The global beauty industry in 2025 is booming. But driving the roughly £500 billion market is not, as you might expect, a generation of women, but rather a skincare-savvy, make-up obsessed generation of teens and tweens. If you have, or know, one, it should come as no surprise that the Gen Alpha cohort (that’s anyone born between 2010 and 2024) is revolutionising the global beauty industry. While it’s important to point out that this demographic covers a broad span of ages, from one-year-olds to 15-year-olds, according to global studies, the age at which a Gen Alpha consumer starts flexing their spending muscle is between nine and 13.
To those on the outside, it may seem ludicrous that a generation of children who are too young to be in employment are key players in a multibillion-dollar market, but the numbers speak for themselves. First of all, it’s important to note that they are big spenders with expensive taste in brands, likely emulating their mothers’ shopping habits. Margaret Mitchell, Space NK’s chief commercial officer, cites Summer Fridays and Rare Beauty among the store’s most wanted. For many mothers, gone are the days of worrying about husbands stealing from their stash of expensive skincare on the sly. In 2025 it seems thieving fingers are much smaller.
In fact, they (via the bank of mum and dad, as they’re still too young to actually have a credit card) are such prolific shoppers that Mintel predicts their global spending power will reach more than £4 trillion by 2029. Consumer intelligence company NIQ, meanwhile, reports that Gen Alpha is driving 49 per cent of US skincare sales growth, with cleansers and moisturisers from brands such as Drunk Elephant accounting for the largest sectors. One of the reasons that Gen Alpha wields so much spending power is that they’ve simply been active in the space for longer than previous generations. According to American beauty giant Ulta’s recent The Joy Project beauty report, while Gen Z started experimenting with beauty products and services at 13, Gen Alpha has a five-year head start on them, with an average entry point age of just eight years old.
Despite elements of obvious allure to a younger buyer – many of the most coveted brands have colourful branding and tween-termed “aesthetic” packaging – the reason teens are choosing to spend their pocket money on toners over toys primarily lies in the pervasive influence of social media. Their fascination with the beauty world is fuelled by an enticing combination of aspiration and awe, perfectly hitting that sweet spot between education and entertainment. While the appeal of Get Ready With Me videos of celebrity offspring such as North West and Penelope Disick might seem obvious, others are more surprising. Eight-year-old twins Haven and Koti Garza, who have 5.2 million TikTok followers, are one such duo with growing popularity here and in the US. Among their content, beauty hauls and videos entitled “How Much Will They Spend In Sephora?” rank highly.
Aaron Chatterley, cofounder of teen skincare brand Indu, recognises the appeal of community fostered by platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. “Everything we do as a brand is a result of regular insight from teens on all levels… There’s true power in community. We don’t just try and aim for what they want, we give them a platform to tell us exactly what they’re looking for and need, what they’re missing – we get straight to the source.”
Don’t discount the power of IRL influence either though. While social media stars play a large part in whetting the appetite of teen buyers, there’s no denying parent power. “Gen Alpha has been raised by a generation of millennial skintellectuals,” explains Marc Elrick, founder of tween-aimed skincare brand Byoma. “Millennial beauty consumers are well informed, seek out transparency and actively educate themselves about ingredients. We can expect to see this approach trickle down and be adapted by Gen Alpha.” (Side note: if you’ve ever wondered why your Laneige lip balms or Mario Badescu mists never seem to last, you might want to check in on who else in your household is using them.) This thirst for education is evident at Indu, where the Everyday Hero SPF50+ is consistently a top performer online and in store. “With the boom in knowledge around the importance of SPF among teens [online], they’re looking for a product that suits their needs,” adds Chatterley. “For our SPF, not only is it a fantastic product, but it’s exactly what teens want and are looking for. It’s lightweight and non-greasy with no white cast, plus it doubles as an effective make-up primer.”
“I think the biggest surprise is how knowledgeable they are about skincare,” agrees Mitchell. “[They] understand ingredients and regimes and the importance of looking after [their] skin.” Naturally there has been concern from the media and dermatologists alike about the suitability of some skincare actives that are too harsh for young skin, with brands such as Drunk Elephant unfairly bearing the brunt of much criticism. Brands now seem better primed on how to respond and are directing younger consumers towards more age-appropriate skin habits. “Sometimes they want to be too aggressive with actives and we work really hard through our store team service and education model to help steer them towards gentle, nourishing ingredients with a focus on daily SPF,” adds Mitchell. While better education is a positive move, cynics might suggest that it’s a way to ensure that the UK market doesn’t face a ban along the lines of a Californian bill currently being considered, which would stop the sale of some anti-ageing skincare to under-18s.
As for how a Gen Alpha purchase unfolds, unsurprisingly for a digital-first generation it begins online, with most beauty discovery communication done via social media. Despite this, Mitchell is keen to point out the importance of the physical beauty space and its role in socialising; for this generation of teens, mooching around Sephora and Boots is the modern-day equivalent of congregating in a park nursing an alcopop. “Beauty has become part of the fabric of socialising for this age group, so stores are a natural meeting place to dwell, play, engage. They often shop in groups as part of an afternoon outing, sometimes with parents in store or otherwise parents nearby.” Incidentally, if you’re not familiar with how fast a gaggle of teenage girls can strip a Sephora of its Sol de Janeiro inventory, a weekend trip to your nearest shop will quickly bring you up to speed. It’s something Mitchell can attest to, citing a huge increase in footfall in Space NK stores during half-terms and summer holidays, which a few years ago simply didn’t exist.
Now recognised as a dominant consumer power, the challenge for brands is to understand how to continue to appeal to them. For many, particularly those not necessarily intended for Gen Alpha, it’s a delicate balance between appealing to its target consumer and encouraging healthy skincare habits knowing that a teen audience is listening. For this, authenticity is key. Despite their tender age, Gen Alpha have grown up with a heightened awareness of mental health and are well attuned to social initiatives such as self-acceptance and body positivity. For brands to speak to them they must build connection, community and trust. “From day one, we’ve been in constant conversation and communication with teens, especially on a social media level, so that we ensure we show up in the right way, in ways that they appreciate, respect and respond to,” says Chatterley.
As for what will be the next big thing for this curious generation of beauty lovers? The answer may lie in bringing in even more of the boys. “We see groups of boys coming in to explore and experiment with fragrance,” says Mitchell, who namechecks Creed, Byredo and Tom Ford as brands that attract them. Seems like Gen Alpha is only just getting going.
