by There is no inclusiveness without accessibility.
That was the message from the keynote of the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Masters in Cosmetics and Marketing and Fragrance Management program 2024, which was delivered on Wednesday evening at the school’s Haft Theatre.
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The thesis, presented by the graduating class of 25 faculty members, detailed an uncompromising vision of inclusive beauty that considers the needs of marginalized consumers — including consumers with disabilities, people of color, socioeconomic status low or otherwise have access barriers — during each of them. stage of the brand building process and product life cycle.
Here, four takeaways from the evening, followed by a full list of 2024 FIT CFMM graduates.
1. Social responsibility and financial opportunity go hand in hand.
“Ignoring consumers with disabilities is not passive oversight,” said one graduate, citing research by Return on Disability that indicates the public has more than $13 trillion in annual spending power, even though A lack of accessible options means many have to work harder and spend more to find products that work for them.”
Seventy-eight percent of the population is affected by disability — as a caregiver, financial provider, or provider themselves — and because data shows a positive correlation between accessibility and performance, lack of accessibility represents a lost market opportunity.
2. Each stage of the product journey can – and should — be optimized for accessibility.
A. Packaging
A survey of CFMM’s graduating class of 2024 found that 77 percent of people with disabilities see inaccessible packaging as a top barrier to buying beauty products. Visually impaired consumers, neurodiverse consumers and consumers with limited mobility require different considerations.
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Visually impaired consumers need clear ways to differentiate between different products on shelves other than just Braille, which varies by language and only 10 percent of the visually impaired population can read.
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Consumers with arthritis or motor disabilities benefit from packaging with easy-to-open caps and other design changes, such as Rare Beauty’s liquid blush matte finish that allows for easy grip, and the same product’s low-resistance cap design.
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Neuro-discriminative consumers want to avoid “being overstimulated, which can occur from rough and bothersome textures, and bright colors.”
B. Omnichannel shopping
In-store environments were ranked as the main barrier to entry for consumers with disabilities, followed by product and packaging. One example is Sephora Europe’s new color-coded shopping baskets (black for those seeking assistance and red for those not) to create a more seamless in-store experience.
There are also online barriers, which can be improved with “clear product descriptions, customizable user experiences such as third-party widgets that can adjust font size, contrast, colors and more, and AI-powered voice assistants” – and they can empower all. disabled consumers to shop independently.
C. Marketing strategies
Both a lack of representation and generalizations about people with disabilities hinder inclusive shopping experiences.
The graduates found that only 1 percent of marketing assets depict people with disabilities, and those cases are often limited to wheelchair users or amputees, “neglecting the wider spectrum of visible and invisible disabilities “. Brands like Elf Beauty, which counts Paralympic swimmer Anastasia Pagonis as an ambassador, and Gucci, which tapped Ellie Goldstein, a model with Down syndrome, are among those making strides in expressing meaning.
3. The beauty/wellness intersection is incomplete without an increased commitment to understanding women’s health.
Proprietary research by the CFMM graduate class of 2024 found that 72 percent of women feel it is “extremely important” for beauty brands to support women’s health and wellness initiatives. At the same time, seven out of ten women feel “underserved, misrepresented and neglected” by beauty despite being the largest target demographic in the industry.
The growing convergence of beauty and wellness — including topical solutions, supplements and home and functional fragrances — is a $141 billion opportunity, according to Nielsen, and a connection that 95 percent of women want brands to address, according to graduate survey.
Increased funding for research, product innovation, and brand acquisitions – such as L Catterton’s recent acquisition of Naomi Watts’ menopausal beauty brand, Stripes – are critical to meeting the needs of female consumers through all their hormonal changes, from puberty to menopause and beyond.
4. Just as there are food deserts, there are ‘accessibility deserts’ that prevent access to health and beauty products.
These deserts disproportionately affect consumers of lower socioeconomic status and consumers of color. In New York City, for example, there is one grocery store for every 13 bodegas; in the suburbs of Memphis, Tenn., where one-third of residents don’t have access to a vehicle, the nearest supermarket is more than 40 minutes away.
One in three Americans live in a health care desert, where access to medical facilities and health care professionals is limited. Meanwhile, many consumers are forced to contend with the worsening effect of living in areas that are both food and healthcare deserts.
In rural areas, “half of consumers report traveling more than 60 minutes to search for beauty products.” And e-commerce is not a one-size-fits-all solution, as 53 percent of consumers still buy products in-store regardless of whether that product fully meets their needs.
Brands should strive to limit the trade-offs consumers have to make when purchasing their products, the graduates said, adding that 70 percent of consumers of color report living in areas under -urban and rural who are unable to find beauty products suitable for their hair and skin needs.
“More comprehensive retail offerings are urgently needed to better serve non-white consumers, because even when there are stores nearby, they still can’t find what they need.”
Bringing beauty products to “gas stations, laundromats, bus terminals; places that are second nature to individuals, but neglected for distribution,” even if in the form of vending machines, is one way brands can help bridge this accessibility gap.
“The next round of inclusivity means meeting each and every consumer at every step and every moment. The future of our industry depends on our commitment to fill these gaps and make beauty accessible to all,” concluded the presentation.
The FIT CFMM 2024 graduates are: Shivani Banerji; Brandon Kaitto Bernard; Mollie Rose Blank; Amber Cardona; Marissa Casazza; Sabina Gosto Dersh; Tori Orlando Douglas; Kelsey Marie Galindo; Sanam Sushil Gidwani; Victoria Healey; Jessica Junquet; Erin Krug; Shiyin Lin; Maclean Coul Liotta; David Alejandro Lucas; Monique McKenzie; Shelby Newell; Amanda R. Nieves; Kylie Adele Phelan; Lena Maria Rubiano; Prabhjot Saini; Deja Michelle Stephens; Stephanie Taylor; Mary N. Torelli; Mia Wilkowski.
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