Food & Nutrition: Top 5 Picks for 2021
Consumers’ growing interest in improving their diets with nutritious food products continued to drive the global plant-based meat industry in 2021. They also focused on sustainability issues within the industry — a call to action that brands heard loud and clear. As a result, the food industry’s commitment to mitigating its impact on climate change has created new opportunities in the market — even while some eyebrows were raised when it came to the subject of cultured meat.
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Beauty & Personal Care: Top 10 Picks for 2021
Despite having taken some hard hits during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beauty & Personal Care segment continues to not only thrive but remains one of the fastest-growing consumer markets. Increases are being fueled not only by young consumers entering the market but by the aging population, with both ends of the spectrum equally as focused on taking care of themselves and looking their best. The gradual consumer shift toward premium and luxury cosmetics brands has also boosted the market.
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Biopesticides Are Going to Pot — But That’s Good News for the Market
Many analysts predict that the global market for biopesticides will double over the next five years — but much of this growth won’t come from traditional markets.
“Medical marijuana,” says Dennis Fugate, Industry Manager for our Agriculture and Specialty Pesticide practice, “is one of the more unusual markets fueling the increased demand for biopesticides.” Because the compounds that are used in biopesticides have very specific modes of action, they don’t affect non-targeted organisms, making them very appealing to growers of medical marijuana. And, because biopesticides don’t leave behind dangerous residues, they’ve become equally as appealing to users of medical marijuana.
How Beauty and Personal Care’s Heavy Hitters Are Prioritizing Sustainability
Corporations are increasingly building sustainability into their strategies as a core tenet of their identities and how they conduct their businesses. Further, many governments, citizens, and other stakeholders want to see corporations demonstrate concern for their communities, with ethical, social, environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability all being pressing concerns.
5 of the Brightest Lights in the U.S. Beauty Device Market
It’s not just holiday lights that are twinkling throughout the land right now — LEDs of all different wavelengths and hues are glowing in at-home beauty devices like never before.
“With LED therapy being viewed as a must-have in skin care by brands and consumers alike, it’s not surprising that this technology continues to gain traction in the beauty device industry,” says Karen Doskow, Director of our Beauty & Personal Care practice. “LEDs are being used to address a wide range of skin concerns, across various different product formats such as masks, brushes, and wands.”Continue reading
7 Reasons Why Fruit and Vegetable Growers Are Embracing Biostimulants
Demand for biostimulants is growing rapidly, fueled in part by consumer trends toward wellness and organic produce, along with rising environmental concerns. Biostimulants contain organic substances such as humic acid, vitamins, hormones, and microorganisms that stimulate natural processes to enhance crop quality. When applied to plants or rhizosphere, biostimulants boost nutrient efficiency, resulting in increased root growth, greater water-holding capacity, and increased microbial activity.
“Population growth is another factor that is shifting attention to biostimulants,” says Dennis Fugate, Industry Manager for our Agriculture and Specialty Pesticide practice. The population is expected to increase from 7.3 billion in 2015 to 9.7 billion in 2050 — with global food demand projected to rise 59%-89% by 2050. “Biostimulants are expected to play a key role in significantly and sustainably increasing the yield of agricultural crops.”
Here are seven reasons why fruit and vegetable growers are adopting biostimulants.Continue reading
The Top 10 Aesthetic Services Consumers Want In 2022
According to results from our Professional Skin Care: U.S. Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, consumers are planning to greatly increase their expenditures on non-invasive aesthetic services in 2022 compared to 2021 — and we know exactly what they’ll be spending their money on.
The Organic Fruits and Vegetables Market Is Increasing — So Why Is the Rate of Growth Expected to Slow?
Organic farming may be on the rise, but — at the same time — farmers say they aren’t planning to expand their organic production. Why the disconnect? According to Dennis Fugate, Agriculture Industry Manager for our Agriculture and Specialty Pesticide practice, “Farmers, in general, feel that demand for organics may have leveled off.” Consistent with this statement, a USDA survey of organic growers indicated that only 29% of organic farmers expected to expand their production, with 8% stating that they would discontinue or decrease their production.”
ISO 16128’s Growing Impact on the Cosmetics Ingredients Industry
Going “natural” isn’t as simple as it used to be in the world of cosmetics: In the past, brands only needed to claim that their products were natural and perhaps promote their packaging as environmentally friendly. And, at the time, that was enough for consumers to literally buy into their claims.
The Next Recycling Frontier: Where Do Used Contact Lenses Go?
According to Contact Lens Spectrum, there were an estimated 2.5 billion daily-wear contact lenses, weighing approximately 44,000 pounds, entering United States wastewater in 2019. While this volume is low compared to waste generated from plastic bottles, contact lenses nevertheless have a negative impact on our water systems and oceans. Because lenses are denser than water and soft, they sink and break down into fine particles. In turn, they are consumed by aquatic creatures and ultimately end up in the human food chain. Most consumers are not aware of the impact of disposing of lenses in their sink.
