How Latinas Are Reshaping the Beauty Market Through Brand Trust

by Santiago Solutions Group

Latinas are shaking up the makeup industry with an eye-brow-raising increase in demand for beauty products that are outpacing non-Latina spending in the category. For those who are Latinas, this might not come as a shock since one of the many pillars of Latina identity is connected to cultural pride around one’s own personal appearance. However, it’s important to understand that personal appearance and grooming takes on many forms for Latinas across different sub-cultures and countries of origin.

Since the racial reckoning of 2020, many companies have begun to focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as their main customer-facing priorities. This movement has translated into the beauty and self-care industries not only through more inclusive and representative marketing, but through inclusive product development that better fits the needs of Latina consumers. Beauty companies such as Rare Beauty, Hourglass, and Fenty have very wide ranges of shade matching selection – making them the perfect options for Latinas of all shades.

According to a Nielsen study published in 2022, close to half (47 percent) of the 62 million US Hispanics are Millennials. Moreover, the US Hispanic population is expected to grow by 50 million by the year 2060. Considering how Hispanics tend to be younger than the General Population, it’s no secret that many of the viral beauty trends on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram are usually capitalized on by these GenZ and Millennial Latina consumers. For instance, Latina Tiktok influencer Desi Perkins, shares a #GRWM (get ready with me) video creating a smokey eye look on herself before and event. Additionally, Nielsen’s Hispanic Beauty Consumer Report lays out the following learnings about the Latina consumer:

• Latinas spend an average 19% more on beauty than Total US consumers.
• Latinas make an average of 2 more additional shopping trips per year to stores selling beauty products than Total US Consumers.

Most importantly, Nielsen’s report mentions that when purchasing hair care and beauty, the leading drivers of purchase for the Latina consumer are rooted in brand trust, familiarity/past experience with products, and how suited it is for their hair or skin type. Considering these insights, beauty, hair care, and personal care brands should work to increase brand trust with Latina consumers. According to recent data gathered by The Cultural Inclusion Accelerator’s on-going consumer sentiment tracker, brand trust is grim these days with around 1 in 5 women of color (includes those who identify as Latina) declaring that they trust few to no brands.

This major trust deficit may have caused beauty retailers to take a closer look at the spending habits of their Latina consumers in recent years. As uncovered by Nielsen’s Hispanic Beauty Consumer Report, Latinas are more likely to turn to brick-and-mortar stores such as Walmart, Target, and other big box beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta for their beauty purchases. Latinas also over-index in usage of various beauty products as compared to White Non-Hispanic consumers. Recent data according to MRI-Simmons 2022 analyzed by the SSG analytics team shows that Latina consumers over-index in usage of blush, mascara, face powder, lipstick/lip gloss, foundation, bronzer, and body wash by more than 20 percent, as compared to their White Non-Hispanic female counterparts. Furthermore, in addition to Latinas over-indexing on beauty product usage, an article published in 2021 by Marina Franco from Noticias Telemundo for Axios reports that Latinas spend $35-$50 more on personal care, lip products, and hair care than other segments. Considering Latina’s affinity to beauty and personal care, brands who play in this space should prioritize building trust with Latinas to increase and strengthen purchase intent, which is the Latina consumer’s most important driver to purchase.

Double-clicking into the importance Latinas put on brand trust, familiarity, and suitability for hair and skin type, it’s never been more important for brands to step up their inclusivity efforts in their communications, messaging, and representation in advertising. Furthermore, with increasing Hispanic spending power, beauty and personal care brands should look to continue to diversify their product lines to be more inclusive of the Latina consumer’s needs. SSG stands as a subject matter expert for consumer research and developing cultural insights, identifying drivers to purchase, and calculating the size of investment and opportunity. With a wide array of industry experience with consumer brands such as Johnson and Johnson and Ulta Beauty, let the experts at SSG help you with getting your cultural marketing journey started today.

Sources:

• The Hispanic Beauty Consumer, September 2022 | NielsenIQ
• New Study Reveals the Beauty of the Latina Consumer Mindset | Televisa Univision
• Survey Reveals Latinas Invest More Money in Hair Care Products Than the Average American Woman | Hola
• Why Beauty is So Important in Latina Culture | PopSugar
• Latinas are Dominating the Beauty Industry – Here’s Why this Matters | Byrdie