178 SEPTEMBER 2019
Based in Hong Kong, Anders’s role encompasses responsibilities in
research and development, product development and packaging
development. “From my perspective, innovation is about new ideas that
add value. New ideas without any action are useless,” she says. “We work
to understand consumers deeply – understanding what motivates them,
and then develop products to satisfy and delight them. At the end of the
day, the consumer is at the heart and centre of what we do.” A desire to
understand the needs and wants of customers is not new, but the level of
engagement and feedback made possible by social media has changed
the equation, as has an increasingly savvy customer base. “Consumers
value transparency, that’s a trend we see worldwide,” says Anders. “The
internet has really democratised information. Consumers have access to
information that they never had in the past, and that’s really exciting. As
a consumer myself, I really value understanding what’s in my skin or
beauty products and how it works – maybe that’s the scientist in me.”
The analytics and data available in relation to web traffic and social
media enables easier tracking of
trends, which is something
Anders and her team consider
from several viewpoints. “As a
brand-led company, we focus on
creating a multi-year pipeline of
products,” she says. This means
thinking long-term, looking for
big societal trends and
demographic shifts over a 10-
year horizon, as well as in shorter
cycles. This is challenging in an
arena where the science and
technology are shifting fast. “We
broaden our capabilities through
scientific and technology
partnerships with universities
and institutes: growing these
relationships with universities is
part of our R&D strategy.
Partnering directly with academia and fast-moving research is critically
important, because science and technology are always accelerating,”
says Anders. Recent projects include studies on the effect on skin of the
blue light from our ever-present screens (spoiler: it’s not doing us any
favours). When asked about innovative products, she points to Estée
Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair serum and to the new Clinique iD
programme, which allows consumers to add active ingredient
cartridges to their favourite Clinique moisturiser. “I believe this concept
of personalisation and customisation will continue to grow as
consumers become more sophisticated,” she says.
Packaging design is another area in which innovative thinking is
required. Anders is aware of the rub between the desire for tactile and
luxurious packaging and the need for sustainable thinking. ”Packaging
in the sphere of prestige beauty is paramount to the consumer’s total
experience. It enhances the delivery of the product and increases its
appeal,” she says. “But we also believe that packaging can meet these
needs responsibly and we are committed to delivering products that
perform well for consumers and for the environment.” In March 2019,
the Estée Lauder Companies published its new Environmental, Social
and Governance (ESG) goals. The plan is that by 2025, 75 to 100 per cent
of its packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or
recoverable, an increase of up to 50 per cent in the amount of post-
consumer recycled material in its packaging.
Anders herself has a background in chemical engineering, which she
credits with teaching her problem-solving skills and acquiring the
ability to embrace and learn new technologies. Her team is spread across
Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. Apart from their professional
qualifications, Anders refers to curiosity and patience as key qualities in
her team. “We need to have the drive and imagination to explore the
unknown as well as understanding consumer insights to lead and create
trends,” she says. “You also need patience. It’s an iterative process to
create the very best products, from formulation and rigorous testing
to getting products to the stores.” Anders also believes diversity is a
pre-condition of innovation. “We believe it’s really important to have
diversity of thinking, which means diversity of background, a mix
of gender, of race, of culture and of ways of
approaching problems,” she says. “I spend
more of my time listening than speaking.
We hire really smart people and we need to
listen to them.”
And as for career advice? It’s about
demonstrating impact. “In my experience,
your university degree and your academic
qualifications get you in the door of
a company. Once you’re in the workplace,
what you need is to be able to demonstrate
that you can make a difference, that you have
new ideas, that you can see new possibilities,
and, importantly, that you can garner
support for those ideas and make them
happen.” With a mother who taught her she
could do anything, even as her school
guidance counsellor suggested nursing
might be a more appropriate career for
a woman than her chosen course of medicine,
Anders believes in limitless potential. “One thing I have learned from my
own mentors throughout my career is to be imaginative and bold about
what you can achieve. Be aware of the possibilities, but bear in mind that
opportunities favour the prepared mind. Nothing is static and the only
constant is change, so you need to keep upgrading your skills and
knowledge to stay relevant,” she says.
True innovation can’t be satisfied only by novelty: there is also
a requirement for utility. For Anders, this is why everything comes back
to the science. “Science and innovation underpin everything we do,”
she says. “In my opinion, the range and rigour of the science we apply
across the research and development process is unparalleled. It’s also
critical that we convert our concepts and ideas to products that will
excite our customers, which is really the most important part of our job.
Every day, I’m inspired by the extraordinary passion for creating the
very best products and, by the same token, I love seeing the passion our
consumers have for our products.”
Jane Anders was a keynote speaker at the 2019 Vogue Codes Sydney Summit.
You can listen to her speak in the Vogue Codes podcast series, available via the
iTunes Store and Spotify.“We need
to have the
drive and
imagination
to ex plore
the unknown
as well as
understanding
consumer
insights to
lead and
create trends”VOGUE BE AU T Y
Jane Anders