MBLM, the Brand Intimacy Agency focused on strategy, design, creative and technology, has revealed that the health and beauty industry ranked third for brand intimacy, behind automotive and retail. Chanel was the top most intimate brand in beauty, according to the agency’s extensive Brand Intimacy 2015 Report. Brand intimacy describes an essential relationship between a person and brand that transcends usage, purchase and loyalty. According to the report, intimate brands create enhanced business performance; indulgence is the archetype most associated with the beauty industry.

The remaining brands part of the top 10 include Clinique, bareMinerals, Estée Lauder, Olay, MAC, Dove, Lancôme, L’Oréal and Bobbi Brown.

Also of note, Sephora ranked third in MBLM’s retail category and 15th overall.

Retail sales in health and beauty in the U.S. came in at $87.21 billion in 2013 and the global beauty market grew by 4.5 percent annually over the last 20 years.

“Consumers are much more discerning with products they apply to their bodies and this is understandably so,” stated Mario Natarelli, MBLM’s Managing Partner. “Benchmarking Brand Intimacy as a measure of the bonds these consumers form reveals opportunities for brands and pathways to growth and profit.”

Additional findings of the report include:

  • bareMinerals ranked #1 among women millennials, ages 18-34
  • Dove was #1 for women 45-64 years old
  • Clinique ranked highest among those with an income above $100K
  • Olay held the highest position among those with an income of $35K-$100K

MBLM’s 2015 report contains one of the most comprehensive rankings of brands based on emotion, analyzing the responses of 6,000 consumers and 52,000 brand evaluations across nine industries in the U.S., Mexico and UAE. MBLM’s reports and interactive Brand Ranking Tool showcase the performance of almost 400 brands, revealing the characteristics and intensity of the consumer bonds.

Click here to access a PDF of the Brand Intimacy Report on Health & Beauty.