AUSTIN, Texas (March 3, 2021) – In celebration of Whole Foods Market’s Beauty Week, experts on the grocer’s Trends Council have unveiled their annual list of top five clean beauty trends for the year: Beauty Goes Waterless, Multitasking Balms, Juiced-Up Skin Care, Upcycled Beauty and Stressed Skin, Meet Ramped-Up Remedies.
From beauty products that cut back on water to those that do double-duty, the pattern is clear: Consumers will continue to simplify in 2021 and beyond. A recent online survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Whole Foods Market found that 85% of consumers who simplified their beauty routines over the past year plan to continue their new practices. Transparency remains as important as ever, too. More than half (57%) of consumers surveyed said they are interested in learning more about what ingredients are in the beauty products they are buying.
“The beauty industry has seen significant consumer shifts this year due to COVID-19, and our trends are a true reflection of these changes,” said Amy Jargo, Global Beauty Buyer at Whole Foods Market. “Customers are looking to streamline their beauty routines, while also seeking out brands that align with their values like those that limit their environmental impact with waterless and upcycled products. Beauty Week is the perfect time for customers to try these trending ingredients and products at a great discount.”
Beauty enthusiasts are encouraged to try the trends in store and via Whole Foods Market on Amazon during Whole Foods Market’s annual Beauty Week celebration. From Wednesday, March 10, through Tuesday, March 16, the national grocer will offer its wide selection of facial skin care, hair care, cosmetics, nail polish, perfume and beauty accessories at 25% off, plus Prime Members get an extra 10% off.
In addition, Whole Foods Market’s highly anticipated Beauty Bags are back and will be available in limited quantities in stores only, starting Friday, March 12. This year, shoppers can choose from two curated options: The Glow-Up Beautiful bag and The New Essentials bag. Valued at more than $135 and retailing for just $20 each, the Beauty Bags are filled with a mix of mini and full-sized products from brands like cocokind, Dr. Hauschka and ACURE. Each assortment comes in a Queen Alaffia cosmetic bag, handprinted by artisans in Togo, West Africa.
Whole Foods Market’s top five beauty trend predictions for 2021:
Beauty Goes Waterless
Hydrate hair and skin, check. Save shelf space and reduce water — double check! That’s right, more beauty products are being packaged in solid, waterless formats to help minimize the use of plastic packaging. When a product isn’t in liquid form, brands can use materials such as recyclable boxes or metal tins, and the product is generally smaller, reducing the amount of packaging needed and the shipping weight. Expect to see shampoo and conditioner bars that leave hair fresh and clean with less packaging, and toothpaste tablets that whiten, brush away plaque and do some good for the environment.
Try the Trend: HiBAR Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner; Pacha: Hydrate 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner Bar, Clarify 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner Bar; Nude & Crude Shower Powder: Tranquilizing Lavender Body Cleaning, Purifying Peppermint Body Cleaning; hello Antiplaque + Whitening Toothpaste Tablets; Moon Valley Herbal Shampoo Bars: Peppermint and Siberian Fir (available only in Whole Foods Market’s Pacific Northwest Region)
Multitasking Balms
If 2020 taught us anything, it was to be really good at multitasking — and turns out that beauty products have learned that too. Balms are being reimagined to do it all: lips, cheeks, cuticles — anywhere that needs a little extra TLC. Plus, these skin-loving moisturizers are packed with ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil and sunflower seed oil. Get excited to do more, with less.
Try the Trend: Pacifica Vegan Care Balms: Vanilla Sheer, Coconut Sheer; evanhealy Balms: Blue Cactus Cooling, Rose Vetiver Harmonizing, Patchouli Frankincense Rejuvenation; Earth Tu Face Geranium + Vetiver Skin Stick (available only in Whole Foods Market’s Northern California Region)
Juiced-Up Skin Care
Juicing fruits and veggies isn’t the only way to incorporate more of them in your daily routine. Produce-aisle favorites are now playing starring roles in new beauty products. New skincare and self-care essentials will make you rethink how to take full advantage of top superfoods. From celery and mushrooms to blueberries, who knew that your go-to ingredients for juices, smoothies and salads could help your skin appear a little brighter and firmer?
Try the Trend: cocokind: Pore Refining Concentrate with celery, Texture Smoothing Cream with celery; ACURE: Seriously Soothing Blue Tansy Jelly Mask made with blueberry extract, Brightening Vitamin C Jelly Mask made with banana flower extract; Four Sigmatic Adaptogen Beauty with Tremella; Vital Proteins Peach Mango Morning Get Up & Glow Powder (coming spring 2021); DERMA E Ultra Hydrating Alkaline Cloud Cleanser with tremella mushroom; Yes To Avocado: Cream Mask, Cream Cleanser and Eye Cream
Upcycled Beauty
Upcycled products aren’t just showing up in food (like we predicted in our 2021 Food Trends). We’re seeing repurposed ingredients pop up in beauty products too. Think quality coffee grounds, discarded apricot stones, leftover argan shells — all ingredients that support your skin, while giving what would have been food waste, new life.
Try the Trend: UpCircle: Herbal Blend Face Scrub made with repurposed coffee grounds, Face Serum made with coffee oil extracted from repurposed coffee grounds, Cleansing Face Balm made with repurposed apricot stone powder, Face Moisturizer made with repurposed argan shell powder, Eye Cream made with repurposed maple bark extract and coffee extract
Stressed Skin, Meet Ramped-Up Remedies
It’s no secret that stress isn’t great for the skin, and neither is months of wearing a face mask — hello, mask-ne! Some serious R&R for your skin is long overdue, right? Clean beauty remedies have come to the rescue in new formats like masks and serums with soothing ingredients like tea tree oil and witch hazel extract. And who doesn’t love a glow-up boost?
Try the Trend: FACETORY: Soothe Me Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mask, Let’s Talk Detox Purifying Pore Mask; Alba Botanica Acnedote Pimple Patches; Pacifica Glow Baby Super Lit Booster Serum; Weleda Clarifying Gel Cleanser
Whole Foods Market’s standards go beyond typical “clean beauty” claims. We ban more than 100 ingredients, including parabens, phthalates, microbeads and triclosan, from all beauty and body care products we sell. Additionally, Whole Foods Market requires third-party certification for organic label claims on personal care products, as there are no mandatory government standards for “organic” claims on body care products.
Find out more about beauty standards at Whole Foods Market here.
About Whole Foods Market
For 40 years, Whole Foods Market has been the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. As the first certified organic national grocer, Whole Foods Market has more than 500 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. To learn more about Whole Foods Market, please visit https://media-newsroom-alb-1694482274.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Whole Foods Market between January 19 and 21, 2021, among 2,025 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact media@wholefoods.com.
