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From AI Storefronts to Longevity Wellness: The Trends to Watch for 2025

Published January 21, 2025
Published January 21, 2025
The Future Laboratory

A prediction for the 12 months ahead, The Future Laboratory’s Future Forecast 2025 Report traces 50 trends across 10 different sectors. It also includes the company’s in-house trend barometer, which tracked engagement across terms on LS:N Global (its editorial arm). It showed a +1,550% increase in engagement with its DINKWAD (Double Income, No Kids, With a Dog) economy (an interesting fact given Dolce&Gabbana’s recent dog perfume release) content; a +900% increase for the emerging luxury, entertainment, and tourism opportunities in the Middle East; a +360% increase for the male teenager luxury fragrance opportunity, and a +265% increase for the wellness wave happening across the boomer demographic.

Dissecting the strategic foresight agency’s report, here are the top trends and insights pertaining to the beauty industry for the coming year.

Beauty

  • The Guochao movement (celebrating Chinese heritage), driven by Chinese HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals), is resulting in the rise of premium C-beauty and wellness treatments.
  • Textured haircare is continuing to grow, as evidenced by brands like Beyoncé’s Cécred, Fenty Hair by Rihanna, Tracee Ellis Ross’s Pattern, and Issa Rae’s Sienna Naturals.
  • Haircare inclusivity overall is on the rise, with Jaimee Lupton’s Being brand, launched exclusively with Walmart, providing high-quality, accessible, sustainable, and ethical products for all hair types.
  • Mood-boosting wellness scents from brands like Vyrao, Ôrebella by Bella Hadid, and Charlotte Tilbury are fusing beauty and emotional benefits.
  • Cross-sector collaborations are promoting sunscreen use and education, such as alcohol brand Kopparberg distributing UPF40 football shirts across pubs in England and Scotland as part of its Drink Responsibly Campaign, and Dutch health insurer Zilveren Kruis has launched a campaign to add sunscreen “shots” to restaurant menus.
  • Gen Alpha is continuing to grow in its beauty influence and spending, captured by brands with digital-first and often gamified activations.

Stats

  • The Chinese makeup market is expected to reach $10.5 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 7.4%, according to GlobalData.
  • #PerfumeTok hashtag has amassed over 2.3 billion views.
  • Products with anti-aging benefits drive a 49% increase in demand, followed by hydrating products (over 33%), and those with vitamin C (over 23%) selected, according to Veylinx. 

Insights

“In 2025, the focus will be on how the synergy of tradition, culture, and technology can be harnessed across industries to address contemporary challenges. For brands, this means drawing inspiration from both the past and the future to create intentional innovations that preserve natural beauty while enhancing modern aesthetics for consumers.” - Olivia Houghton, Deputy Creative Foresight Editor at The Future Laboratory

Sports, Health, & Wellness

  • In the wake of Ozempic’s impact, drug-free alternatives are being developed like Tansan by Japanese snack manufacturer Morinaga, which simulates fullness, or meals designed for those taking GLP-1 agonists like those by Nestlé.
  • Sports and wellness are continuing to merge, with campaigns like Hyundai’s 2024 Summer Olympics project focusing on emotional resilience and mental health.
  • New smartwatches with Gen Alpha in mind like Imoo’s Z7 smartwatch offer advanced health-monitoring and location-tracking to encourage kids to be active and simultaneously calm safety-conscious parents. Nike’s partnership with LEGO is also looking to encourage physical activity in younger generations through co-branded experiences.
  • Female athletes are being spotlighted through initiatives like Glossier’s partnership with  the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Project Backboard, and New York artist Na Chainkua Reindorf to redesign basketball courts in Tompkins Square Park. Raphe and Cycle Sisters created performance wear for female Muslim cyclists while Skims partnered with WNBA athletes for its “​​Fits Everybody” campaign. Fitness app Strave introduced features like night heatmaps for safe training routes.
  • Inclusivity in sports is being pushed further with collaborations like personal care brand Vuokkoset x TBWA\Helsinki to create Tampon for Men to support transgender men during menstruation. 

Stats

  • The semaglutides market is expected to reach a value of $100 billion by 2035, according to BMO Capital Markets.
  • Prescriptions for GLP-1 treatments among young people grew by 600% with 60% of prescriptions going to women according to the  Journal of the American Medical Association.
  • Global revenues for women’s sports are expected to surpass $1.3 billion in 2024, according to Deloitte.

Insights

“The era of one-size-fits-all health and wellness is over. Today’s consumers are empowered by access to vast amounts of personal data and expect technology to deliver highly individualized and proactive healthcare solutions. Brands that lead with empathy, sustainability, and personalization will thrive in this evolving health and wellness landscape.” - Alice Crossley, Foresight Analyst

Travel & Hospitality

  • Longevity-driven travel will dominate, as exemplified by programs like Canyon Ranch’s Longevity8, a four-day wellness experience including 15 diagnostic tests assessing over 200 biomarkers, including genetic testing and cancer screenings, priced at $20,000 per person.
  • Surrenne at The Emory London offers amenities like electrical muscle stimulation technology and partnerships with figures like celebrity personal trainer Tracy Anderson.
  • The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has recently hired its first in-house sleep concierge, Malminder Gill, to offer personalized sleep improvement sessions.
  • Clinique La Prairie created the Brain Potential brain enhancement program, designed to optimize cognitive performance and slow brain aging with genetic testing, MRI scans, cognitive training, specialist nutrition, and low-frequency audio stimulation.

Insights

“As consumers continue to seek not only safety but also self-optimization in these turbulent times, brands must act as facilitators, providing venues for togetherness, preventative health solutions, and hyper-personalized, fulfilling experiences.” - Simar Deol, Foresight Analyst

Luxury

  • Beauty dupes, provided by brands like e.l.f and Target, provide accessible alternatives for budget-conscious consumers but pose a risk of brand dilution for luxury brands. This shift offers opportunities and challenges for luxury companies to engage with a more price-sensitive consumer base. 

Stats

71% of Gen Z admit to purchasing cheaper versions of brand-name products, according to Morning Consult Pro.

Insights 

“Luxury brands today must go beyond selling an aspirational dream. They need to assert their cultural prowess by establishing themselves as in-the-know curators and tastemakers who customers turn to as authority figures for all things culture.” - Simar Deol, Foresight Analyst

Retail  

  • Social commerce in the UK, driven by platforms like TikTok, is expected to double to almost £16 billion ($20.7 billion) by 2028, according to Retail Economics.
  • “Shopper-tainment” is on the rise. Amazon is planning to launch shoppable and interactive video ads in 2025, while Netflix and Google collaborated to offer shoppable integrations through Google Lens to its hit show Emily in Paris. Shopify partnered with Roblox to sell physical goods within the gaming platform. TikTok teamed up with Amazon to let users purchase items directly from their For You feed.
  • Purpose-led pop-ups like the launch of District 23 to celebrate the multiculturality of Paris’ 18th arrondissement for the Summer Olympics Games, are being used to provide cultural empowerment and opportunities to visitors and communities.
  • Lisbon-based retail technology enterprise Sensei launched a 500-square-meter autonomous retail lab called Dojo. The space uses AI and sensors to track product choices and customer movements in real time.
  • The Fragrance Shop debuted the UK’s first AI-powered fragrance machine at its London flagship store. The system creates a unique scent profile for the customer via personalized questions.

Stats

  • 26% of connected device owners want to buy real-world products while playing video games, according to PYMNTS.

Insights 

“Consumers now expect hyper-personalized retail experiences that go beyond convenience. They seek meaningful interactions with brands that align with their values, creating deeper connections. It’s no longer just about efficiency, but about fostering a sense of community where consumers feel understood, valued, and authentically engaged.” - Gabriela Białkowska, Creative Foresight Analyst

Pop Culture & Media

  • Books are being made even more immersive thanks to fragrance. Sable Yong’s debut publication, Die Hot with a Vengeance, paired its essays with a signature fragrance designed with Hoax Parfums, to mirror the book’s themes of beauty and vanity.
  • Roblox launched a £27.7 million ($35 million) Creator Fund in April 2024 to support creatives and developers.
  • With Instagram quietly limiting political content, platforms such as Twitch are becoming alternative news hubs for younger audiences, indicating a shift towards grass roots journalism. 

Stats 

  • According to CreatorIQ, 66% of brands are acknowledging the superior return on investment (ROI) for creator-driven content compared with traditional ads, but only 13% of them are making the format central to their strategies. 

Insights

“Despite an oversaturated entertainment market and shrinking attention spans, consumers are still hungry for culture, connection, and community. But the power is now in the hands of unique and bold storytellers, whether they are Olympic athletes or local screenwriters; this is no longer the time to be demure or mainstream.” - Dan Hastings-Narayanin, Deputy Foresight Editor

Technology

  • As a means of digital detox, millennials and Gen Z are embracing dumb tech, with screen-free or simplified designs like HMD Global’s Barbie-inspired flip phone; Terra, an AI-driven, pocket-sized device designed for phone-free walks by employing haptic feedback; and The Boring Phone, a limited-edition device by Heineken and Bodega, which has no internet access.
  • AI will continue to be a collaborator to help broaden creative possibilities. Fred & Farid launched AI production studio Aimagination, which creates entirely AI-generated advertising content. Journalist Sophia Smith Galer’s AI tool Sophina helps TikTok and Instagram users create engagement-optimized content.  
  • Spatial computing is being used for immersive beauty shopping experiences like e.l.f. Cosmetics’ VisionOS app that uses Apple Vision Pro for 3D exploration of products and guided meditations.

Insights

“The space between fast-paced tech development and our personal well-being will create the friction that drives meaningful innovation in 2025. This will be dominated by increased awareness of, and legislation around, Gen Alpha’s access to technology, particularly in relation to smartphones and social media.” - Fiona Harkin, Director of Foresight  

Design

  • Cultural heritage and upcycling waste materials are helping to create sustainable designs with long-lasting value. When designing Aesop’s new Barcelona store, Spanish studio Mesura employed the concept of creative anastylosis, or repurposing salvaged materials to create something new. They used Montjuïc stone remnants from demolished 19th-century buildings (sourced through working with local stonemasons), to create the store’s interior, blending the material with modern stainless steel fixtures. 

Insights 

“As technology rapidly evolves, brands should prioritize familiarity in their designs to help consumers connect with new products. By integrating retro elements, brands can ease the transition to newer technologies, fostering trust and comfort while encouraging exploration of innovative offerings.” - Emily Rhodes, Creative Foresight Analyst

Whether, as millennials and boomers, they are deciding to unplug from the digital realms of engagement or, as Gen Alpha and Gen Z, they are ready to jump into the next gamified world, beauty consumers are still eager for immersive, multisensory experiences. A push for health optimization retreats will be top of mind for luxury consumers, while those dealing with the cost of living crisis will prioritize dupes over more pricey alternatives where possible. As more social media users switch to alternative platforms with increasing censorship on more popular channels, this will continue to open up the beauty opportunities in these spaces. Authentically purpose-driven brands, be that purpose inclusivity or celebrating one’s national heritage, will have the biggest grab of those opportunities.

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