Focus groups for market research. Decoding the future of medicalised skincare.

Skincare routines might not be Dusted’s specialism. But we are experts in medtech. And that’s exactly why Natural Products Factory came to us.

Founded in 2011 by Dr Pauline Hili, Natural Products Factory is a manufacturing hub that harnesses the power of natural ingredients to promote skin health. Alongside developing and producing white label products for other brands – from an organic baby care range in Taiwan to limited edition gifts for Penhaligon's – Pauline built her own brand: Nourish London.

Now, the business is exploring new grounds. Not another cream for the shelf, but an online, medicalised skincare platform. A digital ecosystem to educate and offer bespoke solutions for targeted concerns. Nourish London, already carrying some desired equities, became the perfect testing ground to see how consumers respond to medicalised versus organic beauty skincare messages.

Where skincare meets medtech.

Entering the digital space is a category shift for a company that built its reputation in the wellness aisle. This new medicalised platform is where skincare meets science. And so, the brand itself is closer to medtech. So, as cosmetics merge with clinical, brand storytelling needs the credibility of medicine without losing the accessibility of skincare.

For Pauline, that meant finding a partner who could think differently and digitally.

So we set up a focus group. A research technique designed to dig beneath the numbers and uncover the emotional depth of how consumers interact with skincare brands today. Real conversations generating real qualitative data.

Later in this article, we’ll share what we found. But first, here’s why, in our digital age, traditional focus groups for market research still matter.

The importance of focus groups.

The humble focus group has lost some of its gravitas in recent years. That’s because mobile ethnography is now all the rage. And for good reason. As participants capture everyday routines via photos or videos, they capture context and real behaviour outside the lab.

But there’s a catch. With so much of life now played out for social media, the line between authentic experience and performance has blurred. When the phone camera comes out, people show both what they do and what they want to be seen doing. Even in research settings, that instinct carries through.

In reality, the richest customer insights still come from conversations behind closed doors. The unfiltered moments where friends swap stories about eczema flare-ups, comparing scars from acne, talking through the knock-on effects of psoriasis, or supporting someone dealing with the harsh impact of chemotherapy. These are the spaces where insecurities surface and customer needs are revealed. These environments can’t be replicated. But the closest we can come to generating this intimacy is in focus groups.

People, in a room, speaking face-to-face. It’s here that nuance emerges. The group interaction, the non-verbal cues, the body language, the subtle dynamics shaping what participants say and what they hold back.

Designing the session.

Ahead of the session, we ran desk research alongside online surveys, as well as both qualitative and quantitative data studies to map the landscape and test early hypotheses. Those findings sharpened the research process, informed our stimulus aids, and helped us craft the follow-up questions that would uncover deeper truths.

From there, we recruited digitally savvy women aged 25–40 with a range of skin concerns. Brand-aware, online-native, and used to interrogating product claims, they represented the target audience for this medicalised digital platform.

We structured the session in three stages:

1. A pre-survey to establish baseline shopping behaviour and product use.
2. A moderated group discussion, moving from boxed packaging to unboxing products to a broader discussion on medicalised skincare.
3. A post-survey to validate the findings and extend the data collection.

Throughout, our market researchers captured the subtleties of non-verbal behaviour: the flicker of an expression at first glance of packaging, the tonal shift when “natural” moved to “science-backed.”

We interrogated these moments, provoked conversation around them, and recorded the entire session. Later, we layered in AI to surface conflicts, alignments and recurring themes, enriching the focus group analysis and delivering sharper actionable insights.

Key insights from the focus group.

The feedback was as illuminating and refreshing as a Nourish London peptide serum. Here are the five big takeaways.

The role of medicalised branding.

Perhaps the most powerful insight was around the appetite for medicalised skincare. Participants were strongly drawn to science-backed, problem-solving propositions that spanned the full spectrum of needs, from eczema and acne to everyday dryness, breakouts, and preventative care.

But tone was everything. Skincare that feels too clinical risks alienating everyday users. The brands that win are those that balance medical seriousness with everyday relevance.

As the group revealed, if a brand can credibly treat severe issues, it builds trust for tackling milder ones. But the way those severe issues are communicated must remain approachable and reassuring.

Natural vs scientific claims.

The focus group revealed that “natural” has appeal when it proves its worth. Participants were quick to spot greenwashed claims and vague survey stats for what they were – marketing fluff.

What resonated instead was science. Evidence-backed effectiveness carried real weight, especially for those with sensitive skin. Active ingredients were embraced as trusted allies, but only when explained in plain, accessible language.

When comparing brands, the educational ones were highly regarded. The Ordinary stood out for their clear product breakdowns that turn chemistry into something people actually understand. Especially when activated across their digital ecosystem, these can meet people wherever they are, be it in influencer reviews as they research or on their website as they fill their carts.

This appetite, however, played out differently across generations:

• Younger participants gravitated to the clinical, research-driven approach of science-first brands. Their decisions were rarely impulsive, often made after hours of research. For them, organic labels carried little meaning, often dismissed as “greenwashing.”
• Older participants looked elsewhere for reassurance. They leaned on spa experiences, sensory rituals and the reliability of heritage brands. Organic claims simply meant “no junk” — a shorthand for simplicity, not superiority.

So, skincare audiences navigate credibility through different codes at different stages of life. For brands, that means more than segmentation. It means building an educational digital ecosystem that flexes with those codes. Younger audiences want clear science-first information. Older audiences want good experiences.

This shows the need for a platform-first approach. One that leads with personalised, medicalised skincare advice and adapts seamlessly to different user mindsets.

Building trust in a digital-first world.

Going digital-first has obvious advantages for skincare brands. Greater control over branding and communications. Higher margins without the retail middleman. And the chance to educate directly, shaping positioning and building loyalty in ways that physical shelves can’t. But it also raises the stakes.

On the high street, trust is tactile. A tester on the counter. A sachet slipped into a shopping bag. Proof comes in the product itself.

Online, the equation flips. Consumers have to buy first and try after. And with skincare’s unpredictability — a miracle for one, a breakout for another — trust becomes the currency of conversion.

The focus group revealed what that currency looks like:

• Low-risk sampling. Affordable trial kits and starter sets give consumers confidence, especially when paired with money-back guarantees.
• External validation. Real-user testimonials and before/after images matter most when they felt authentic, not staged. Reddit and Instagram reviews topped the credibility list.
• Professional digital experience. A clean, well-designed site acts as a proxy for legitimacy. Ingredient transparency and science-informed storytelling lift confidence where branding alone can’t.

Influencers were seen as a bridge, but only if they felt genuine. Filming in their own homes, sharing routines selectively. And consistency mattered. As one participant put it:

Independent voices carried weight too. Reddit was cited again and again as a reliable space. And when it came to doctor-led branding, a lab coat without credibility was seen as little more than theatre.

As one participant put it:

For digital-first skincare brands, sampling strategies, authentic voices, and credible storytelling become as critical as the formulas themselves. A platform has to do the heavy lifting: clean design, ingredient transparency, and education at every touchpoint. Done right, it turns digital from a barrier into a trust engine, building confidence, conversion, and loyalty at scale.

Language and tone matter.

Words carry weight. Nourish London’s tagline, “Healthy skin is beautiful skin,” might not strike a chord with everyone. While some read it as a promise, the participants struggling with ongoing skin conditions found it emotionally tone-deaf, even shameful.

One shared:

In medical skincare, language must lift, not judge. It has to be inclusive, compassionate, and rooted in confidence, celebrating progress instead of policing appearance.

Dusted’s key takeaways.

The future of skincare is digitalised and medicalised. For Dusted, this project proved the power of thinking out-of-category. We brought the same strategic rigour we apply to medtech and channelled it into helping Natural Products Factory take their first confident steps into a new space.

And without giving away too much of our secret sauce, below are our main takeaways for Natural Products Factory, in broad strokes.

Platform-first.

Diagnostic. Interactive. Personalised. Informative. Educational. Accessible. Science-backed.

Digital sampling.

QR code discounts. Street teams. Bundle offers. Loyalty discounts. Gift with purchase. Live pop-ups. Pop-up clinics.

Positioning alignments.

Wellness journals. Whitepapers. Clinics. Media reportage.

Holistic science.

Not just product. Diet. Biome. Therapeutics. Health regime.

Consultative.

Deeper, tailored engagement. Response to issues. Can be linked to AI.

Debunk myth.

Activation. Challenges. Stats. Product claims. Real science to the fore. Trust through realness. Influencers, not celebrity endorsements.

Because real skin science is worth it.

Let’s get things Done & Dusted.

Focus groups are all about decoding signals, observing behaviours, and understanding context. Done well, they unlock clarity that numbers alone can’t. They reveal what resonates, what excites, and what gives people pause. And they provide the raw material for sharper data collection, stronger marketing campaigns, and strategies rooted in both qualitative data and quantitative data.

That’s the service we offer: qualitative research with depth, agility, and baked-in action.

Contact us today. Ready when you are.