Evolving Skin-Lightening Market Likely To Shape Future Claims

Despite Kanebo’s high-profile recall and controversy around the message behind skin-lightening formulas, demand for products with brightening benefits remains strong in the East and is growing more universal, Datamonitor senior analyst Ramaa Chipalkatti says, citing the firm’s survey data. She predicts that claims are likely to evolve as consumer attitudes change and Western consumers gravitate to the segment.

Skin-lightening products are likely to continue driving strong demand across the globe, though greater emphasis may be placed on brightening and anti-aging as activist and regulatory pressure mounts and Western consumers become more involved.

In a May 28 article posted to Datamonitor’s website, Senior Analyst Ramaa Chipalkatti cites findings from a 2013 survey that indicate enduring interest in skin-care products with lightening effects.

A poll of 25,000 consumers in 24 international markets found that 50% of consumers in Asia consider skin lightening/brightening benefits to be a “high-priority/essential” feature of skin-care products, according to Chipalkatti.

She notes that historically, demand for such products in East Asia reflected socioeconomic divisions between field laborers and the privileged classes whose skin saw less sun exposure and therefore tended to be lighter, establishing the beauty ideal.

Today, Eastern consumers continue to put a premium on fair skin, as urbanization in developing countries has exposed greater numbers to Western culture and its prevailing concept of beauty. In many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, lighter skin “is synonymous with beauty, success and an aspirational mindset to mimic the West,” Chipalkatti says.

However, activist movement to subvert such notions and safety concerns that have arisen around skin-whitening ingredients could impact the future course of the trend, compelling changes from companies in the way skin-lightening products are marketed.

New draft guidelines from the Advertising Standards Council of India advise against ads that cast dark-skinned individuals as “unhappy, depressed or concerned” or otherwise reinforce negative social stereotypes based on skin tone.

Chipalkatti notes that in India, an unseemly light has been thrown on fairness creams by campaigns attacking skin-color bias and promoting diversity.

Launched in 2009, Women of Worth’s “Dark is Beautiful” initiative “challenges the belief that the value and beauty of people (in India and worldwide) is determined by the fairness of their skin,” according to the group’s website. “This belief, shaped by societal attitudes and reinforced by media messages, is corroding the self-worth of countless people, young and old,” WOW adds.

The organization’s ads feature Indian actress Nandita Das, among others, urging consumers to “Stay Unfair, Stay Beautiful.”

Meanwhile, Indian skin- and health-care firm Emami Limited – which markets Fair And Handsome, touted as the leading brand in the men’s fairness category – continues to promote the advantages of lighter skin with ads featuring Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

Formulated with vitamin B3, antioxidants and SPF 15+, the Emami Fair And Handsome cream “gives you ZYADA fairness,” the company asserts on its website.

While public debate around the fairness market and associated marketing goes on, the Advertising Standards Council of India may help set a new standard in advertising in the country with recently issued draft guidelines.

Addressing advertising for skin-lightening or fairness-improvement products, the self-regulatory body – comparable to the National Advertising Division in the U.S. – proposes that ads “should not associate darker or lighter-color skin with any particular socio-economic strata, caste, community, religion, profession or ethnicity.”

Subject to public comment through mid-June, the guidelines seek to quash ads that reinforce negative social stereotyping based on skin color, including through images that cast darker-skinned individuals as “unattractive, unhappy, depressed or concerned.”

Further, ads for skin-lightening products should not portray people with darker complexions as disadvantaged or unsuccessful professionally, romantically or in other aspects of life, the draft guidelines say.

While the media has picked up on ASCI’s newly stated position as a potential game-changer in the Indian fairness market, there is some question as to whether regulations exist in India to enforce the watchdog group’s guidelines or if industry will adhere to them voluntarily.

Unilever PLC-owned Hindustan Unilever Limited leads the overall fairness category in India with its Fair & Lovely brand. L’Oreal SA’s Garnier brand also has a strong presence in the market. 

Kanebo Recall Raises Concerns

Kanebo Cosmetics’ July 2013 recall of more than 50 products featuring its skin-brightening ingredient Rhododenol has generated further controversy around skin-lightening products, Chipalkatti points out.

The Kao Corporation subsidiary issued the recall in Japan and other Asian markets after receiving reports linking its products to white blotches on users’ skin and other vitiligo-like symptoms (Also see "Kanebo Recalls Rhododenol-Based Skin Brighteners From Asian Markets" - HBW Insight, 15 Jul, 2013.).

The company has followed the recall with door-to-door visits to affected consumers to assess their condition and assist in their recovery. In a June 9 update posted to its website, Kanebo says it has confirmed more than 14,600 cases of depigmentation connected with use of its Rhododenol-containing products. Almost 4,300 of those are nearly or fully recovered based on their own reports or examination by a doctor, it notes.

Chipalkatti states: “The incident, which has not only affected Japan but also other overseas markets, has predictably garnered worldwide attention and shone the spotlight on the booming skin-whitening market.”

In April, Kao reported fiscal 2014 first-quarter sales of ¥341.2 billion ($3.32 billion), up 18% versus the prior-year period, with its Beauty Care business contributing ¥144.4 billion ($1.4 billion), an increase of 11.9%, reported.

According to the firm’s earning statement, the Japanese economy improved moderately and personal consumption in the country was up for the quarter, increasing sales 18.3% in Kao’s Consumer Products segment, which includes Human Health Care and Fabric and Home Care, in addition to Beauty Care.

However, Kanebo Cosmetics sales, while up for the quarter compared with the same period a year ago, fell below overall market growth due to lingering effects of the 2013 recall, Kao says.

The firm’s experience could make other skin-care companies think twice before entering the skin-lightening segment or experimenting with novel active ingredients.

Rhododenol, or 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanol, is derived from the bark of the white birch tree and was said to furnish “strong brightening effects by suppressing the production of melanin.” At the time of its recall announcement, Kanebo stressed that the ingredient was approved as an active quasi-drug ingredient by Japan’s Ministry of Health “after passing extensive safety tests.”

The Future Of Lightening

Despite such deterrents, Chipalkatti maintains that “consumers’ attraction to whitening products is not fading.”

Moreover, skin-lightening claims and ingredients are penetrating new product categories, such as anti-aging where growing awareness of hyperpigmentation (age spots) and loss of radiance has created demand.

The anti-aging segment is where Western consumers may become more involved with skin-lightening technologies. Currently, less than a quarter of consumers in Western Europe and North America rank skin lightening/brightening as a “high-priority/essential” component of skin-care products they use, according to Datamonitor’s survey.

Chipalkatti notes that skin-lightening also is expanding from facial skin care to products aimed at treating the neckline, hands, legs and body.

Meanwhile, marketers are adjusting their claims to promote products as offering “healthy white” and “natural white” benefits.

Chipalkatti believes that claims in the skin-lightening segment will continue to evolve to meet changing attitudes, concerns and demand among consumers. Anti-aging products will begin to focus more on amplifying skin radiance, and “fairness” and “skin-whitening” claims “are likely to be replaced by greater emphasis on skin brightness, glow and vitality,” she predicts.

Shiseido Co. is among firms introducing products that seem to fit this new model. In December 2013, the Japanese firm extended its Future Solution LX anti-aging line with the launch of Superior Radiance Serum, which diffuses light from skin’s surface for a more radiant complexion with a “pearl-like luster” (Also see "Shiseido Kicks Off 2014 Launches With Future Solution Entries" - HBW Insight, 10 Feb, 2014.).

The Estee LauderCyberWhite HD line, marketed with the tagline “Flawless. Luminous. Crystal Bright,” consists of a range of products formulated to reduce dark spots and brighten skin, according to the Estee Lauder Companies.

The Clorox Company’s Burt’s Bees unit offers a Brightening Even-Tone Moisturizing Cream, which the natural-products pioneer claims is “clinically proven to even skin tone and help diminish the appearance of dark spots and discoloration.” The brand’s Brightening Daily Facial Cleanser and Brightening Refining Tonic similarly are touted as awarding “a brighter, more luminous complexion.”

In the emerging marketplace, Chipalkatti says, “the demand for skin radiance and brightness is universal and we believe will continue to grow.”