Gen Z's top 10 brands reveal young consumers' obsession with self care

2023-06-04T12:51:00Z
  • The top 10 consumer brands among Gen Z include healthy food options and self-care items.
  • Market research company Numerator compiled the list, which looked at fast-growing brands in 2022.
  • Here's the full list, from Panoxyl to Tree Hut.

Gen Z is focused on high-quality food and self-care products, according to recent data from market research company Numerator.

Numerator compiled a list of the top 10 brands favored by Gen Z consumers, or those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. The generation includes many people who are becoming adults and buying their own groceries, personal care items, and other products for the first time, according to Numerator.

"Gen Z consumers are all about self-care, which is reflected in the brands they choose to buy," said Molly Ryan, a Numerator analyst. "Brands most popular with Gen Z compared to other generations include items like all-natural personal care and better-for-you soda – products that align with their values and fit their lifestyles." 

Numerator created the list by looking at brands' penetration — that is, the share of a certain group that bought a particular product at least once in the course of a year. The brands on the list had twice the penetration among Gen Z consumers as they did among all US households and grew sales at least 30% between 2021 and 2022.

Check out the 10 brands that most interest Gen Z:

10. Native

Native

Native sells better-for-you personal care products. Its flagship deodorant is made without aluminum, talc, or phthalates. 

The company was founded in 2015 by Moiz Ali. Two years later, Ali sold the brand to Procter & Gamble for $100 million. Since then, the brand has released new scents, like Pumpkin, and collaborated with lifestyle brand Jungalow.

9. La Roche Posay

La Roche-Posay

La Roche Posay makes skincare products, from sunscreen to face masks. French beauty giant L'Oréal owns the brand, which it acquired in 2018.

Along with other French drugstore brands, La Roche Posay regularly ranks on lists of top skincare brands for Gen Z consumers since its products are affordable. It was also the fastest-growing skincare brand of 2022, according to NPD, an indication that it's popular with people of different ages.

8. Olipop

drinkolipop.com

Olipop makes low-sugar and prebiotic soda pop. The brand gained popularity on social media and even hired a TikTok influencer to grow Olipop's following, Fast Company reported last year.

The brand sells its soda in a variety of places, from its own website to Walmart.

7. BuzzBallz

BuzzBallz espresso martini Buzzballz

BuzzBallz makes cocktails in spherical plastic cans. The brand mixes fruit juice and other beverages, such as coffee, with spirits including vodka, tequila, and wine.

The brand's drinks are popular with Gen Z, prompting Vice to compare their uptake to that of Four Loko, the alcohol-and-caffeine beverage that became a favorite among millennials in the early 2000s but eventually revamped its formula to exclude caffeine. 

6. Tree Hut

Holiday products from Tree Hut Tree Hut

Tree Hut's range of bath salts, shea sugar scrubs, and other personal care products are sold directly to consumers as well as through retailers such as Ulta Beauty and Target. 

The brand gained notoriety on TikTok, and it targets young consumers with its marketing and new product launches. "From Gen Z beauty lovers to their parents  – the new Tree Hut Holidaze line is perfect for anyone looking to indulge in some festive self-care during the busiest time of the year," a press release promoting its holiday product lineup for 2022 reads.

5. TheraBreath

Amazon

TheraBreath makes mouthwashes, lozenges, and other products designed to counter bad breath. 

Although it was founded in the early 1990s, the brand has gotten a boost on TikTok over the past couple of years through a partnership with influencers like Jason Coffee, according to Rhythm Influence. That's led to videos that highlight different sizes of the product as well as its origin story.

4. Maseca

Maseca makes corn flour, a key ingredient in tortillas, empanadas, and other dishes. Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Maseca makes corn flour, an important ingredient in Latin American foods such as tortillas. The product got its start in 1940s Mexico, according to the brand's website.

The brand has gained popularity in cooking videos on TikTok and other social media.

3. PanOxyl

Amazon

PanOxyl acne wash, spot patches, and other skincare products have gotten good reviews from beauty product influencers on TikTok.

Buyers have also used social media to compare the brand's products to other acne-controlling medications.

2. The Honey Pot Company

The Honey Pot

The Honey Pot makes feminine care products, from organic cotton pads to a urinary-tract support supplement.

The brand is one of several that cater to millennial and Gen Z consumers looking for new brands that are open about their materials sourcing, according to the South China Morning Post.

1. Hero Cosmetics

Amazon

Hero Cosmetics makes patches for acne and other skin blemishes. It also sells toner, cleanser, and other skincare products.

Hero's Mighty Patches are one of a few products that have become known as band-aids for pimples, according to Men's Health. That's largely thanks to their use by posters on TikTok, including Justin Bieber, who sported some star-shaped patches from a rival brand.

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