It's no secret the beauty industry was hit hard by the pandemic. And yet, we've witnessed the steady rise of new local beauty businesses and brands within the past year, many of which were greeted with an overwhelmingly positive response.
Brands like the pro-loved Strokes Beauty Lab and influencer-founded GRWM Cosmetics, for example, have quickly gained a loyal pool of customers mere months into their launch. Meanwhile, pre-pandemic internet favorites like Colourette Cosmetics, Luxe Organix, and Issy & Co. have relied on innovation and collaborations to successfully solidify their presence. Add this to the Filipino consumers' strengthened motivation to support local, and the current beauty business boom suddenly becomes less of a mystery. In fact, we can definitely say that competition in the local beauty space currently appears to be at its stiffest. It could even be discouraging for aspiring beauty entrepreneurs, but then again, it's all about perspective.
Happy Skin co-founder Rissa Mananquil Trillo, for one, is not worried about the surge in new beauty brands at all. If anything, the best-selling author of Read My Lips implies that it's a good thing, as beauty lovers are granted with a wider pool of options.
"I think the more brands that sprout up, the more it ignites love for beauty in more women," she tells Preview in a Calamansi session hosted by Summit Books. "It's such a big pie, and I think the more beauty brands that come in, it just makes the pie bigger because these different brands reach so many kinds of women."
After all, Rissa adds, there is no one brand that can resonate with everyone. She expounds, "One brand will appeal to a certain type of woman, another will appeal to a different niche market. And you know, the more women there are who are interested in beauty, that can only be good for the industry."
At the end of the day, the biggest challenge for beauty entrepreneurs is still having a vision that'll secure their brand's longevity. For Rissa, this vision should go beyond profit. "They shouldn't start a business thinking only about how it can make them more money," she explains. "I think the better mindset is how your business can solve a problem and make people's lives better." And when it comes to competition, here's one thing to remember: "In business, you don't succeed in killing competition. You succeed by creating value."
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