Big rise of beauty minis: The implications on trends, packaging innovation and sustainability

Miniature formats of your favourite beauty items are trend across social media, with creators showing off collections of travel-size lipsticks, perfumes, and serums.

Creators like @the_little_beannn on TikTok garner millions of views by packing their designer micro bags with tiny versions of mascaras, powder compacts, and sunscreens on camera.

Brands like Fenty Beauty and Tarte have sections dedicated to mini-sized products and so do retailers like Sephora.

In many cases, the big appeal of these tiny formats boils down to cost for consumers.

“One factor is basically inflation. People still want to impulse buy, but they don’t always have the money to. Or also what happening here is that people try through minis before buying the large formats. That’s why there’s a simultaneous trend between mini formats growing as well as larger formats growing,” said Pierre-Antoine Henry, head of market development at Quadpack.

At the same time, smaller products make it convenient for consumers to try and discover new brands and new products.

“We talk about consumer behaviour all the time and now the new generation of consumers don’t have that much loyalty. They are more about exploration and minis give them the ability to try new things without being stuck with a product for 12 months,” Henry told the Beauty Broadcast.

Furthermore, the need for mini products is driven by increased travel.

“We all know that there are two kinds of travellers: the ones that buy the mini formats and the ones that actually buy the big formats and put it into mini formats themselves,” said Henry.

With more reasons to buy minis, packaging players are adapting to the trend by blending different categories of packaging.

“I'm seeing a hybridisation between the technologies of packaging that were used for sampling and the technologies of packaging that are used for more rigid, higher volumes. For example, you're seeing much more flexible packaging into mini formats,” said Henry.

This can help brands navigate the challenge of cost.

“How do you keep the brand identity, image, and positioning while limiting the cost of goods? Because it might be very expensive to fill small formats. That’s why you might see a mascara or lip gloss in a tube instead of full rigid packaging… This is coming from the sampling side and giving birth to a whole new category,” said Henry.

The other big question is about sustainability. By producing minis and encouraging consumers to sample as many products as they want, are brands encouraging wastage?

And how will minis potentially forge new categories and behaviours? Check out the video above for more insights into beauty minis.​