At a Glossy, CEW and Launchmetrics panel in London this week, beauty leaders gathered to discuss how the rise of wellness is reshaping brand strategy in the saturated, fast-moving world of beauty. Moderated by Launchmetrics CMO Allison Bringe, the panel featured Anna Marcovici, the gm of EMEA at Westman Atelier and founder of the Impact Beauty Group brand accelerator; Dr. Maryam Zamani, founder of MZ Skin; and Glossy international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska.
The conversation made one thing clear: In 2024, successful beauty brands need more than great products — they also need clarity of purpose, smart creator partnerships and a new approach to measuring impact.
According to Marcovici, the ability to articulate brand values is now necessary for customer acquisition and retention. “Short-form, unfiltered content is what has been working,” she said. “People want to feel connected. If you’re a brand that’s very clear about your own values, then you will find your tribe.” That clarity, she explained, doesn’t just help shape content, but it also guides product development, retail strategy and partnership decisions.
As wellness continues to merge with beauty, carving out a focused identity is even more critical. “You can’t be everything for everybody — you have to be good at what you do,” said Zamani. She spoke to the need for founder-led storytelling and clinical depth, especially as consumers expect more transparency around ingredients, efficacy and use cases. “Don’t get distracted,” she added. “Focus on your messaging, what your products are doing and why, and just stay focused.”
This message is landing at a time when the beauty-wellness category is expanding rapidly. According to Launchmetrics data presented during the panel, skin care continues to dominate, in terms of total media impact value, but hair care is accelerating, with 83% year-over-year growth in MIV. The expansion brings fresh opportunity, but also higher stakes. Brands entering wellness-adjacent beauty categories — from scalp care to hormonal skin care to ingestibles — must deliver credible differentiation to stand out.
Social media remains the primary channel for shaping perception. While Instagram remains the top platform for overall visibility, TikTok saw more than 90% growth in MIV for skin care content over the past year, according to Launchmetrics. But brands should focus on more than trend alignment. Marcovici said. “Counting likes is no longer enough,” she said. “You have to look at customer lifetime value, repeat rate and net promoter scores. That’s the new currency of success.” Performance, she said, must be evaluated through the lens of long-term impact, not just reach.
That shift in measurement is influencing how brands think about influencer marketing. Both Marcovici and Zamani pointed to the increasing power of smaller, more specialized creators. The brands seeing the highest returns are partnering with individuals who are already immersed in their product category or community, whether that’s menopause, sustainability, skin cycling or clean beauty. These creators often offer higher engagement and stronger trust than traditional macro-influencers, particularly in the wellness space where credibility is key.
