HAPPY NEW YEAR! We're back with a bang 💥  

US-based skincare brand Neutrogena is set to introduce 3D-printed, customized face masks in Q3 2019. Customers use the TrueDepth camera in their iPhone X and Neutrogena’s MaskiD app to take a 3D scan of their face. Then they’re sent masks that fit their face perfectly. Up to six different ingredients can be selected for the face masks, based on the skin issues a particular customer is tackling. Users can also track their skin’s progress over time via the app.

That’s some serious skincare technology. But here are three takeaways that should have any business professional flushed with excitement (sorry, couldn’t resist).

- Let’s start with the obvious: 3D-printing is fundamental here. Sure, the hype around 3D-printing came and went. But since then some massive brands have quietly begun to explore the potential. Remember the IKEA 3D-printed customized gaming chairs we wrote about last year? It would have been easy for Neutrogena to let this technology pass them by. But couple it with the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera, and you have an intriguing skincare innovation. So take a second to ask yourself: what kinds of customization will your customers expect this year? And can 3D-printing help you deliver it?

- Ultra-confident 3D-printing can offer you nothing? No problem – consider this second takeaway. Neutrogena’s face masks tap into another growing phenomenon: Korean beauty. K-beauty, in which face masks play an essential role (one in five K-beauty products released is a face mask), is a market worth over USD 13 billion and has spread internationally. The challenge for you: how can you reinterpret a growing cultural movement through the unique lens of your brand? Could that lead you to your next killer product or service?

- In our Five Trends for 2019 we wrote about LAB RATS, a trend that’s seeing consumers embrace an experimental, test-and-fix solutions in order to optimize their health, wellness and lifestyle. The New Year is firmly here, so gather your team and ask this powerful question: how can you empower consumers to test and fix their way to an optimum experience with you this year?