With warmer days ahead and sunglasses in hand, sun protection is top of mind. But here’s what’s changing: sun care is no longer just a seasonal essential. It’s becoming a daily performance step. The category is evolving fast, with lightweight formulas and hybrid SPF products that compete with skincare and complexion makeup. This shift, often called sunification, seamlessly blends SPF into skincare and beauty routines and is expected to drive an 8.6% CAGR. The real question? Where sun care innovation is heading next. Keep reading to find out.

Seasonal to daily performance

The future of sun care innovation? Brands completely rethink how SPF performs. As sun care becomes embedded in everyday routines, companies engineer SPF for diverse environments and activities. Business of Fashion reports that sunscreen branding breaks free from traditional beach and pool imagery. Today, SPF functions as performance protection for year-round outdoor activities. Hiking, cycling, and snow sports become the new reference points for sun care marketing.

Meet Utu, a sun-care label that demonstrates this shift perfectly. The brand spotted consumers craving mineral sunscreens that defend against both intense sun and harsh wind. During avalanche safety training, founder Richard Welch and mountain guide Barbara Wanner engineered a sunscreen for extreme alpine conditions. The result: an SPF 50 formula featuring occlusive ingredients that shield skin from wind exposure. In 2024, the brand launched its Hydrating Sun Balm. Designed for real-world use, the thin aluminum disc nestles easily inside a snow athlete’s jacket pocket.

Wearability reshapes sunscreen innovation.

Sun care transcends seasonal boundaries. Consumers now evaluate sunscreen through an entirely new lens. Protection remains non-negotiable. Yet texture, tone accuracy, and compatibility with skincare or makeup routines now drive purchasing decisions.

Social media conversations accelerate innovation across the category. Research from SPATE’s 2026 Sun Care & Tanning Landscape report confirms this shift. Wearability now determines repeat purchases, particularly for hybrid formats like tinted sunscreen. Searches for tinted sunscreen surged 23.9% year-over-year. Many consumers position the product as a replacement for foundation. On Reddit, users managing rosacea or hyperpigmentation describe tinted SPF as a way to merge coverage with daily sun protection. Yet these same conversations expose frustration around shade accuracy and undertone inclusivity. Brands now spot clear opportunities to strengthen cosmetic performance.

Which products dominate these discussions?  Elta MD UV Clear Tinted Broad Spectrum SPF 46 and  Fenty Beauty Hydra Vizor Tinted Broad Spectrum Mineral SPF 30 Sunscreen are frequently praised for balancing coverage with protection. Dermatologists highlight a key insight: iron oxides in tinted formulas reduce the white or bluish cast that plagues some mineral sunscreens. Cosmetic chemist Dr. Ron Robinson champions brands like Black Girl Sunscreen,, which engineers formulas that perform on deeper skin tones. SPATE data reinforces this demand. Searches for “no white cast sunscreen” jumped 83.7% year-over-year.

Innovation now extends far beyond tint. Sunscreen formats prioritize convenience and sensory appeal. SPATE tracks surging interest in portable and reapplication-friendly options: sunscreen cushions, matte sun sticks, and tanning waters. Milk-texture sunscreens command particular attention. Searches exploded 849.5% year-over-year. Products like Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Milk demonstrate how lightweight formulas merge humidity resistance with a smooth, matte finish.

Online communities reveal another emerging demand: “comfortable matte” sunscreens. Users hunt for formulas that control oil and humidity without triggering dryness or irritation, especially for sensitive or acne-prone skin. Emerging formats, such as blurring sunscreens, tackle this need head-on. South Korea’s  Sungboon Editor Daily Invisible Blurring Sunscreen combines sun protection with complexion-smoothing effects. Climate-adaptive and sensitive-skin formulations gain momentum, reflecting the industry’s commitment to creating sunscreens that perform reliably across environments and skin types.

The rise of hybrid SPF

As sunscreen formats evolve and wearability becomes non-negotiable, SPF enters a new hybrid era. The category now merges protection credibility with aesthetic performance. Dermatologist-backed formulas, mineral filters, and sensitive-skin positioning build trust. Glow, tint, shimmer, and finish drive discovery on social platforms. Consumers no longer choose between protection and cosmetic appeal. They now demand both in a single product. Format and sensory innovation make this possible. Lightweight textures like milk sunscreens deliver high protection with a smooth, comfortable finish. Products that eliminate greasy texture, pilling, stinging, white cast, or shade mismatch gain recognition as more reliable and wearable.

UV protection innovation fuels this transformation. Symrise recently unveiled Neo Heliopan® 310 UVB, featuring an excellent solubilization profile. This breakthrough expands formulator flexibility while maintaining strong protection performance. With more than 80 years of expertise in sun protection, Symrise continues to pioneer high-performing, globally relevant sunscreen solutions.

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Raspberry pink lip balms, blue raspberry toothpaste, berry lemonades, and festival desserts might seem worlds apart. While together, they signal a bigger shift. Berries are moving beyond the jam jar and becoming inspiration across food, beverage, and beauty. Their bold color, bright flavor, and nostalgic appeal make them perfect for playful, sensory products that resonate with today’s consumers. From café menus to personal care routines, berries are getting reimagined in fresh and unexpected ways. Read on to learn more!

Raspberry returns to the beverage spotlight

Raspberry continues to gain momentum in cafés and ready-to-drink beverages. In early 2025, Starbucks brought back its raspberry syrup after removing it from menus two years earlier. Strong customer demand drove the decision and quickly sparked new drink combinations across social media. Fans began experimenting with custom drinks and sharing their ideas online. In one Reddit discussion, Starbucks customers trade suggestions for raspberry-based drinks and “secret menu” combinations, from raspberry lemonades to berry-infused espresso drinks. The return also inspired drinks like Raspberry Cream Cold Brew, which pairs cold brew coffee with raspberry cold foam and vanilla syrup.

Beyond coffee shops, brands continue to expand raspberry into fruit-forward beverages and wellness drinks. Culture Pop introduced Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade probiotic soda to meet growing demand for lighter, functional drinks with recognizable fruit flavors. Together, these launches highlight raspberry’s shift from a classic dessert flavor to a bright, refreshing ingredient across beverages and wellness formats.

Flavor becomes an active ingredient in beauty

Berry inspiration now expands into beauty and personal care. Brands increasingly use flavor as a sensory tool to differentiate products and create memorable routines. Australian oral care brand Hismile demonstrates this shift. The brand transforms teeth-brushing into a flavor experience with toothpaste varieties including: Blue Raspberry, Grapple Berry, and Strawberry. Hismile extends the concept with matching lip balms that echo the same flavors, showing how flavor can reshape everyday personal care rituals.

Berry notes also influence fragrance and haircare. Fragrance brand Commodity blends strawberry, rhubarb, and raspberry pulp into its Juice perfume, highlighting the juicy complexity of red-berry accords. Meanwhile, Indian haircare brand 3TENX incorporates raspberry seed oil into its Hydrify Gloss Mist to support hydration and heat protection.

In color cosmetics, berry tones continue to shape makeup trends. Raspberry shades appear across lip products and blush palettes, often paired with playful textures. Milk Makeup’s Cooling Water Jelly Tint Lip + Cheek Blush highlights the rise of jelly formats in makeup, delivering sheer berry color with a cooling feel. Rhode takes a similar approach with Peptide Lip Tint in Raspberry Jelly, which blends glossy berry color with lip care.

Berry ingredients also drive skincare innovation. Raspberry extract contains antioxidants and vitamins that support hydration and help protect skin from environmental stress. Brands increasingly highlight these benefits in serums, creams, and lip care products.

Together, these examples show how berry color, flavor cues, and ingredient benefits help beauty brands create playful routines that resonate with younger consumers.

Heritage berries reenter the culinary conversation

Alongside raspberry, heritage berries such as boysenberry are also gaining renewed attention. The hybrid fruit, which combines elements of blackberry and raspberry, has become the centerpiece of the annual Knott’s Boysenberry Festival in California. The event celebrates the berry that helped establish Knott’s Berry Farm nearly a century ago. Each spring, chefs create dozens of new dishes built around boysenberries, from pastries and cocktails to savory sauces.

Festival menus highlight the fruit’s versatility across sweet and savory formats. Events like this help bring regional ingredients back into the culinary conversation while inspiring new flavor experimentation.

What it means for flavor innovation

For flavor innovators, the berry revival highlights the power of familiar ingredients with strong sensory identities. Raspberry offers a bright, adaptable flavor that pairs easily with citrus, botanicals, chocolate, and floral notes. Heritage berries like boysenberry add depth through regional storytelling and culinary experimentation.

For companies like Symrise, these fruits provide a versatile foundation for innovation across beverages, dairy products, bakery, confectionery, and personal care. As brands continue to explore playful textures and cross-category experiences, berries are likely to remain a key source of inspiration.

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