Disruptive innovation by start-ups in the South African skincare market

Abstract

This research study was undertaken based on the current market dynamics of the South African skincare sector that suggests that the market sector is fragmented and has a significant increase in new entrant firms. The motivation for this research study stems from the various industry reports that suggest that the increase in numerous start-ups within the industry has led to increase in numerous start-ups that aim to services new skincare niche markets. Thus, the main purpose of this research study is to investigate the disruptive innovation capabilities of start-ups within the South African skincare sector and explore the characteristics and enabling factors of these start-ups. The study approach was qualitative and exploratory in design to investigate the characteristics of the start-ups and the enabling factors of their disruptive capabilities. Convenience sampling was used to interview four start-up business owners in the South African skincare sector using semi-structured interviews to obtain in-depth experiences from the participants of this study. The key findings from this research report were that start-ups within the South African economy enter the bottom end of the markets and use niche product offerings to gradually move to up-stream markets and compete with incumbent firms. This research study uses qualitative research methods and techniques to qualify the possibility of start-ups within the South African economy collectively disrupting incumbents within the market, based on their characteristics, and enabling capability factors.