The companies noted that while demographic data analysis could inform who is doing what and qualitative data could reveal why they are doing it, a broader and more sophisticated approach was required to understand how women think – from their aspirations, to their self-image.

Powder Cloud UK founder Carly Southern said: “Unlike other segmentations derived from statistical techniques, ours begins with a theoretical foundation, consisting of four human social dimensions (individualism, life satisfaction, conservatism and innovation) and two dimensions that ground the value segments in marketplace reality (quality expectations and price expectations).”