No7 Advanced Retinol tops list of most valuable beauty launches of 2020

No7’s Advanced Retinol 1.5% Complex Night Concentrate was the most valuable Health and Beauty launch of 2020, with sales propelled by Britain’s increasingly results-driven and ingredients-savvy shoppers, a new Kantar study has revealed.

Three key themes acted as catalysts for new product development in 2020 according to the study: Ingredients Led, Home Based Lives and Hygiene.

At the forefront of the Ingredients Led theme, No7’s Advanced Retinol 1.5% Complex Night Concentrate, which smashed the record for Boots’ largest ever waiting list at launch 11 months ago, is still the top Retinol product sold in Boots to date.

The past year saw many brands, including No7, utilise “hero ingredients” to drive premiumisation and tap into different consumer trends such as Wellness, Naturals, Clean beauty and Sustainability, Kantar said.

Kantar strategic insight director Matthew Maxwell added: “Consumers are increasingly arming themselves with knowledge and understanding of the role ingredients play in the products they buy.

“And with the economic fallout of the pandemic putting pressure on disposable incomes, we can expect consumers to demand more from their products as they look to achieve professional results at-home.”

Tapping into the Home Based Lives trend, four of the most valuable Health and Beauty launches of 2020 also came from haircare and colour brands, with Tresemme Smooth & Silky in the third spot, followed by Garnier Ultimate Blends Hair Food Shampoo in fourth, Pantene Pro-V Miracles in fifth and L’Oreal Colorista Gel in ninth place, as salon closures prompted locked down shoppers to experiment and treat themselves at home.

Sales of bath products were up 14% year on year in 2020 while face masks grew by 17% and the number of in-home hair colourant shoppers grew by 21%.

Unsurprisingly, given the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, four of the top 10 beauty launches of 2020 also focused on hygiene, with three of the launches in the top 10 having come from entirely new brands Lifebuoy, GO2 and Fresh Gel.

Looking to the year ahead Kantar expects the see a growth in the functional health and beauty arena, boosted by the expansion of key food and drink ingredients such as CBD, Probiotics and Collagen, into the skin and haircare categories.

Top new Health and Beauty launches of 2020

• Boots No.7 Advanced Retinol
• Colgate Gum Invigorate
• Tresemme Smooth & Silky
• Garnier Ultimate Blends Hair Food Shampoo
• Pantene Pro-V Miracles
• Lifebuoy Hand Sanitiser Gel
• Garnier Pure Active
• GO2 Handgel
• L’Oreal Colorista Gel
• Fresh Gel Hand Cleanser

Source: Kantar value sales data for 52 weeks to 27 December 2020