Be it for Christmas, Lunar New Year, or Valentine's Day, beauty has emerged as a go-to choice for gifting around special occasions. With consumers increasingly placing more emphasis on their internal and external appearance, festive beauty sets have solidified their position as an indulgent yet practical gift either for a loved one or oneself.
Whether it’s a bundle of fragrances that evoke nostalgia, a collection of premium skincare to add to daily skincare routines, or a new makeup set that sparks creativity, these limited-edition sets have become a symbol of care, thoughtfulness, and an opportunity to discover or rediscover one’s favorite beauty brands.
From new launches and curated collections of bestsellers, to hero products and others that might need a bit of a boost, festive sets not only highlight cult favorites but also give consumers a chance to explore new formulations, products, and trends. According to Statista, in the United States alone, retail beauty sales over the holiday season reached over $970 billion in 2024, with a large portion of these sales attributed to holiday gifts. In fact as of 2024, more than 31% of shoppers planned to purchase cosmetics or beauty products as a gift for someone else. But this behavior isn’t unique to the US; in the UK and Switzerland, 35% of people planned to buy beauty products as gifts, while in Poland, 45% of shoppers chose cosmetics and perfumes as holiday gifts for their loved ones. In France too, around 40% of French women planned to buy perfumes, multiproduct gift sets, and bodycare items as gifts. In India, more than 45% of shoppers listed value-for-money as the most important criteria when festive gift shopping, followed by high quality. But with new festive sets launching every few months, what is the game-winning formula that drives success for some festive sets over others? Is it packaging, product mix, pricing, or a combination of all three?
The Power of Packaging
They say first impressions are lasting impressions, and this holds especially true for festive sets. Aesthetic packaging that aligns with current trends and the theme of the holiday plays a crucial role in attracting consumers who are looking for a beauty set to gift someone.
“Successful festive packaging balances aesthetic appeal, cultural connection, and practicality. It must feel like a celebration but also offer values like sustainability,” says Smruthi Rajagopalan, Brand General Manager, Kiehl’s India. But just looking aesthetically pleasing isn’t enough. Consumers now demand much more from the packaging of festive sets they are drawn to, like being sustainable, recyclable, and reusable.
“The packaging of a festive set must bring together brand identity and changing consumer values and interests, like our Kiehl’s reusable boxes that double up as bags or vanity cases,” adds Rajagopalan. President of Saie Beauty, Lucy Perdemo-Ruehlmann, echoes this statement, “At Saie, our packaging is made from 100% FSC-certified, limited-edition paper; perfectly prewrapped and fully recyclable, making it as kind to the planet as it to one’s gifting list.”
Beyond aesthetics and sustainability, clever festive set packaging also plays a crucial role in building an emotional connection with the consumer, becoming a sensory experience evoking feelings of either joy, surprise, or excitement. With the unboxing moment becoming just as important as the products inside, festive packaging now plays an irreplaceable role in brand storytelling, making the small details more important than ever before. From personalization and tactile materials to interactive elements and education, brands must think outside the box to truly capture the attention of both the gift giver and the receiver.
The Perfect Product Mix
From hero products and bestsellers to new launches and holiday-specific products, festive sets provide the perfect opportunity to spotlight products that you believe best showcase what your brand stands for.
A successful festive set is not a random mix of products; it must feel intentional, considered, and be driven by a sense of urgency or exclusivity. Finding the right balance between hero products and cult favorites is critical to creating a festive set that feels exciting yet familiar. The idea is to make the consumer feel like it’s something special but not stray too far away from what they love your brand for.
“Each Saie holiday gift set is a thoughtful curation of classic hero products, but we also love to surprise and delight with limited-edition shades of our bestsellers," says Perdemo-Ruehlmann. Including limited-edition products or new launches are a great way to provide a layer of exclusivity to the set. “At Kiehl’s, our festive sets are typically a curated blend of hero products and customer favorites; occasionally, we include limited-edition or new launches to make the sets feel more exclusive and special for the festive season,” adds Rajagopalan.
Pricing: Finding the Sweet Spot
While consumers are less price sensitive around special occasions, particularly when buying a gift for someone they love, festive beauty sets must offer value. Whether that is through making the customer feel like they are saving when compared to buying the products individually or by giving them free/bonus products. This not only results in a feel-good factor for the customer, but also makes them feel like they could choose your brand for more than one gift.
An important thing to note is that many customers often shop for festive beauty sets in multibrand stores, so benchmarking your set against competitors is imperative to ensure that your set stands out in terms of value and product assortment. However, brands must be cognizant that creating festive beauty sets require significant investment, so being conscious of your cost of goods sold (COGS) is important to maintain healthy profit margins while still ensuring that your price is attractive to the desired consumer demographic. “Bundles are a great way for new customers to try our products, but it is quite an investment. We don’t actually make money on these sets as labor and material costs on these sets are much higher than for our regular products," says Priscilla Tsai, founder and CEO of conscious skincare brand, Cocokind.
But for many brands the high costs associated with creating festive sets is outweighed by benefits like increased brand awareness and long-term relationship building. “While these sets come at a hefty cost to us, the value to our customers is clear—it’s a risk we’re willing to pay for as these sets really allow our products to reach more people and help us stand out in the busy rush of holiday shopping,” adds Tsai.
According to Statista as of January 2025, nearly a third of consumers said they would spend more on holiday gifts per gift recipient, specifically mentioning that they plan to buy more gifts per person in 2025. This makes it even more crucial for brands to strike the right balance between perceived value and price positioning. “Ultimately a successful festive set combines visual allure, value, emotional resonance, and the right curation of products,” says Rajagopalan. Offering tiered pricing is a great way to ensure you are able to meet the needs and demands of consumers with varied budgets. Additionally, bundling full-sized products with minis, limited editions, and add-on’s can finally make the purchase feel irresistible. This approach will not only enhance perceived value but also result in strengthened brand loyalty, turning a one-time seasonal shopper into a life-long customer. By striking the perfect balance between packaging, pricing, and products, your brand can become the go-to choice for gifting for every holiday, year after year.
