Personal care brand Vaseline has announced the online database 'See My Skin' for people of color. The database will allow these individuals to search for any skin concern they have and to finally be met with search results and images that reflect their skin tone.
This project was long in the making; Vaseline was established in 1870 by Robert Chesebrough and had been helping heal dry skin for more than 140 years. Vaseline is a self care staple in the Black community, whether used as a lip balm or for moisturizing skin, making this database an exciting step towards more well-deserved consumer representation.
In the ad, you see several dark-skinned women share their displeasure with the difficulties of finding solutions to their skin queries online. An interesting takeaway is that Black women, in general, spend an estimated $7.5 billion yearly on beauty products, giving away 80% more on cosmetics and twice as much on skincare as their non-Black counterparts.
However, they are still misrepresented and underserved in the cosmetic and healthcare industry. Vaseline is hoping to change this pattern through its new See My Skin database.
Image Credit: Glamour
What's Driving This Trend
- Inclusive Skincare
- Brands that cater to and acknowledge the diverse needs of different skin tones provide a disruptive innovation opportunity in the skincare market.
- Skin Tone Representation
- Creating more accurate visual representation of diverse skin tones in marketing materials presents an opportunity for brands to capture underserved consumer segments.
- Online Product Databases
- The development of online product databases that cater to specific consumer demographics, such as See My Skin by Vaseline, presents an opportunity for brands to provide more personalized product recommendations.
Who This Affects Most
- Personal Care
- Personal care companies can leverage inclusive marketing and product development to capture a larger market share among diverse consumer segments.
- Beauty
- Investing in research and development to address the unique needs of consumers of color creates an opportunity for beauty companies to capture a growing and underserved market segment.
- Healthcare
- By recognizing and addressing underrepresentation in healthcare products and services, companies can disrupt traditional healthcare models and increase access to quality care for marginalized communities.
