Beauty Industry Job Trends 2019

We spent the month of December connecting with beauty brands nationwide to discuss forecasted job openings and growth projected for 2019. The beauty industry will continue to grow at a rapid pace with funding primarily originating from private equity, venture capitalists, and self-funded entrepreneurs.  As a result of this growth and the catalysts behind it, we expect to see the creation of more indie brands, beauty incubators, and brands continuing to break new ground in the industry by defining new categories. Keep your eye on the natural market which will continue to be fueled by consumer demand.

Here are 7 growing areas in the beauty industry that will impact the demand of specific skill sets and expertise in varied distribution channels.

Product Development: The beauty industry will continue to drive innovation and the product development skillset will continue to be a sought-after skill. Indie brands continue to focus on speed-to-market, the “newness” or innovation factor, ingredient trends (including the rapidly-developing cannabis market), and category expansion. Individuals with a background and passion for the natural segment will also be in high demand based on the rapid growth of the natural market.

1. Digital/E-commerce:  This skillset was in high demand in 2018 and the demand for Digital/E-commerce professionals with the track record of impacting online sales through customer acquisition, customer loyalty programs, strategic campaigns, and promotions will continue to have opportunities to explore with beauty brands looking to leverage direct-to-consumer strategies.
2. Social Media searches will continue however brands are becoming more strategic with these hires and through trial and error, they have benchmarked specific key successes. Also, new technology providing tools to measure performance with influencers will create more accountability with dollars being funded to ensure stronger ROI. The search for social media talent will be based on a solid track record of impacting brand awareness through engagement, strategic influencer partnerships, and creative content development to capitalize on targeted audiences.
3. Quality and Regulatory changes will continue to evolve as regulations are changing with ingredients, claims, environmental concerns, and advertising. This will impact the demand on the need for a higher level of quality and regulatory professionals that can take a proactive approach to understand these potential changes and their impact on the beauty industry. The quality and regulatory professionals that closely follow potential changes and who steer product development, marketing and other teams to avoid having to reformulate and re-package, will demonstrate a major cost savings and be in high-demand.
4. Ulta continues to gain market share as a specialty retailer and has rapidly expanded their beauty brand customer base across all categories.  This has created a demand for beauty professionals that have an expertise with Ulta who co-create exclusive product offerings, demonstrate strong analytical skills to identify trends, and identify opportunities to maximize the business. Beauty professionals with a strong track-record in growing the Ulta business will see an influx of new opportunities.
5. Amazon.com continues to be a force to be reckoned with. In 2018, a surplus of beauty brands decided to take the plunge by partnering with Amazon to expand distribution and revenue. Professionals that have successfully maneuvered the complicated Amazon partnership to drive revenue will see opportunities knocking on their doors.
6. Private Equity, Venture Capitalist and M&A’s will continue into 2019 as company’s expand their portfolios. Most of the acquisitions that take place immediately impact the C-level executives and new searches emerge to identify the right talent to partner with their aggressive sales goals and exit strategies.

This will be another exciting year for the beauty industry and another year for top beauty professionals to maximize the evolving growth. If you’re contemplating exploring new options, let’s have an exploratory conversation!

About Premier Executive Recruiting: We are a boutique recruiting firm focused on the beauty industry. We support national searches from C-level to mid-level placements across multiple disciplines. We take in pride in creating partnerships with beauty brands and professionals to identify the right match that is mutually beneficial.