Personal care products: Emerging markets are driving the global growth

3 October 2011

It’s not really a surprise! The study conducted recently by Rexam and published on the Group’s website just confirmed the economic analysis of these recent months on the preeminence of emerging markets such as Asia, Latin America and the Middle East concerning the future global growth of products intended for the cosmetic industry. With a restriction however on these figures: they are based on 2010 analyses and do not obviously take into consideration a possible "economic tsunami" that some are predicting.

First conclusion drawn from the study [1], total global sales of personal care products have reached a record of USD 380 billion in 2010, or the equivalent of USD 56 per capita, an increase of 7% on the previous year. Sales, which according to the authors of the study, should continue to grow by 3% per year to 2014.

Hair care would represent the first in all product categories, with some 49 billion units sold, followed by bath and shower products, and facial skincare products coming third.

A strong growth in needs

The Asia-Pacific region represents the largest share in the global market of personal care products with 56% in volume, Europe accounts for 19%, Latin America for 14%, North America for 8% and Middle East for 2%.

It is Asia too that should achieve the highest growth rates. The hair care category, in particular, should record its highest rise over the next coming years with an increase of around 9% per year, and hair colouring products leading the way.

The dynamic is the same in Asia for facial skin care products where the growth should be of 7% per year.

Another interesting figure revealed by the study, Latin America accounted for 26% of global sales of perfume in 2010. In this region, the overall market of personal care products is expected to grow by 4% annually to 2014. The best performance being achieved by facial make up, perfume and eye make-up.

According to Rexam, "Latin America is expected to be the main growth friver of the global beauty industry, with the region set to add over USD 18 billion to its value size by 2015".

Let’s mention also the good performance of colour cosmetics in the Middle East and Africa, with an expected growth that should be well above the average. Facial make-up should increase by 11% annually while eye make-up is expected to grow by 7% per year. Perfumes should also do well. However, sales of fragrance in the region are heavily weighted in a small minority of wealthier countries - Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Iran.

More generally, the authors of the study subsequently forecast a strong growth in packaging needs for the personal care sector and expect a rise around 5% a year to 2014.