As a veteran of the cosmetics industry, Gabriella Zuckerman puts her experience to work every day. Zuckerman is president of Gabriella Z Ltd., a New York City consulting firm that identifies and develops new product opportunities for cosmetic and personal care companies. She's a cosmetic chemist who's steered worldwide new product development for Revlon and worked for other top cosmetic firms. But it was her experience as a consumer that spurred her to do a bit of research this past summer.After she and other staff members realized that most cosmetic companies were ignoring a potentially lucrative market segment - women over age 45 - her firm decided to conduct the first installment of an ongoing study of the beauty, health and personal care needs of women 45-65 years of age. "I have a number of consultants working with me and it happens that three of us are between the ages of 45-53. It was apparent from our experience that this age group wasn't being serviced," Zuckerman says.The firm mailed ten-page questionnaires to 350 affluent women in major metropolitan areas in May and June of this year. To understand how the women were dealing with the physical and emotional effects of aging, the survey included questions on their health and lifestyle and their purchasing habits and product needs in skin care and color cosmetics, fragrance, hair care, hand/foot care and eye care.(Zuckerman acknowledges that the findings aren't projectable but nevertheless says that the opinions of this segment are valuable because new developments in the cosmetic product category have frequently started with upper-income women who can afford to pay special attention to their skin.)
Zuckerman sought the opinions of these women because they represent the leading edge in understanding the effects of changes in their body due to aging. (Sixty-seven percent identified themselves as menopausal or post-menopausal.) They tend to be better info...