British Beauty Council sets out plan for the beauty and personal care sectors

The British Beauty Council has set out its roadmap outlining key areas of focus for the next three years. 

Aiming to develop a sustainable future for the beauty and personal care sectors, and to  use its influence to affect change and cultivate industry investment, the plan is built on three key pillars; growth, talent and environmental and social governance.

Over the next three years, the British Beauty Council will drive industry growth by focusing on product and tech innovation, while also building a flow of investment to support start-ups and scale-ups.  

Aiming to drive recruitment and nurture existing talent, the organisation will also offer careers advice and mentorship programmes, as well as education and STEM support.

In addition, the organisation will focus on building a sustainable and equitable future for the British beauty industry, including brands, service providers, salons and retailers. Initiatives include the Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC), chaired by Jayn Sterland, managing director of Weleda, and vice-chair Jo-Anne Chidley, founder of Beauty Kitchen UK; and the Diversity Equality & Inclusion Committee (DEI), co-chaired by Fiona Ibanez-Major, Sharon Lloyd and Kylie Hopwood.

Speaking to European Spa, British Beauty Council CEO Millie Kendall, OBE said: “The areas for focus in the 2022 roadmap are based on and determined by a series of reports we undertook throughout our Value phase 2018-2021. During this phase, we defined the industry and determined the areas that required support, like the reputation of the sector, education within the sector and innovation and investment into the industry.

“The next phase is to utilise the learnings of the Value phase to build on the work we have done to date and help the various elements to grow, from businesses on our high streets to brands looking for international expansion, investment in technology and management training.

“We will continue to work with government and business leaders to support those wishing to expand their current business and those wishing to enter into the industry.

“We are launching a much needed Trade Hub on our website end of this month that will support business owners, and we will also be focused this year on talent, recruitment and mentoring as well as shining a light on the fantastic careers available to young people,” she added.

British Beauty Council COO Helena Grzesk, MBE told European Spa: “We’ve chosen to focus on growth – in respect of growing talent, the size and breadth of the sector as a whole and growth as a sector in terms of changing attitudes, perceptions and business models with a greater focus on diversity, equality and inclusion and sustainability.

“We need to be nurturing the professionals of the future across all areas of personal care, in order to continue to be at the forefront of innovation when it comes to our industry. To continue generating the £28 billion the beauty industry contributes to the UK’s GDP requires targeted investment in the product creators, formulation technologists, clinical scientists, manufacturing specialists, packaging technicians of the future.

“We need to challenge the misconceptions that careers within our industry are fall-back for careers for underachievers. Far from it. Looking beyond the UK, in particular post-Brexit, seeking out and nurturing future talent is also essential if we are to not only maintain but grow the UK’s global reputation as a leader in this space,” she added.