Question
Beauty Takes Time
Physical Science Studies: Structure, Interactions, and Properties of Matter
Jim Schwartz recalls the bewilderment he felt when he began his job developing beauty products for Procter & Gamble (P&G). Schwartz had just earned a doctorate degree in chemistry. He pondered the motivation behind his new employer's decision to hire scores of researchers just to work on Ivory soap.
"I thought, what in the world are all these people doing here? It's a bar of soap, for crying out loud!" Schwartz said.
Now, after two decades at P&G, Schwartz has developed a fuller appreciation for the enormous effort involved in bringing beauty products, such as shampoos and skin lotions, to market. P&G is just one of many companies that invest tons of money and time researching these products.
Beauty is a highly profitable industry. This is thanks to several groups that are eager to look younger or better. For example, baby boomers—members of the massive generation born shortly following World War II—enthusiastically seek ways to defy aging. They have demonstrated a willingness to splurge on products promising to help wage that battle. Young people too are directing more money toward increasing their beauty. In addition, an increasing number of people in developing countries now have money available to spend on their appearance.
Thanks to these consumers, P&G's sales have more than doubled in the past few decades. The combined global market for beauty and personal health care is estimated at $482 billion. Therefore, the company sees plenty of room for expansion.
Clearly, there's money in the promise of beauty. A growing number of companies are offering beauty products for the first time. This is because of the increasing profit potential. P&G, for example, was known for such household brands as Tide detergent and Pampers diapers. But then, it branched out to compete with veteran cosmetics makers such as L'Oreal, Avon, and Estee Lauder. In addition, a rising number of niche companies with specialty products are helping to make the industry highly competitive.
"I think overall, it's a positive outlook, but [the industry is] going to be more challenging," said Karen Grant. Grant is a beauty industry analyst for market research company NPD Group. "There are more people playing; competition is stiffer."
Hoping to get an edge on the competition, companies are strategically investing many years and millions of dollars in the creation and testing of their products. P&G has nearly doubled its research staff in the last 20 years, now employing more than 1,700 scientists and researchers around the world. L'Oreal has steadily increased spending on its beauty product research. It currently has about 4,000 people working in its research departments.
This growing army of researchers focuses on years-long projects to find out everything there is to know about human skin and hair, including how nutrients, moisturizers, and even genetics affect them. Researchers examine facial pores magnified to the point that they look like moon craters and strands of hair that resemble tree bark. They also lather and rinse rows upon rows of hair swatches. (P&G alone purchases more than 300 pounds of human hair a year for testing its hair care products.) In addition, researchers spend a considerable amount of time peering through microscopes at human cells. Tom Dawson is one of P&G's scientists. Dawson spent nearly seven years studying the genetic code of a fungus that causes human dandruff.
Researchers are responsible for developing products that offer added personal benefits without adverse effects. They make sure products feel, smell, and look right. These experts must prepare the product for marketing. They also must determine whether it can be affordably mass produced.
In the latter stages of research, companies test their products for any potential problems. Many pay volunteers to try their latest products. Some employees see it as a job perk that they get to try out not-yet-available products. Sometimes, researchers test potential new products on synthetic skin and cornea tissue developed in labs. The use of synthetics, P&G says, has helped nearly eliminate the use of animals for testing.
With all this research, it can take 5 to 10 years for a beauty product to finally reach consumers.
"That deceptively simple product sitting on store shelves has years and years and thousands of person-hours that went into making it work well," Jim Schwartz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
Question 1
1 / 8
According to the article, why are an increasing number of companies offering beauty products for the first time?
Because companies are known for their household brands of detergent and diapers
Because there is an increasing potential for profits in the beauty products industry
Because veteran cosmetics makers have greatly increased the competition
Because companies have steadily increased spending on beauty research
Physical Science Studies: Structure, Interactions, and Properties of Matter
Jim Schwartz recalls the bewilderment he felt when he began his job developing beauty products for Procter & Gamble (P&G). Schwartz had just earned a doctorate degree in chemistry. He pondered the motivation behind his new employer's decision to hire scores of researchers just to work on Ivory soap.
"I thought, what in the world are all these people doing here? It's a bar of soap, for crying out loud!" Schwartz said.
Now, after two decades at P&G, Schwartz has developed a fuller appreciation for the enormous effort involved in bringing beauty products, such as shampoos and skin lotions, to market. P&G is just one of many companies that invest tons of money and time researching these products.
Beauty is a highly profitable industry. This is thanks to several groups that are eager to look younger or better. For example, baby boomers—members of the massive generation born shortly following World War II—enthusiastically seek ways to defy aging. They have demonstrated a willingness to splurge on products promising to help wage that battle. Young people too are directing more money toward increasing their beauty. In addition, an increasing number of people in developing countries now have money available to spend on their appearance.
Thanks to these consumers, P&G's sales have more than doubled in the past few decades. The combined global market for beauty and personal health care is estimated at $482 billion. Therefore, the company sees plenty of room for expansion.
Clearly, there's money in the promise of beauty. A growing number of companies are offering beauty products for the first time. This is because of the increasing profit potential. P&G, for example, was known for such household brands as Tide detergent and Pampers diapers. But then, it branched out to compete with veteran cosmetics makers such as L'Oreal, Avon, and Estee Lauder. In addition, a rising number of niche companies with specialty products are helping to make the industry highly competitive.
"I think overall, it's a positive outlook, but [the industry is] going to be more challenging," said Karen Grant. Grant is a beauty industry analyst for market research company NPD Group. "There are more people playing; competition is stiffer."
Hoping to get an edge on the competition, companies are strategically investing many years and millions of dollars in the creation and testing of their products. P&G has nearly doubled its research staff in the last 20 years, now employing more than 1,700 scientists and researchers around the world. L'Oreal has steadily increased spending on its beauty product research. It currently has about 4,000 people working in its research departments.
This growing army of researchers focuses on years-long projects to find out everything there is to know about human skin and hair, including how nutrients, moisturizers, and even genetics affect them. Researchers examine facial pores magnified to the point that they look like moon craters and strands of hair that resemble tree bark. They also lather and rinse rows upon rows of hair swatches. (P&G alone purchases more than 300 pounds of human hair a year for testing its hair care products.) In addition, researchers spend a considerable amount of time peering through microscopes at human cells. Tom Dawson is one of P&G's scientists. Dawson spent nearly seven years studying the genetic code of a fungus that causes human dandruff.
Researchers are responsible for developing products that offer added personal benefits without adverse effects. They make sure products feel, smell, and look right. These experts must prepare the product for marketing. They also must determine whether it can be affordably mass produced.
In the latter stages of research, companies test their products for any potential problems. Many pay volunteers to try their latest products. Some employees see it as a job perk that they get to try out not-yet-available products. Sometimes, researchers test potential new products on synthetic skin and cornea tissue developed in labs. The use of synthetics, P&G says, has helped nearly eliminate the use of animals for testing.
With all this research, it can take 5 to 10 years for a beauty product to finally reach consumers.
"That deceptively simple product sitting on store shelves has years and years and thousands of person-hours that went into making it work well," Jim Schwartz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
Question 1
1 / 8
According to the article, why are an increasing number of companies offering beauty products for the first time?
Because companies are known for their household brands of detergent and diapers
Because there is an increasing potential for profits in the beauty products industry
Because veteran cosmetics makers have greatly increased the competition
Because companies have steadily increased spending on beauty research
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is: **Because there is an increasing potential for profits in the beauty products industry.**
The article discusses how the beauty industry is highly profitable and how companies are recognizing the growing demand and potential for profit, which motivates them to enter the market for beauty products.
The article discusses how the beauty industry is highly profitable and how companies are recognizing the growing demand and potential for profit, which motivates them to enter the market for beauty products.