Natural is back—As anxious consumers reject an industrial system that appears increasingly toxic and damaging to health, they are turning toward natural products as a solution. Raised on digital culture, they no longer see nature and technology as mutually exclusive, and are combining the best aspects of both to build New Natural lifestyles.

1. INNOVATION GROUP OCTOBER 2015
New Natural.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM

2. NEW NATURALS 2INTRODUCTION
Natural is back—from ingredients to
messaging, brands are creating new
products that draw on nature and natural
processes to connect with anxious
consumers. A New Natural renaissance
is upon us.
As consumers search out their own product information online, they’re
becoming increasingly skeptical of mainstream products. The common
household products that were once heralded as miracles of modern
industrial society are now scrutinized and suspect, seen as potential
sources of harmful chemicals or vaguely defined “toxins.” Consumers
are experiencing a loss of faith in traditional authorities, including
governments and brands.
As consumers experience rising anxiety over a civilization that appears
increasingly toxic and driven to digital distraction, they are turning
to nature for comfort and escapism, and discovering a newfound
appreciation for processes once forgotten or devalued.
New Natural.
Leeds Juicery by Amrit Kaur, UK

3. NEW NATURALS 3INTRODUCTION
Today’s consumers, however, have less direct experience of nature
than past generations. When they think of “nature,” they might think
of YouTube videos of exotic animals rather than recalling childhood
camping trips. Nature and the digital space are not seen as opposites,
and already, innovative brands are recognizing this, pitching products
that combine natural claims with the language of science, technology
and scientific enhancement.
For readers of a certain age, the rise of “natural” may not seem
like news. An inevitable mental image—crunchy, laid-back, anti-
consumerist—looms whenever discussion turns to all things natural,
organic, holistic, and so on. Today’s natural wave, in contrast, puts
consumerism front and center and operates at a massive scale.
Whole Foods Market, for example, is now a retail behemoth with over
$14 billion in annual revenues. Natural brands that might have remained
obscure and niche now have channels they can use to rapidly scale up
to the mass market, even as they repudiate the big brands that came
before them.
New Natural products also present themselves as cool and
aspirational, rather than quirky and alternative. From food and drink
to beauty and personal care, the “natural” label makes a product more
desirable, rather than consigning it to a niche.
Nature and the digital
space are no longer seen
as mutually exclusive.
New products are
combining natural
claims with the
language of science
and technology.

4. NEW NATURALS 4INTRODUCTION
Products from makeup to nail polish to perfume and even tampons
are now being pitched to consumers as natural and free of additives
and chemicals, while bacteria are no longer seen as something to
be scrubbed away, but something to be cultivated. Women are even
looking for a more “natural” approach to birth control, ditching the
pill and instead paying attention to their bodies, with assistance
from apps.
This rapid expansion is already provoking doubts. For this report,
SONAR™, J. Walter Thompson’s proprietary research unit, conducted
a survey of 1,000 UK and US consumers; 69% of respondents say they
don’t believe products labeled “natural” are truly natural, a sentiment
shared across generations.
New entrants to the market are now encountering the very consumer
skepticism that created an opening for natural products to begin
with—and it is being directed right back at them. Even as Jessica Alba
launched a new line of natural cosmetics under her Honest line in
September 2015, she was battling a lawsuit alleging that her products
contain synthetic and unnatural ingredients.
In this report, we explore the New Natural renaissance in terms of
cultural drivers and current trends, with a deep-dive analysis of the
beauty sector. We also take a quantitative look at how consumers feel
about the trend, based on our own SONAR™ survey. We show why the
New Natural, a return of revivalism with a dash of new technology, is
the wave of the future.
Looncup, a smart product that can measure, analyze and track menstruation, 2015

5. NEW NATURALS 5TRENDS
SAMPLE CONSUMER TRENDS

6. NEW NATURALS 6NEW NATURALS 6CONSUMER TRENDS
Beginning in food and drink, and now
moving through other sectors, the New
Natural ethos reflects deep distrust of
industrial processes and products.
The closer a product comes to the body, it seems, the more
consumers now want it to be “natural.”
New Natural thinking is already impacting health, packaging,
apparel and even architecture. The desire for more nature in
our lives begins with the products we put into and onto
our bodies, but it will eventually also extend to our homes,
possessions and environments.
Atlantic Kitchen co-founder Dawn Hourigan

7. NEW NATURALS 7CONSUMER TRENDS
Pro-Probiotics The human immune system is highly dependent on the gut, which
is responsible for about 70% of its key processes, such as creating
detoxifying enzymes and neutralizing pathogens. It’s well documented
that this can affect the health of skin, among other things, which has
led to a wave of fermented product launches, both edible and topical,
in the beauty sector.
Implications: Consumers are increasingly considering digestive
health in a wider context of holistic wellbeing, and seeking probiotic
products that help keep guts in a more natural state.
Fermented foods—those produced
or preserved by the action of micro-
organisms—are catching on as a solution
to what ails us.
For more than 8,000 years, human cultures have utilized the process
of fermentation to produce cheese, chutneys, kimchi, sauerkraut and
wine. Research shows that the process of fermentation eliminates
harmful bacteria, resulting in nutrient-packed food with healthy
bacteria that restores balance to our gut.
Venues such as Gyst Fermentation Bar, which opened in Minneapolis
in November 2014, are putting fermented foods front and center.
“We have a serious imbalance in our diet,” co-owner Kylene Guse says.
“People are finally understanding the incredible health benefits
of fermentation.”
Artisan MN, Minnesota

8. NEW NATURALS 8CONSUMER TRENDS
“People are finally
understanding
the incredible
health benefits of
fermentation.”
GYST by Kylene Guse, Minneapolis
KYLENE GUSE
CO-FOUNDER OF GYST FERMENTATION BAR

9. NEW NATURALS 9CONSUMER TRENDS
Nano-Natural
Personal-care products are emerging that
offer more natural methods of maintaining
health and hygiene.
At Milan Design Week 2015, Japanese designer Kosho Ueshima
showed a toothbrush that cleans teeth without using toothpaste. Its
bristles are coated in nano-sized mineral ions that are activated by
water. Makers say that the ions remove stains and create a protective
coating for tooth enamel.
Bioengineer Aakriti Jain is developing an advanced kind of biological
bandage. His Growduce, created in partnership with industrial designer
Guillian Graves, is a tabletop “microfactory” that allows users to grow
their own cellulose using modified bacteria and yeast. The result can
then be fashioned into a bandage.
“We envision something like a coffee maker or toaster in your
kitchen,” Jain told Wired. The microfactory would be a part
of a natural revolution that would be “a kind of a parallel to the
industrial revolution.”
Implications: In line with New Natural thinking, people are using
advanced technology to reduce their need for conventional industrial
products. As with clothing, the most advanced, high-tech approach
may be more “natural” than the conventional alternative.
Misoka toothbrush by Kosho Ueshima, Japan, 2015

10. NEW NATURALS 10TRENDS
DEEP DIVE: BEAUTY
SAMPLE TRENDS

11. DEEP DIVE: BEAUTY
Waterless Washing
As water shortages occur more frequently
throughout the world and consumers
reconsider the assumption that more
washing is better, far-sighted brands are
investing in processes and products that
use less water.
“Keeping clean used to be about disease prevention,” Kate Fletcher
of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion
told The Huffington Post. “Now the culture of whiter than white has
weakened our immune systems, lined the pockets of detergent
manufacturers, and led to the startling fact that the energy needed to
wash your favorite garment is about six times that needed to make it.”
Innovations in apparel and appliances are emerging to address
these concerns. Levi’s new Wellthread collection is the first to use
its Water<Less fabric, which uses 65% less water during the dyeing
process and 50% less water during finishing. Garments are shipped
with a “care tag for the planet” advising consumers to wash them less.
“Even a mild detergent and water disrupts
the skin’s acid mantle, which takes around
four hours to re-form.”
Xeros washing machines replace water with polymer beads that
absorb stains and reduce the need for water and detergent. And the
“next gen washing device” Dolfi claims to clean clothes with ultrasonic
technology that consumes 80 times less energy than a conventional
washing machine.
Over-use of detergent-based products has also been shown to
compromise the skin’s barrier function, resulting in a global increase
in the incidence of diseases such as eczema in children, with primary
irritants identified as soaps and detergent-based cleansers, according
to research published in the January 2014 edition of the academic
journal Allergy.
ALEXANDRA SOVEROL
FACIALIST
NEW NATURALS 11

12. DEEP DIVE: BEAUTY
“Even a mild detergent and water disrupts the skin’s acid mantle,
which takes around four hours to re-form,” says facialist Alexandra
Soveral. “In that time, skin is more susceptible to pollution, dust, UV
radiation, free radicals and pathogens.”
Soveral advocates skin cleansing as opposed to skin washing. It’s
more than just semantics: while cleansing may involve products
containing water, such as micellar or floral waters, lotions, oils or
balms, the process doesn’t require detergent or a water supply.
Implications: From a sustainability and health perspective,
consumers are realizing that using less water and detergent leads
to better outcomes, and are looking for products that help them
achieve these goals.
Dolfi by MPI Ultrasonics, Switzerland, 2015
NEW NATURALS 12

13. DEEP DIVE: BEAUTY
NatureLab Beauty
Having achieved parity in terms of aesthetics,
packaging, and pleasure of use, premium
organic beauty brands now face perhaps the
ultimate hurdle: to compete on efficacy.
Now, it seems, many are achieving it. “With investment in clinical trials
and new-tech natural ingredients, certain organic brands are getting
serious and leading the way in competing with mainstream ranges on
results,” says Imelda Burke of the London-based specialist organic
boutique and online store Content.
Burke cites German brand Amala, whose 100% plant-based products
not only sound serious—for example, Rejuvenating Advanced Firming
Complex—but are backed up by serious science. Each product’s
efficacy claims are matched with clinical data for each formula from
28-day in vivo tests undertaken by a third-party lab, the better to
reassure consumers.
NEW NATURALS 13
Yüli Skincare by Yun Li, NYC

14. NEW NATURALS 14DEEP DIVE: BEAUTY
At Yüli skincare, the laboratory is closer to home—actually on the
farm where organic and wild-crafted ingredients are grown and
then optimized for cosmetic use. Co-founder Yun Li leads a team of
biochemists, dermatologists and botanists who bring cutting-edge
green technologies to the table.
Fundamental to this trend is the latent power of plant ingredients
that are just waiting to be tweaked and improved by science. In a
pre-consumer research project, scientists at the University of Leeds
worked for two years with Shetland seaweed company Böd Ayre to
find alternative sunscreen ingredients and safer alternatives to amines
in hair dyes, which have been linked to long-term health effects. A key
aim of the project, which was partly funded by L’Oréal and The Body
Shop, was to find new, clean methods of extracting natural polyphenols,
polysaccharides and pigments from seaweed for cosmetic use.
Faced with increasingly green-leaning consumers, even luxury brands
are turning their attention to the potential of botanicals. YSL Beauté
worked with a team of ethnobotanists to source a strain of saffron with
the greatest concentration of phytochemicals for its Or Rouge skincare
range, launched in March 2014. Back in the lab, the most potent part
of the plant was extracted using fractionating science to deliver an
intensely concentrated active ingredient.
Implications: In a New Natural world, the benefits of nature can
be augmented with scientific interventions without turning off
consumers. The language and processes of laboratory science can
enhance and support claims about natural efficacy.
Amala by Ute Leube, Germany

15. NEW NATURALS 15TRENDS
BY NUMBERS
SAMPLE SONAR DATA™

16. Which of the following do you believe
has a greater effect on beauty? (US/UK)
MILLENNIALS
(18–34)
GENERATION X
(35–49)
BOOMERS
(50+)
Across the board, large majorities of
consumers believe that the best path
to beauty is through a healthy diet.
100 %
75%
50%
25%
0%
WHAT YOU PUT
INTO YOUR BODY
82%
WHAT YOU PUT
ON YOUR SKIN
18%
WHAT YOU PUT
INTO YOUR BODY
WHAT YOU PUT
ON YOUR SKIN
75% 83% 86%
25% 17% 14%
However, in both the US and the UK, millennials are more
likely than older consumers to put their faith in products
for the skin.
BY NUMBERS NEW NATURALS 16

17. 18%
Have you changed your shampoo use or habits
at all in the past two years? (US/UK)
Most consumers have not changed
their shampoo use in the past two
years. But among those who have,
consumers were about twice as
likely to say they were reducing their
shampoo use than increasing it.
Among those who switched brands, more than one-third
switched to an all-natural shampoo, while a smaller but
significant number switched to shampoos free from
specific additives.
38%
20%
35%
24%
34%
66%
YES
NO
SWITCHED TO AN
ALL-NATURAL SHAMPOO
SWITCHED TO A SULFATE- OR
PARABENS-FREE SHAMPOO
SWITCHED TO
A DETERGENT-FREE SHAMPOO
REDUCED
SHAMPOO USE
INCREASED
SHAMPOO USE
BY NUMBERS NEW NATURALS 17

18. NEW NATURALS 18KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. BE NATURAL
Conventional products that were once taken for granted now provoke
consumer anxiety and fear of contamination. Create products that
calm these fears.
2. BE TRANSPARENT
Brands should be prepared to defend the ingredients and processes
that go into their products, because consumers will ask tough
questions.
3. EMBRACE THE ME-COSYSTEM
Consumers now think of health and beauty as part of one holistic
system, and appreciate brands that help them keep it balanced.
Key Takeaways
for Brands
4. AUGMENT NATURE
People are turning against conventional products, replacing them with
natural solutions enhanced by technology.
5. REDUCE WASTE
Don’t just create natural products, embed them in natural systems
and processes throughout their lifecycle, and communicate this to
consumers.

19. NEW NATURALS 19KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Takeaways
for Brands
6. ELEVATE NATURAL
Natural products are no longer consigned to a niche, but are now
considered aspirational and cool.
Create products to match.
7. THINK CLEANSING, NOT WASHING
People don’t want to clean their skin so aggressively that they lose
the benefits of natural oils and microbes.
8. RETHINK DIRT
Whereas we once turned to products to sterilize our spaces,
we’re now worried about the negative impact of artificially
clean environments.
9. LOOK TO FOOD FIRST
Natural trends that emerge first in food and drink are now rapidly
applied to products in other sectors.
10. BE READY TO SCALE
Natural products that might have remained niche in the past now
reach a mass consumer audience faster than ever.

20. About the Innovation Group
The Innovation Group is J. Walter Thompson’s futurism, research and
innovation unit. It charts emerging and future global trends, consumer
change, and innovation patterns—translating these into insight for brands.
It offers a suite of consultancy services, including bespoke research,
presentations, co-branded reports and workshops. It is also active in
innovation, partnering with brands to activate future trends within their
framework and execute new products and concepts. It is led by
Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group.
About J. Walter Thompson Intelligence
The Innovation Group is part of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, a platform
for global research, innovation and data analytics at J. Walter Thompson
Company, housing three key in-house practices: SONAR™, Analytics and
the Innovation Group. SONAR™ is J. Walter Thompson’s research unit that
develops and exploits new quantitative and qualitative research techniques
to understand cultures, brands and consumer motivation around the world.
It is led by Mark Truss, Worldwide Director of Brand Intelligence. Analytics
focuses on the innovative application of data and technology to inform and
inspire new marketing solutions. It offers a suite of bespoke analytics tools
and is led by Amy Avery, Head of Analytics, North America.
Contact:
Lucie Greene
Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group
J. Walter Thompson Intelligence
lucie.greene@jwt.com
Report editor: Shepherd Laughlin
Visual editor: Emma Chiu
Beauty editor: Anna-Marie Solowij
SONAR™: Diana Orrico
Contributors:
Jane Helpern
Hannah Stodell
Cover:
Published in Beauty Papers 2015
Photographer Claire Brand
Make-up Alexandra Pouliadis
Hair Asashi Yamaguchi
Model Jessica at SUPA Model Management