Dr. Lara Devgan is a renowned plastic surgeon and the founder of luxury medical-grade skincare line, Dr. Devgan Scientific Beauty.
Across industries, but especially in the skincare industry, the concept of luxury has shifted from aesthetics and packaging to one core element: efficacy. As a skincare brand founder, I’ve observed that consumers are no longer seduced by brand prestige alone—they demand real results. Efficacy is now the benchmark of true value, and expertise, not influencer popularity, is the defining influence.
Why Efficacy Is The New Standard Of Luxury
The days when luxury products could rely on image alone are over. Consumers, informed by access to ingredient databases and clinical studies, now evaluate skincare based on its science and its impact. In my experience as a brand founder, loyal users are both intelligent and direct: They demand products that work.
We have witnessed the rising popularity and consumer growth of impact-driving products with ingredients such as hyaluronic serum, peptides and vitamins C, B and E. The common thread? Measurable clinical results.
This demand for performance is not limited to skincare. In pharmaceuticals, GLP-1 receptor agonists like tirzepatide have gained popularity for weight loss due to clinically proven efficacy. In aesthetics, Botox remains a go-to for wrinkle reduction because of its demonstrated results in clinical trials. Across industries, measurable effectiveness has become essential, showcasing that efficacy has now outpaced the luxury of image alone.
Expertise As A Trusted Influence
Consumers today are not only interested in the products but also in the experts behind them. My training as a board-certified plastic surgeon, clinical scientist and skin specialist helps me to speak about skincare as a genuine expert who has dedicated my life to this field rather than as someone who has dabbled in it. Expertise signals reliability, ensuring that product claims have a scientific basis rather than a marketing spin.
The financial and tech sectors reflect this trend, too. In finance, seasoned investment firms champion the S&P 500 because of its long-term track record in delivering dependable returns. For consumers, trusting expert-backed indices over speculative markets highlights the power of expertise in decision making. Similarly, in the tech industry, Apple has built its brand on functionality and consistent quality, so consumers often view their products as ones that are supported by deep technical expertise rather than fleeting trends.
Setting A New Standard To Drive Consumer Loyalty
Consumers increasingly value transparency, scientific validation and the influence of expert guidance. Skincare brands and companies in all sectors can prioritize clinical testing, transparent ingredients and scientific guidance to meet this demand for efficacy. Here’s how:
Transparency
Companies can be more transparent by providing clear, detailed ingredient lists, sharing sourcing information and explaining the purpose and benefits of each ingredient. For example, skincare brands can include a breakdown of active ingredients and concentrations, along with information on their testing and safety standards, to build trust with consumers. In other industries, we see transparency in action when companies offer batch tracking for their products or publish lab test results directly on their websites.
Scientific Validation
For businesses seeking scientific validation, clinical testing is an ideal starting point, involving third-party labs to ensure impartiality and reliability in results. They can engage with medical doctors, toxicologists or other experts to design studies that test for efficacy, safety and potential side effects. Additionally, peer-reviewed studies or certifications from industry-recognized bodies provide strong scientific backing for products. Across industries, stability testing, crash testing and comparison to existing modalities are other mechanisms of scientific validation.
Expert Guidance
Incorporating expert guidance into marketing can elevate consumer trust, with options such as informational videos, Q&A sessions with professionals or testimonials from real users as well as genuine experts and academics. These approaches make complex information more accessible and lend credibility to claims. Many brands find success by including concise expert endorsements or clinical study summaries on product pages to validate their effectiveness.
The shift toward efficacy and expertise as markers of true luxury means that modern consumers no longer depend on superficial branding. By investing in efficacy, brands can foster trust and build consumer loyalty through real results. In today’s market, effectiveness is the ultimate indicator of luxury, with expertise serving as the trusted voice guiding consumers through an increasingly complex landscape. For brands ready to embrace efficacy as a core principle, the opportunity to lead is clearer than ever.
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