Goat beauty cream – Proof of concept development and testing

Summary

Animal tallow is used in balms and ointments as a replacement for chemical and petroleum-based products. This seeks to address the trend for more natural and ‘cleaner’ ingredients.

Whilst beef fat has in the past been adopted, this project was led by a NSW goat producer to investigate the use of goat tallow in beauty products to develop and test a proof-of-concept.

Two goat tallow-based beauty products were created and surveyed by more than 100 customers. More than 94% of consumers surveyed had a positive response to the goat tallow products, which highlights the potential to develop value-added products in the goat industry.

Objectives

The main objectives of this project were to:

• develop a proof-of-concept goat beauty cream
• develop concept artwork with ingredient listing composition and product description for product labels
• survey potential customers to test the concept for market.

Key findings

Two new goat-tallow beauty products were developed;

• Wisdom Face Balm 50g (recommended retail price $84)
• Signature Balm 50g (recommended retail price $44)

The customer survey yielded positive responses to the new products:

• 96% of respondents had no concerns about the inclusion of goat tallow in the product
• 89% of respondents believed the quality of the product to be high or very high
• 65% of respondents said it was very or extremely likely that they would buy the product today if it were available.
• 53% of respondents said they were very or extremely likely to replace their current product with this product.

This research shows that goat-based beauty products have the potential to enter the personal skincare industry and acquire significant market share and acceptance – representing a new demand opportunity for goat tallow.

Benefits to industry

Whilst growing demand for goatmeat products continue to be key focus areas, identifying new uses and occasions for the entire carcase is a continuous goal for the industry. As a result of this project, the cosmetic industry now has the opportunity to be an early adopter of new ingredients and transition from petroleum-based ingredients to beauty products based on a natural substance derived from goat tallow.

This project has resulted in repeat purchases from a growing customer base with the product now being stocked across Australian health food stores.

MLA action

This project identified new, high value uses for Australian goatmeat and its by-products, which aligns with MLA’s 2Morrows Foods Program and the health and wellness consumer trend.

This project was part of MLA’s involvement in the ‘Farmers2Founders’ program and presents a case study to encourage other producers to explore new value chains to grow demand.

Future research

Future research should focus on further developing the formula for goat tallow balms, to create a well-received scent, improve consistency and develop methods to increase market adoption. 

It is recommended that goatmeat processors look to supply goat tallow to artisan skincare manufacturers and identify other possible goat bone and tallow products to increase the profitability of the carcase.