Technology has permeated almost every aspect of our lives, from how we connect with each other to how we shop, and its influence on the beauty and wellness sector has been the catalyst for continuous transformation. Game-changing technologies have unlocked transparency and efficiency, transforming businesses' operations throughout the beauty value chain, from innovating how products are made and supply chains are managed to omnichannel consumer-facing solutions technology.
Staying on top of new technology creates a competitive edge for early adopters leaning into innovation. The BeautyMatter NEXT Awards have surfaced six businesses changing the beauty landscape.
The criteria applied by our judges while evaluating submissions included:
The Judges:
Best Breakthrough Technology (Omnichannel): Recognizes the creation of technology (app, platform, SaaS) to enable the execution of omnichannel consumer experiences.
Campfire, Spark: Campfire is a social-first marketing agency that is disrupting the advertising industry by responding to the market’s shift away from traditional media and towards social. The agency developed a cutting-edge social media trend detection and analysis service tool called Spark, which is designed to help brands stay ahead of trends that evolve at breakneck speed on platforms like TikTok.
The concept of Spark was born from the necessity to keep up with the fast-paced nature of trends, which Google Trends often fails to capture promptly. Spark tracks thousands of trends, leveraging data from TikTok trend data, search trends, and Campfire performance metrics to provide real-time insights and categorize them into actionable insights.
This allows clients to be first movers on emerging trends, a crucial advantage given that trends typically last only about two weeks. Spark prioritizes trends that will significantly impact campaigns to inform social media strategies, influencer partnerships, and content creation, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant.
EveLab Insight: By fusing AI and evidence-based analytics, EveLab Insight accelerates skincare science with advanced skin analysis systems capable of measuring up to 40 facial skin dimensions to deliver precise and personalized skincare recommendations. EveLab Insight empowers consumers to monitor their skin health while aiding leading beauty brands in creating bespoke skincare regimens and monitoring product efficacy.
The company partners with globally recognized skincare brands to enrich its R&D processes and enhance product recommendation systems. The innovative approach makes complex skin science relatable and fosters stronger brand loyalty by highlighting each brand’s uniqueness.
Solomomo Corporation, Solomomo.Is.Beauty: A B2B2C platform for everyone’s best interests: the client, the practice, the aesthetician, the brand, the manufacturer. Solomomo.Is.Beauty is an encompassing platform for med spas to craft, curate, and monitor each client’s beauty journey. A "Goals & Afters" philosophy ensures the right treatments, procedures, and products are used at the right time, scheduled for key life highlights, and deliver the optimal results, choreographing the entire journey to optimize results for both the guest and the lifetime value (LTV) for the business.
Best Breakthrough Technology (Supply Side): Recognizes the creation of a new technology or the innovative use of existing technology that created a material impact to a part of the beauty and wellness value chain.
LUUM Precision Lash: Founded in 2017, LUUM Precision Lash is an innovative beauty-tech venture that leverages advanced robotics and artificial intelligence to deliver personalized lash extensions.
Powered by robotics and artificial intelligence, LUUM Precision Lash is revolutionizing the multibillion-dollar eyelash extension industry. Through advanced algorithms, computer vision, and machine learning, LUUM’s lash technology uses two robots and AI to safely, delicately, and precisely apply lash extensions with a technique similar to that of a human technician, while using no sharp lashing instruments. LUUM’s pioneering magnetic safety mechanism is designed to make its application process safer than human applied extensions, ensuring no harm can come to clients. Each LUUM service takes place under the supervision of a licensed lash artist who ensures lashes are applied to guests’ liking and provides touch ups, as needed, once each appointment is complete.
In December 2023, LUUM launched its first commercial pilot program with Ulta Beauty, the nation’s largest beauty retailer. Lash lovers in the Bay Area can book full ($170) or fill ($80) set appointments, choosing from three styles and two lengths. With LUUM’s technology, full set appointments are completed in under 75 minutes, compared to the average two-to-three-hour duration of a manual appointment.
Prime Matter Labs (PML), Element: The contract manufacturer of beauty and personal care products created Element, a proprietary, fully integrated cloud-based platform that leverages industry-leading technology and AI functionality to help make the product development and production process more intuitive and effective for customers.
Element is the first-of-its-kind software platform that acts as the backbone of a brand’s product development and production process from concept to creation to completion in one centralized location. It was designed to help give customers unprecedented transparency, connection to their projects, and collaborative communication between their internal teams and their team at PML. Element’s user-centric platform provides customers with the ability to access the platform anytime, anywhere, and track the development of their products in real-time.
Symrise, Hydroviton Insta: Sustainability has always been an integral part of Symrise's corporate strategy and is reflected throughout its entire value chain, including the cultivation and decomposition of its key raw materials, the collaboration with its local partners and suppliers around the globe, product development and optimization of its manufacturing processes, and the sale of its products to customers and consumers worldwide. Symrise will be climate-positive by 2030.
Symrise ingredient innovation Hydroviton Insta is not only a novel moisturizing material derived from upcycled cucumbers, but it also has many additional benefits, making it a true breakthrough technology. This natural and multilevel moisturizer takes a holistic approach as it works on several pathways to provide instant moisturization benefits and help fortify the skin barrier, ultimately preventing moisture loss. Hydroviton Insta is a potential alternative to these harsh well-aging treatments to enhance a product’s effectiveness.
Join us in Los Angeles on October 24, 2024, when we announce the winners at our NEXT Summit + Awards.
