减肥药催生巴西美容新赛道，Boticário 押注 10% 研发预算

Renata Gomide, of Boticário Rogerio Vieira/Valor The growing use of weight-loss drugs is creating a new consumer market for Brazil’s beauty industry. Cosmetics manufacturers, pharmacy chains, and aesthetic treatment providers are expanding or reshaping their portfolios to meet growing demand from consumers who, after losing weight, are seeking more products and treatments to address changes in their skin, hair, and body. Beauty companies including Boticário, which this month launched a clinical study with Albert Einstein Hospital to investigate the effects of these drugs on women’s bodies, as well as French multinationals Naos and L’Oréal, said they are monitoring the impact of the medications on the industry and looking for opportunities. Lower GLP-1 prices set to reshape Brazil’s weight-loss drug market Protein boom moves beyond gyms into Brazil’s food and drink aisles Weight-loss drug users seek fixes for gaunt faces Food makers pivot as weight-loss drugs reshape demand The companies say it is still too early to gauge the full impact on consumer spending, but they are already seeing a boost in self-care and sales of products targeting areas of the body that tend to be affected by rapid weight loss. The trend is expected to intensify as the use of weight-loss drugs expands, driven by the expiration of the patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, made by Novo, formerly Novo Nordisk. New competitors entering the market are lowering prices and attracting new users. “When people start using the pens, they naturally become more concerned about their appearance and start taking better care of themselves. It’s a real behavioral change,” said Renata Gomide, Boticário’s chief marketing officer. The company has been tracking the trend for at least two years and allocates 10% of its research and development spending to initiatives related to products for users of weight-loss pens. The group, which owns Boticário and other brands including Eudora, Quem Disse Berenice?, and O.U.i, said its partnership with Einstein aims to map and understand changes in the skin and hair. The group’s Center for Women’s Studies will conduct the study, which will involve 70 women between the ages of 18 and 60. The more extensive study, Gomide said, builds on previous research. Last year, an initial survey by the group found that consumers were concerned about hair thinning and sagging skin, findings that influenced the launch of two product lines earlier this year. One, under the Eudora brand, is designed to increase hair-fiber diameter, while the other, under Boticário, targets facial support and firmness. The group said the latter launch generated the highest revenue in the brand’s history but did not disclose figures. The issue is also shaping multinational companies' strategies. Using products already in its portfolio, L’Oréal launched a treatment protocol in August under its Vichy brand for skin and hair, aimed at people experiencing rapid weight loss. “This is not about inventing entirely new products overnight,” Marcelo Zimet, CEO of the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, said in a statement. According to the executive, the increased focus on personal care is creating significant opportunities for dermocosmetics, advanced hair treatments, and medical aesthetics. “We are seeing the emergence of a new demand within the beauty, health, and longevity ecosystem, rather than necessarily the creation of a new standalone category.” The group is betting on this trend and expects 2026 sales of the skin product in the Vichy protocol to increase 34% and sales of the hair product to rise 41%. Competitors are taking different approaches. “We are not looking to jump on the trend and ‘repackage’ a product by saying that it is specifically for people who have used the pens,” said Juliana Valeriano, CMO of Naos’s Brazilian subsidiary. Valeriano said Naos, which owns Bioderma—its best-known brand in Brazil—as well as Esthederm and Etat Pur, is another multinational seeing the trend boost the sector. “We have products that were developed before the ‘boom’ in weight-loss pens, such as our collagen-stimulating product, and our strategy is to explain that it can help meet those patients’ needs.” Changes in consumer spending are also showing up in research. An April survey by NielsenIQ, cited by GrowinCo, found that 5% of Brazilian households already use weight-loss pens and another 26% are interested in them. Among users, three out of four have reduced or stopped buying chocolate, sweets, and salty snacks. In the U.S., where use is more widespread, households with people taking these drugs spend about 30% more on beauty products than other households, according to consulting firm Circana. “When people stop finding comfort in food, they look for it somewhere else, and for many that means taking better care of their appearance,” GrowinCo CEO Raphael Traticoski said. “The money doesn’t disappear. It moves to a different shelf.” The industry’s response is already visible in new product launches. A GrowinCo analysis based on Mintel data shows that firming claims have nearly quadrupled since 2015, reaching 3.54% of cosmetics launched in Brazil through August 2026, the highest level in the series. In hair care, launches featuring anti-hair-loss claims have increased 3.8 times since 2018. Over the next 12 months, the company expects the focus on firmness to expand beyond facial products into body care, sunscreen, and makeup, while anti-hair-loss shampoos and conditioners gain ground. These products also come at a higher price. According to the company, facial creams marketed for their firming effects cost an average of 65% more than comparable products, which Traticoski says indicates that consumers are willing to pay for results. Retail sales data point in the same direction. At pharmacies, dermocosmetics sales rose 8.2% in revenue and 5.8% in units over the past 12 months, with prices largely stable, indicating an actual increase in consumption, according to Scanntech. “The data point to a growing shift toward treatment products and greater specialization, while basic personal-care products are facing greater pressure on consumption,” said Felipe Passarelli, head of market intelligence at Scanntech. According to him, the connection between this trend and weight-loss pens remains a hypothesis to be monitored. At Panvel, demand has increased for collagen-based products, anti-hair-loss shampoos, and products designed to thicken hair, according to commercial executive manager Carolina Nalerio Monteiro. “I can’t say that it’s because of GLP-1. But there are significant sales of these types of products.” In the pharmaceutical industry, weight-loss pens are already reaching store shelves alongside a package of complementary care products. Hypera Pharma brought Semavy, its semaglutide sold under the Mantecorp brand, to pharmacies in September. Around the product, it created a discount program covering more than 50 products in its portfolio for people undergoing treatment. The company is also launching Semavy Nutri, a line of protein and fiber supplements aimed at nutritional needs that may arise during weight loss. The trend is also seen in the aesthetic-device segment, which attracts consumers seeking faster results for their skin. Brazil’s subsidiary of South Korea’s Classys, an aesthetic device manufacturer and the market leader in its home country, said it has seen increased demand for devices that treat sagging skin. “Many patients only seek treatment after significant weight loss. What we hear is that after using GLP-1 drugs, they started looking for this type of treatment. That’s what the clinics that approach us looking for equipment are telling us,” said Stephanie Teixeira, the company’s clinical director in Brazil. In injectable aesthetics, Switzerland-based Galderma is also viewing rapid weight loss as an opportunity. “Weight loss has added a new dynamic to this market and created a new type of patient, with needs much more closely related to skin issues such as volume loss, sagging, and skin quality,” said Victor Miranda, head of Galderma’s injectable aesthetics business in Brazil.