While product innovation in beauty and personal care has declined less than it has in other categories—46% of beauty and personal product innovation from January to May this year was new releases versus renovations like reformulations or line extensions compared to 37% in health, 33% in household and 26% in food and drink—Clotilde Drapé, global beauty and personal care analyst at Mintel, points out elevated raw material costs, consumer scrutiny of ingredients and income squeezes have caused beauty brands to rethink their product launch strategies, and product renovations are considered less risky investments than wholly new products.

To understand the beauty and personal care product launch slump, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we asked 22 beauty entrepreneurs, executives, consultants, cosmetic chemists, manufacturers and more the following: What impact has it had or will it have on the industry? Do you believe innovation will continue to slide? Should the industry work to turn this trend around? If so, how, and what areas do you think could use innovation?