Turning Cultural Shifts into Brand Opportunities

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Remember Youthforia’s shade-range mess? (They're shutting down, BTW) Or how Unilever dropped ‘normal’ from product descriptions?

These aren’t isolated mishaps - they’re signals of what’s non-negotiable now in beauty.

Diving into the Youthforia controversy, we see that despite its initial success upon launch, the brand has been trending for all the wrong reasons, after a foundation launch fail. They launched only 15 shades - keeing in mind the industry standard is around 40 shades. The Youthforia community weren't shy in calling out the brand and they did so expeditiously. In response, Youthforia added ten new shades about 7 months later, one of these new shades was a true black with no consideration of a single undertone as the darkest shade, this was a dismal fail at attempting to make the range more inclusive. All this leading to what could be characterised as the downfall of the brand and as of August 2025, the brand is closing.

Image source: TikTok / @golloria

Beyond this beauty brands' controversy, we see many brands often chase aesthetics or hype without considering the underlying cultural forces. Jumping on the band waggon or rushing to be the first to launch something without proper consideration of the cultural climate & its implications. This then results in a complete disconnect between the consumers expectations and the brands positioning.

The shift here is that culture evolves in layers, it goes: consumer values, lifestyle, conversations. And it's something that can be identified at the preliminary layer and foresight within this layer will allow your brand to anticipate the layers further. When brands misread these layers, they run the risk of backlash or irrelevance. In this cancel culture society, the consumer is no longer afraid to speak out against what may be considered a non-negotiable.

A Screenshot of Glossier's Instagram

I really believe in the power of Cultural Foresight, and it's all about spotting these deep shifts early. Identifying them, analysing them and leveraging them in your own strategy. A great case of cultural foresight done well is Glossier. They spotted a cultural shift early on: consumers were moving away from aspirational, polished beauty and leaning into authenticity, community, and relatability. So, instead of selling unattainable ideals, they built a brand around real people, real routines and community-driven conversations. This foresight allowed Glossier to transform what could have been “just another beauty startup” into a cultural movement, leveraging the shift toward transparency and inclusivity as a brand opportunity that fueled growth and loyalty.

At Babe in Business, we're all about helping brands decode and leverage cultural signals, turning them into opportunities for growth, relevance and maintaining industry foresight.

Explore our services to identify your next business opportunity - https://www.babeinbusiness.com/services