You have a brilliant idea for a skincare or haircare product. You’re excited about the ingredients, you can already picture the packaging, and you’re ready to start formulating.
But before you do any of that, there’s one important step: research the market.
One of the mistakes new beauty entrepreneurs make is creating a product because they love the idea without first establishing whether their target customers actually need or want it.
What Should You Research?
Start by asking a few simple questions:
What are customers already buying?
Look at products within the category you want to enter. Which products appear popular, and what seems to attract customers to them?
What are customers complaining about?
Reviews can be incredibly useful. Look beyond the five-star reviews and pay attention to recurring complaints. Customers may be telling you exactly where an opportunity exists.
Who are your competitors?
Study brands targeting a similar customer. Look at their products, pricing, positioning, packaging and messaging. The goal isn’t to copy them — it’s to understand the market you’re entering.
Where are the gaps?
Perhaps customers want something that existing brands aren’t providing. Maybe there’s an underserved skin type, hair type, price point or product experience. That gap could become an opportunity for your brand.
Research Before You Formulate
Market research doesn’t mean you need an expensive research agency or a huge budget. Start with customer conversations, competitor research, online reviews, social media discussions, surveys and industry trends.
Your formulation may be beautiful, but ultimately, you’re building a business — and a successful product needs customers who want to buy it.
So before you spend heavily on formulation, packaging and branding, understand the problem you’re trying to solve and the people you’re solving it for.
Research first. Develop second.
