WGSN.
“Demand is there right now”
Speaking to attendees at in-cosmetics Global last month in Paris, Fisher said the rising and widening use of GLP-1 medications globally presents a “big, new opportunity” for beauty.
“Right now, we are extremely interested in the uptake of GLP-1s as it is driving a significant shift in consumer expectations across pretty much every single beauty category, which is quite unique for a beauty trend,” she said. “These medications are not just a medical breakthrough, they are a cultural and commercial disruptor. They change how people think about their weight but also how they think about wellness; maybe even their own personal identity too.”
How GLP-1 users spend their money is also changing, Fisher said, with budgets shifting away from groceries, fast food and alcohol and into beauty, wellness and fitness. Crucially, she said “we are not yet at peak adoption” of GLP-1 use, indicating the scale of opportunity for beauty.
Speaking to Premium Beauty News, she said: “Demand is there right now, but I don’t think the market has responded quick enough.”
The US is currently the most established GLP-1 market and a good place for beauty brands to track opportunity, followed by the UK which is also a “pretty mature market”, she said. But China and India are set to become extremely interesting over the next few years as GLP-1 patents recently expired in these markets, opening up opportunities for generics which will drive mass uptake of GLP-1s and therefore create a mass beauty opportunity too, she said. “There’s some data that China is expected to be the biggest GLP-1 market by 2030, so it’s going to be massive,” Fisher said.
Body care: “This is where the impact of GLP-1s is most visible”
According to WGSN, body care is the beauty category set to be most significantly shaped by the rise of GLP-1 medications. “This is where the impact of GLP-1s is most visible and also most felt,” Fisher told attendees.
“GLP-1 is completely changing how consumers are engaging with body care,” she said. GLP-1 users are focused on taking care of very specific body areas, including the abdomen, chest, bum, calves, hands and even feet. And many are turning to body care as a “tool to support the body through change, both physically and emotionally”, she said.
On the physical side, there is a clear opportunity to develop “functional firming body care”, Fisher said, that helps improve skin elasticity during and after rapid weight loss and/or gain. Importantly, this takes body care far beyond “maintenance” and into “support”, she said. There is also space to target skin hydration, she said, particularly via lightweight oils and biomimetic lipids that work to bring fat back and restore plumpness to specific areas.
One example of a brand already working to plug needs here, she said, is Unilever-owned Dermalogica with its Dynamic Skin Sculptor serum, designed to tone and tighten the skin via a blend of NAD+ and microalgae. Another example is US brand Buttface Skincare with its BBL Firming Cream designed to plump and firm skin on the bottom with a mix of botanicals and peptides.
On the emotional side, Fisher said there is opportunity for body care brands to innovate in bath care to reposition the category as a “recalibration space to reconnect with new identities”, she said. This could be achieved through bath soaks designed to calm and restore the nervous system, for example, or bath care products that contain neuro-cosmetic scents or actives offering emotional benefits.
“Body care has an opportunity to become a tool for emotional recalibration for the GLP-1 consumer,” Fisher said.
Gua Sha, LED, lasers and collagen cafés
Fisher said beauty tools will also be key, as GLP-1 users look to manually influence aspects of their body, such as blood circulation, lymphatic drainage and fascia release.
Australian brand Sancta Solice, for example, has a large body sculpting stone Gua Sha tool that consumers can use in the sauna or in combination with a body oil or cream to help improve lympatic flow and French brand Beautology Lab has a natural grass wood lymphatic dry brush. UK company LYMA also has a multifunctional cold laser tool that works to tighten, lift and regenerate the skin across different body parts. And whilst the latter is a luxury item, priced at over EUR 2,000 for the small version, the luxury category “shouldn’t be underestimated for GLP-users”, Fisher said, given many are spending up to USD 1,000 per month on medications, indicating “significant disposable income”.
Any tightening or toning devices that work with microcurrents or LED lights to maintain skin density and stimulate collagen, bringing professional treatments into the home, will also do well as GLP-1 users increase holistic and beauty rituals during body transformations, she said.
Offering body and skin care “systems” that combine topicals with a tool or device for improved efficacy will also appeal, she said. US wellness-tech brand HigherDose is a good example here, with its Body Sculptor Ritual set that includes a transdermal magnesium spray, sculpting gel and red light and near-infrared light tool to activate fascia and muscle, boost circulation and enhance recovery. Korean brand VT Cosmetics also has a PDRN Reedle Shot eye lifting cream which vibrates to help delivery of the active ingredients whilst enhancing the lifting effect.
Beyond this, spaces where consumers can go and use tools will rise in popularity, Fisher said. One example is the 48 Collagen Café in Paris, with a second location in Bali, where people can go order a functional collagen-based cocktail and rent an LED mask.
