WGSN released its Ones to Watch 2023: NextGen Filipino Beauty Brands Report that highlights five homegrown brands that are making waves in the local beauty and wellness market.
According to Christine Chua, beauty analyst of WGSN, Filipinos continue to have loyalty for their go-to brands. "Value-for-money would primarily drive purchasing decisions of Filipino consumers, trailed by 'lazy' beauty solutions that save on effort, time, and carbon footprint," she added.
The trend forecasting company identified the five Filipino brands to watch out for through the WGSN STEPIC Index which evaluates the presence and development of each beauty company in the aspects of society, technology, environment, politics, industry, and creative culture.
Vice Cosmetics: For LGBTQ, by LGBTQ. Kickstarted by non-binary TV host Vice Ganda, Vice Cosmetics proudly caters to all regardless of age, shape, class, or color.
The inclusive brand is known for its skin-first and easy-to-apply makeup range that appeals to lazy skin minimalists. Moreover, Vice Cosmetics is also PETA-certified, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and vegan which makes the brand an ideal choice for the environment-conscious Gen Z.
Why it's one to watch: Creative culture driven by a strong community agenda, all-inclusive mindset, and dedication to challenging the norm of Pan-Asian beauty standards with diverse visuals.
Happy Skin: Skin-caring formats. Happy Skin believes skin thrives only when fed with the right ingredients. Its skincare and makeup range is infused with Powerhouse Four elements: Hyaluronic acid, ceramide, cica, and niacinamide, all of which are said to be key in fueling the right bacteria to protect all skin types from pollutants and irritants.
Sensitive to Filipinos' plight in a tropical climate, Happy Skin products also have cooling properties through hyaluronic acid and alfalfa.
The brand also prioritizes cleanliness and safety from its formulation to user experience. The brand's packaging also ensures customers can effortlessly use its products through mess-free and travel-friendly designs.
Why it's one to watch: Blending high standards of care-taking value and science-backed solutions, Happy Skin approaches lazy beauty with a buildable and foolproof formulation that channels universal design principles for all skin types.
Filipinta Beauty: championing Filipino diversity. Filipinta Beauty, a portmanteau of the words "Filipina" and "pinta," was founded with the sole purpose of creating products that celebrate Filipino culture and diversity. The brand creates cosmetic formulations made to suit warm skin tones.
It is also remarkably notable for its nostalgic packaging visuals inspiring all things Filipino, particularly in giving a glimpse of Philippine streets showing sari-sari stores that typically sell items housed in sachets, which the product reflects with a sari-sari store-style wrapper.
Why it's one to watch: Filipinta Beauty is a champion of diversity that challenges societal norms through featuring morena or darker-skinned models. On social media, the brand creates comic strips that dismantle toxic narratives, such as Tales of Being a Dark-Skinned Girl in the Philippines which explores colorism and the glorification of whitening products that many Filipinos relate to.
Akkula: Zero waste solutions. Akkula is a planet- friendly company that creates beauty and pet care items housed in fully compostable kraft paper, offering zero-waste, more sustainable solutions that mitigate difficulties around recycling in the Philippines.
Addressing the contribution of plastic makeup products in landfills, the brand follows a sustainable and eco-friendly ethos, creating cruelty-free, vegan, zero-waste products at an affordable price range.
Taking into account waste at the end-to-end lifecycle, it sources with espect, using ingredients from regenerative farms that don't harm the planet. The brand is committed to delivering safe and clean products, especially for its pet beauty selection.
Why it's one to watch: Striving to create an eco-friendly brand where discarding and recycling were no longer of concern to it and the end consumer, Akkula is a pioneering beauty brand that helps the switch to a zero-waste lifestyle easier for the Protopian Filipino.
Jellytime: Safe space for sex and pleasure. Conversations around sex are still taboo in conservative communities in Asia and Jellytime is on a mission to change the landscape surrounding pleasure.
The sexual wellness brand creates products that help Filipinos embrace sexuality, for example, Jellytime's Natural Water-based Personal Lubricant — hypoallergenic, water-based, pH balanced, sensitive skin-, condom-, and sex toy-compatible.
The product was conceived after its founders realized clean and natural-based lubricants did not exist in the Philippines beauty market. The brand's sex toys are also designed to be displayed at home, moving away from vulgar, garish designs in the market.
Why it's one to watch: Jellytime is the Philippines' first sexual wellness-centric brand. It creates a safe space for sex in a conservative society and makes it possible for those who want to discover sexual pleasure to do so with clean, safe, and natural products, with a range that is vegan, certified organic, and doctor-approved.