Skincare industry and the impact of sustainable production on brand valuations and purchase behaviors

: examining the moderating role of mainstream vs. luxury brands and cruelty-free and vegan vs. sustainable packaging

Abstract

As environmental awareness increases, sustainable production becomes more relevant and important to consumers and, consequently, to brands. Sustainable practices stopped being only a positive differentiation factor and started being a pre-requisite for survival. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the impact of sustainable production on brand valuations and purchase behaviors in the skincare industry. It was firstly conducted a literature review and, after that, by using a survey-based approach, it was possible to do a quantitative analysis that allowed the verification of the theoretical hypothesis. This analysis was done while using two moderating variables: type of brand (mainstream vs. luxury) and the nature of sustainable production (cruelty-free and vegan vs. sustainable packaging). It was evaluated if they have a moderating role and how they can have a different impact on the study. Results show that sustainable production does not have an impact on neither willingness to pay and purchase intentions, which comes from the fact that consumers are sensitive to price and they want to find products that align both sustainability and accessible prices. Additionally, it was verified that, in the luxury industry, sustainable packaging has a positive effect on purchase intentions,brand love and brand loyalty. Therefore, it is verified that the type of brand and the nature of sustainable production have a moderating role on this analysis. This dissertation concludes that brands should invest in sustainable production, with a focus on sustainable packaging, if they want to be successful in the market.

Date of Award	3 Jan 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Alves Machado de Sousa de Macedo (Supervisor)