New data from Evolved by Nature suggests beauty brands may be misinterpreting consumer demand for vegan claims, as shoppers prioritize efficacy and natural ingredients over animal-free certification.
(Full disclosure: Evolved by Nature leverages non-vegan Activated Silk technology made from silk protein and water in its core offerings.)
What Consumers Mean When They Say 'Vegan'
A new study analyzing consumer attitudes in the prestige skin care sector has uncovered a significant "intention-action gap" regarding vegan product claims. While 56% of surveyed consumers in the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea stated that vegan skin care is important to them, only 14% consistently purchase vegan products.
The "EBN Vegan Skincare Study," which surveyed 900 women across three major markets, indicates that "vegan" has become a proxy for other desirable attributes rather than a primary purchase driver itself. When consumers request vegan skin care, 89% are actually seeking associated benefits such as cruelty-free, clean or natural formulations. Only 11% correctly identify "vegan" with its actual meaning—animal-free ingredients.
A Pivot is Necessary
57% of consumers who claim vegan is important would still use products containing animal by-products like honey or milk if they offer superior efficacy.YesPhotographers at Adobe Stock
This misunderstanding has profound implications for brand strategy. The data reveals that direct claims significantly outperform vegan certification. Natural attributes ranked as the third most important purchase driver (48%) and cruelty-free ranked seventh (28%), while vegan claims lagged behind in 13th place (10%). Furthermore, the study highlights a behavioral contradiction: 57% of consumers who claim vegan is important would still use products containing animal by-products like honey or milk if they offer superior efficacy.
"The data shows consumers prioritize efficacy, natural ingredients, and sustainability over vegan certification," the report states. "Using 'vegan' as shorthand for quality attributes is less effective than claiming those attributes directly."
For beauty executives operating in the prestige segment ($25+), these findings suggest a pivot in marketing strategy may be necessary. Rather than leading with broad vegan labels, brands may see better engagement by explicitly highlighting performance, natural sourcing, and cruelty-free status—the specific factors consumers are actually seeking when they scan the shelf for vegan logos.
Q&A: Top Implications for Beauty Brands
"Marketers should order claims according to how important they are to consumers, based on behavior, not ideology," says Chris Valencius, CMO of Evolved By Nature.Evolved by Nature
Global Cosmetic Industry spoke to Chris Valencius, CMO of Evolved By Nature, about the implications of the study.
Why "Vegan" Isn’t the Most Effective Selling Point for Your Brand
Valencius: From our perspective, we don’t even think “vegan” should be treated as a formulation constraint nor a primary communication strategy. Brands should prioritize formulations around what people truly buy: performance, safety, and environmental impact. Our data shows that consumers interpret “vegan” as shorthand for cruelty-free, natural, and sustainable, and those claims drive up 8x higher purchase intent than “vegan.” That means it’s more effective to lead with those attributes directly than treating “vegan” as either a formulation constraint or primary communication hook.
Your Customers Don't Care If It's Vegan
Valencius: Marketers should order claims according to how important they are to consumers, based on behavior, not ideology. Our data shows the highest-impact claims are clinically proven efficacy, safety and gentleness for sensitive skin, natural ingredients, and clear sustainability credentials such as biodegradable formulas, and renewable or upcycled sourcing. Cruelty-free also matters, but “vegan” consistently sits toward the bottom of the consideration list. If a formulator's ingredients aren’t backed by robust clinical science, aren’t safe for sensitive skin, or don’t meet clear sustainability metrics, the answer isn’t better messaging, it’s reformulation.
Relax, It’s Just Skin Care
Valencius: This is one of the most revealing findings from our research, and it highlights how often brands impose stricter rules on themselves than consumers actually do. Most “vegan-minded” consumers aren’t asking for extreme ingredient exclusion, they’re really looking for a cruelty-free claim, which is already table stakes in modern beauty. That tracks with other aspects of real life, too. Around 1% of consumers are dietary vegans, and many people who value ethical consumption still eat honey or dairy. It’s unrealistic to assume those same consumers suddenly become strict vegans when it comes to skin care. For formulators, this represents a major missed opportunity. When brands treat consumers as a single, rigid data point instead of humans with nuanced behaviors, they unnecessarily close off entire universes of claims, product formats, and brand stories. Performance-driven ingredients that can be responsibly sourced and clearly positioned around cruelty-free and sustainability standards are being sidelined, not because consumers reject them, but because brands are over-interpreting the vegan signal.
Beyond the Vegan Label: Building Trust that Lasts
Valencius: Brands should rebalance their certification and labeling strategies around what actually builds trust and drives conversion, and what will continue to hold up over time. When vegan ranks 13th as a purchase driver, behind efficacy, clinical proof, and sustainability, it shouldn’t be the most prominent badge on-pack. Over-indexing on vegan certification doesn’t just crowd out stronger signals, it risks dating the product. We’ve seen this cycle before: claims like “clean” were once powerful shorthand, and are now often read as vague or even evasive. As cultural understanding advances, loosely or overused signals tend to get course-corrected. A more resilient approach is to lead with clinical validation and performance substantiation, support those claims with clear, measurable sustainability credentials, and include cruelty-free certification as a baseline trust signal. Vegan certification should be treated as contextual information, not a central proof point, unless it’s core to the brand’s identity. De-prioritizing vegan as a headline badge isn’t a step back on ethics, it’s a way to future-proof products by anchoring them in claims that are harder to misinterpret and more aligned with how consumers actually evaluate value.
Formula for Success: Stop Selling the Story, Start Selling the Results
Valencius: First, formulate for efficacy, safety, and sustainability. That means optimizing for what measurably improves skin or hair, what’s safe and non-irritating, and what’s demonstrably better for the planet. If a formulation constraint doesn’t deliver better results for consumers, it doesn’t belong in the formula. Second, storytell the values consumers respond to most. In retail and on-pack, lead with clinically proven results and clear performance outcomes. Credentials like natural, upcycled, renewable, and cruelty-free will get consumers to buy a product once. The clinically proven performance will be what gets them to buy it again, when they see real results. This approach aligns brand storytelling with how consumers actually shop, not how they say they want to shop. It respects ethical intent without sacrificing performance or innovation.
