MARKET INTELLIGENCE STRATEGIES IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY
Anticipating trends and redefining competitive positioning
In the beauty market, the speed of trends is almost impossible to keep up with: new rituals, new channels, new influencers. In this context, decisions can no longer rely solely on intuition. We discussed this with Gabriele Amato, Digital Consultant at Intarget, who explains how data — when interpreted intelligently — can help brands navigate with awareness in an ever-evolving landscape.
How has the beauty market changed in Italy in recent years?
In recent years, the Italian beauty sector has become a space for cross-contamination. People no longer buy just a product, but a system of values. The concept of “self-care” has expanded: today it embraces health, authenticity, sustainability, and inclusion.
This has made the market far more fragmented, but also rich with signals. For brands, this means only one thing: following global trends is not enough — it’s essential to understand their origin and local relevance.
Why does a beauty brand need Market Intelligence analysis?
Beauty is one of the most competitive and fast-changing industries: every month new brands, new communication formats, and new aesthetic codes emerge.
Market Intelligence helps read the market in depth, understanding where demand is shifting and how competitors are moving.
In a recent project, Intarget developed an analytical model that combines AI and consulting expertise, analyzing over 160,000 digital conversations and mentions.
This approach made it possible to map current and emerging trends, distinguishing those with true growth potential from those in decline.
Trends were classified using the “Now, Near, Next” framework, based on how much they were discussed and the level of engagement they generated among users — a valuable measure to understand how relevant and vital a topic was in digital conversations.
Practically speaking, how did this analysis help the brand?
The activity enabled a shift from a reactive to a predictive approach.
Two distinct types of analysis were conducted:
- a Trend Analysis, which identified 23 key trends across skincare and make-up, organized into macro-areas to understand the main drivers of beauty evolution in Italy;
- a Competition Analysis, which examined 15 brands active in the Italian market, providing a comparative reading of competitive strategies and communication styles.
Together, these analyses offered the brand a deep understanding of the competitive landscape and consumer behavior, supporting more informed decisions on innovation, positioning, and communication.
How can a brand define its positioning in such a fragmented context, between channels and influencers?
In today’s beauty landscape, brands don’t address a single audience but rather multiple segments with dedicated product lines designed to respond to different needs and languages.
Effective positioning today is not about choosing one communication space, but about creating a coherent ecosystem across audiences and platforms.
Intarget’s role was to help the brand identify which conversations to engage in and with what language, focusing on the channels and communities where the most significant signals arise. The analyses revealed that micro-influencers connected to specific niches are often able to anticipate emerging trends and sentiments, providing valuable insights before they become mainstream.
What distinguishes a brand that uses Market Intelligence effectively?
The ability to transform data into vision.
Metrics are only useful when they drive decisions — when they become narrative, direction, identity.
Brands that can interpret market signals rather than chase them are the ones that create trends instead of following them.
In beauty, this is the real difference between being “present” and being “relevant.”
Conclusion
In the beauty industry, Market Intelligence is not just an analytical exercise — it’s a form of strategic sensitivity.
Intarget demonstrates how the combination of data, AI, and human consultancy can generate insights that drive innovation, communication, and positioning in one of the most challenging and inspiring markets of all time.
👉 Discover how Intarget’s Market Intelligence can support your brand’s growth
