COVID-19 has definitively shown us that it’s a small world.
Ours is a global business. The cosmetics, personal care, and fragrance industry wouldn’t be half of what it is today without the international collaboration of retailers, manufacturers, packagers, distributors…the list here goes on and on.
If you’re at all like me, you count a diverse and global network of individuals as your beauty industry allies, and mentors, and colleagues.
Physical Distancing Disrupting the Beauty Supply Chain
And even now, while the threat of a deadly illness is keeping us close to home, it’s clear that isolation is not the answer. Right now, it may feel as if local sourcing and a regional-only retail distribution strategy is the best way forward.
But one of the lessons I’ve learned for this ongoing virus crisis is that any one reliable reality can upended, halted, or eliminated altogether virtually without notice. Any given market can be shuttered in an instant. Any shipping channel shut down. And even the most reliable link in the supply chain can break.
Out of Touch and In Collaboration
But another lesson I’ve learned from all this is that as a global community we can do great things. Right now, some 100 laboratories around the world are working on a COVID-19 vaccine. And some of those labs are owned and operated by personal care makers like Johnson & Johnson.
Other facilities, in country after country, have been manufacturing face shields and PPE to keep front-line workers both in and well beyond those businesses’ neighborhoods safe. Companies are workers from every region of the globe that regularly make fragrance, skin care, and even beer and liquor are now producing hand sanitizer.
And apparel brands and industrious entrepreneurs are sewing masks and shipping them—with the help of global logistics professionals—to people who need them wherever they maybe.
Which is all to say, that it takes a village; and it will take the entire world to combat and conquer this pandemic.
People Power the Global Beauty Economy
You’ve heard it said that we are better together. And I very much believe that’s true. The beauty industry is as vibrant and dynamic and diverse as it is today because we learn from and share with and support one another.
So no matter how long we need to stay close to home to stay safe, I hope we all learn how important it is that we keep beauty global.
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this DUviews item was originally posted to LinkedIn and now appears on DeannaUtroske.com