I’ve been talking about herbal inspiration on skincare
for two weeks in a row now. Not sure
about you—but I feel like needing an “herbal” break desperately! So I am going to spend next few posts on modern
skincare products companies.
In skincare, I believe in two things: experience and
science. I often consult herbal medicine
books for tips because I believe that modern herbal medicine is the
distillation of thousands years of experiences from folk medicine. I also read and research in science journals
when I had a specific question on skincare because I believe in good lab
research and the scientific acumen of those who carries out the research.
In my mind,
research and development (R&D) efforts by a company tells a lot about the
company’s business philosophy, strength, and products; and a company’s patent
portfolio is a good reflection of the company’s R&D activities. I took a look at several skincare companies’
US patent filings. The following is the
number of US patent filings by these companies from 2011 to present. The company name is followed by the number of
patent filings, the product brands, and my comments. I used USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office) database and searched by “assignee” (meaning the owner of the patent
application).
Procter & Gamble
–2707; CoverGirl®, Max Factor®, and Olay®; beauty product is only a small
portion of P&G’s business. I don’t
think that this number reflects the company’s research strength in beauty
product sector.
Johnson & Johnson
–1434; Neutrogena®, Clean&Clear®, and Aveeno®; Similar to P&G, beauty
product is only a small portion of J&J’s business. I don’t think that this number reflects the
company’s research strength in beauty product sector.
Unilever PC
–1387; Dove®, Lux®, Fissan baby®, Pond’s®, Simple®, St. Ives®, and Vaseline®;
Unilever provides beauty products, food, and other consumer products. I don’t
think that this number reflects the company’s research strength in beauty
product sector.
Kao Corporation
(and Kanebo Cosmetics) – 1172; Jergens®, Curel®, and Biore®; Kao is a chemical and
cosmetics company. From the company’s
patent filings, it looks like that the company does put research dollar into
developing and hopefully improving their products.
Beiersdorf – 258;
Nivea®, Eucerin®, La Prairie®, Florena®; Beiersdorf® focus on skincare products
and deodorants. From the company’s
patent filings, it looks like that the company does put research dollar into
developing and hopefully improving their products.
Avon –157; Avon®;
Avon’s main business is beauty products.
From the company’s patent filings, it looks like that the company does
put research dollar into developing and hopefully improving their products.
Mary Kay –51;
Mary Kay®; Mary Kay’s main business is beauty products. I looked into the company’s patent
applications. It seems that the products
focus on botanical-based formulation. I
will talk more about this company in future post.
Revlon – 47;
Revlon®; This company focuses mostly on cosmetics, not so much skincare
products.
Fancl Corp. – 12;
Fancl®; This is an interesting company focusing exclusively on skincare
products. I will talk more about this
company in future post.
Estee Lauder – 6;
Clinique® and Estee Lauder®; this is surprisingly small amount of patent
filings considering the high prices of the products. I suspect that the company spends more on
marketing than on research. My
disclaimer--don’t quote me on that. It’s
just a speculation.
L’Oreal – 2;
another surprisingly small number of patent filings considering the large
amount of commercials I’ve seen about the brand.
L’Occitane – 2; small
number of patent filings. I don’t know
about this brand much. Never used their
products. Feel free to send me emails if
you like their products.
Thanks for reading!
Connie @ www.cherruby.com
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