Cruelty-free, luxury beauty brand Hourglass Cosmetics is going vegan.
In November 2017, the beauty company announced intentions to make all of its products vegan by the end of 2020, according to Glossy. Around 80 percent of its products are already vegan, but including its entire lineup would make Hourglass the first fully vegan luxury beauty brand out there.
In the lead up to the change, Hourglass just launched one of its biggest marketing initiatives ever, including social, digital, outdoor, and in-store efforts.
“As the business has grown, we’ve invested more in marketing,” Carisa Janes, Hourglass Cosmetics founder and CEO, told Glossy. “We’ve had such rapid growth in the last three of four years, so it seemed like the right time for this campaign.”
When Hourglass was acquired by Unilever in 2017, it was generating $70 million in net sales every year.
Its campaign includes images of four women posed beside four horses with the camera zoomed in on one human eye and one horse eye. Janes noted the image aims to “show the humanity in the eyes of the animal” and inspire shoppers to consider the ethics behind the products they’re purchasing.
“Transparency with our consumers is crucial,” said Janes. “That includes [being transparent] on what’s in the product, and communicating that through Sephora, on our website and in-store to make sure the consumer has the information she is looking for.”
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Moving even further into the vegan beauty scene is a “smart move,” according to Glossy, given the public’s growing interest in cruelty-free living.
Brand strategy consultant Valerie Nguyen commented, “There is a rising trend where people think about what they are putting on their skin, whether that is skin care or beauty-centric products, in terms of whether it’s something they would feel OK eating.”
The global vegan cosmetics industry is projected to reach $20.8 billion by 2025, according to data by Grand View Research. Beauty brands including Milk Makeup have committed to making their products vegan whilst other major companies are making meaningful steps toward becoming cruelty-free. Last month, Lush removed eggs from all of its products, replacing the animal ingredient with vegan alternatives, like silken tofu and dairy-free yogurt. COVERGIRL wants to see the industry move away from animal testing and make all makeup cruelty-free.
Though she doesn’t believe all companies will follow suit, Nguyen does think that moves like this will inspire change. She said, “I think with Hourglass setting this pace, will every brand follow? Probably not, but I do think that once you raise that bar like this, consumers will transfer their expectations from brand to brand.”
