Photo by Makeup in Los Angeles 2025 - Alex Rawitz (Creator IQ), Leila Rochet (Cosmetics IC), Valérie Grandury (Odacité), Jana Bobosikova (KikiWorld)
At MakeUp in Los Angeles, key thought leaders, Alex Rawitz from CreatorIQ, founder of Odacite, Valérie Grandury, and co-founder of Kiki World, Jana Bobosikova, joined Leila Rochet in a Beauty Talk to discuss one of the agency’s Key Predictions for the years ahead - Adaptive Futures. The panel explored how consumers are leaning deeper into technical narratives and scientific storytelling as a culture of bold innovation sweeps through the industry.
“Beauty will become a dynamic, future-ready force that combines the microscopic scale of biotechnology innovations with the expansive opportunities of virtual realities.”
A New Reality
In this evolving territory, hyper-personalized products and experiences are made possible by the embrace of new technologies, while the ingredient space is transformed by novel AI processes and lab-grown innovations. As consumers increasingly embrace AI-driven creativity, with 65% believing it will enhance artistic expression and progress (Vox), beauty brands have a unique opportunity to leverage the current enthusiasm for tech-powered innovation. The consensus amongst consumers seems to be that if AI can simplify their lives then it is worth embracing - over half of U.S. Gen Zers support brands using generative AI for personalization (Statista).
“We are seeing that advanced technologies and devices are really influencing the beauty industry, alongside lab-grown ingredients. These facets are transforming how consumers experience beauty, creating a very dynamic market,” explained Leila.
New product launches demonstrate the potential for technology to further transform how consumers engage with, and experience beauty, whether it is through embarking on a ChatGPT-authored glow-up, booking in for an Aescape robotic massage, or leaning into AI-powered diagnostics with SmartSKN’s Muilli AI Dermascope and L’Oréal’s Cell BioPrint. These innovations demonstrate the power of AI to offer incredibly nuanced experiences, hyper-attuned to individual needs, from health diagnostics to skin analysis to empowering bold makeup looks.
Science-backed Beauty is Winning
What is clear, is that brands that are embracing consumers’ prioritization of scientific narratives are reaping the rewards. In his presentation, Alex Rawitz highlighted The Ordinary’s ongoing surge (a +59% uptick in EMV, and +36% growth in Community YoY), propelled by a number of viral product launches, including the Squalene + Amino Acids Lip Balm (June 2024). Likewise, healthy-aging brand One Skin has seen an incredible +450% increase in Engagement thanks to a narrative of biohacked skincare.
“In 2024 many of the top performers and many of the outlier performers when it comes to growth, were relatively new brands founded in the last five or ten years, which are taking a vegan and cruelty-free ethos to their product lines while also foregrounding science in their brand story” suggested Alex.
CreatorIQ data analysis also confirms the growing consumer appetite for the convergence of cosmetics and skincare, with Alex highlighting the increasingly central role science and scientists are playing in the makeup space. “There’s unquestionably dramatic momentum” behind this trend, according to Alex, as skincare-first brands invest in expanding their ranges to include cosmetics. Odacite is a good example of this evolution, with the French skincare brand, which is grounded in biotechnology and skin science, introducing tinted SPFs to its range.
AI-Enhanced Efficacy
As beauty brands seek future resilience, biotechnology, and AI-driven formulations are emerging as industry game-changers. Lab-grown ingredients and AI-enhanced product development tools, such as Debut’s BeautyORB, which utilizes AI to scan over 50 billion ingredients, are paving the way for sustainable, high-performance beauty solutions.
In this context, AI-controlled farms will become a critical asset to brands focused on ring-fencing their sustainability. Odacite’s combination of “natural luxury and clinical science” was inspired by founder Valérie Grandury’s personal health struggles, as she recovered from cancer treatment. Valérie discovered that “by choosing the best of science, which is Western medicine, with the therapeutic benefits of botanicals, you can actually have amazing results.”
This realization inspired Odacite’s approach to formulation, which is centered around biotechnology and AI-controlled farms to ensure the sustainable development of their key ingredient, Edelweiss. The brand utilizes an AI-controlled environment to grow the hardy botanical to the most potent outcomes. “There’s no element that we don’t control,” explained Grandury. A central computer regulates optimum growth conditions, providing a constant feed of data, which is then analyzed to improve the next growth cycle. “The beauty is that we can harvest every three months, we have no seasonality.”
Transforming Experience through Tech
Technology is also powering a new wave of co-created products and experiences, acting as a conduit for deepening consumer engagement and collaboration. NFC-enabled beauty brand Kiki World raised $5 million in 2024 to build on its proposition of offering a blockchain platform that allows users to vote on product designs, earn loyalty points, and unlock discounts. NFC-enabled products further enhance the engagement experience, rewarding community interaction beyond purchases.
Co-founder Jana Bobosikova explained the process behind the concept is, primarily, to foster loyalty in beauty fans by engaging them in the creation process but also the company is committed to being active participants in the future of the industry by investing in next-gen technologies. The aim is to create a commerce community of emotionally-invested stakeholders, connected by new technologies. “We’re not really a beauty company. We’re a technology company” stated Bobosikova.
THE CIC TAKE
In the future, advanced devices, lab-grown ingredients, and digital extensions will seamlessly blend to deliver new, boundary-pushing experiences. Here’s how brands can prepare for Adaptive Futures:
Invest in AI-controlled environments or lab-grown alternatives to ensure long-term viability and differentiation.
Use AI as a facilitator of self-expression. Blockchain-enabled co-creation platforms can foster deeper consumer loyalty and engagement.
Introduce hyper-personalization at scale. AI-driven diagnostics will dominate beauty consultations, empowering consumers with precision recommendations tailored to lifestyle and life-stage needs.
Our 2025 Key Predictions white book, The Age of Resonance, is out now. Contact the team today for more information.