Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

     As discussed before in previous blog posts, Lush Cosmetics' target market consists of Generation Y, vegetarians/vegans, and animal rights activists. Usually a target market is considered before the actual creation of products and/or a product mix, however; co-founders Mark Constantine being a trichologist and Liz Weir being a beauty therapist prior to the creation of Lush leads me to believe that the target market came second. Constantine and Weir were more interested in making fresh products free of animal testing because they truly believed that it was morally right. These beliefs are reflected in the Lush Cosmetics company and thus the company was spontaneously segmented in the market. True, one could lump Lush into the market segment of "cosmetics," however their bold stance against animal testing and little use of synthetics in their products undoubtedly separates Lush into its own market segment.
      Lush Cosmetics' products are not discriminatory, thus they are not apart of a ethnic segmentation. Many cosmetic companies try to aim their products towards specific ethnicities. For example a shampoo company will claim that one product will be better for "black hair" and another might be better for "white hair." Lush's hair  products are made specifically to target "problematic hair" such as; dry scalp, frizzy hair, etc. These products are to suit an individual's needs for their hair- not the needs for an entire ethnic group. Another example of Lush not playing into the ethnic segmentation found especially in cosmetic companies is Lush's Emotional Brilliance makeup line. Emotional Brilliance is Lush's first makeup line and the campaigning for it was rather unusual. The idea of the product was for consumers to not choose makeup that they think will make them look "good," but instead to choose colors that reflect their personality or mood for the day. This product concept is completely unbiased (they even marketed it towards men). This idea sort of turned the simple mascara, lipstick, and skin tints for beauty into more of a warpaint for expressive purposes.