Beauty and wellness companies are cashing in on Covid-19 as video calling makes people much more self-conscious about how they look.
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The bourgeoning industry sees billion dollar growth opportunities for New Zealand-made branded products, as well as treatments.
A couple of small New Zealand beauty brands were currently looking to raise a few million dollars to support their international growth ambitions.
Jeuneora was aiming to raise $3m through Snowball Effect's crowdfunding platform, while Kester Black was using the Australian-based crowdfunding platform, Berchal to raise A$3m (NZ$3.12m).
Earlier this month, Australia-based Silk Laser invested A$52m into non-surgical beauty franchise brand, The Cosmetic Clinic and its Australian parent, with plans to build another four clinics in New Zealand next year, bringing the total number to 22.
Silk chief executive Martin Perelman said a recent Australian survey of 2,000 men and women by Allergan Aesthetics found nearly a third (31 percent) had become more aware of their beauty flaws since they began using video calling, while more than a quarter (27 percent) had become more judgemental of other people's facial features.
He said those attitudes had seen a pickup in demand for beauty treatments with 67 percent concerned about their appearance and 48 percent spending more on products designed to make them look healthier and younger.
"People are spending more money on making themselves feel and look good, especially when they're in lockdown. They're on video conferencing that's here to stay ... and that's where we've sort of accelerated our growth," Perelman said, adding the growth had been mostly in injectable treatments, such as botox and other fillers.
He said clients were spending an average of A$473 a year pre-Covid, whereas they were currently spending about A$606, as injectable treatments were more expensive than other treatments, such as hair removal.
Perelman said the New Zealand market was ripe for expansion and expected the number of Cosmetic Clinic franchises in New Zealand to grow to about 30 over time.
He said the company was also looking to manufacture cosmetic products in New Zealand for export as there was value in the New Zealand Inc. brand.
Jeuneora was already finding international success with a locally made collagen powder supplement designed to enhance skin, which was initially launched through a low-cost social media campaign.
Jeuneora reported $7m in sales over the past year, from just $0.7m in 2018, with $1.4m in international sales.
"Definitely [people are] more conscious of how they look and also taking care of themselves," Kaminski said, adding there had been a boom in online sales.
Ethical beauty brand manufacturer Kester Black's managing director and founder Anna Ross said its revenue had increased 53 percent over the past year to $1.1m and projected further growth with an international launch of its products.
She said the increase in video conferencing could be behind the recent sales growth, but noted there had been a drop in the industry market share of lipstick sales, although her company had not been affected.
"And what's really fascinating is that eyes have seen huge growth, obviously because of mask mandates. So lots more people are buying into products like eyeliners and brows just for Zoom, and because of mask mandates," Ross said.
Ross estimated the ethical beauty industry, which was part of the broader wellness movement, was expected to double in size to $22b annually by 2024, from $11b in 2016.