According to Euromonitor’s recent blog, when it comes to finished products, the trend is particularly led by the dominant multinational skin care players. The market research firm picks out Clarins, Shiseido and Vichy in the sun care category, and Tata Harper and Ponds for cleansers.
Henkel recently made strides into hair care in China, while Bourjois has taken the step of marrying anti-pollution with colour cosmetics. Estée Lauder’s Clinique, Unilever’s Ponds and Sampar all have ranges of skin care products that are marketed primarily as having anti-pollution benefits.
Ingredients suppliers
Euromonitor notes that ingredient manufacturers are increasingly looking for novel ingredients to meet the growing consumer demand for anti-pollution products.
Silab, Lipotec, Algues et Mer, Sederma, TRI-K, CoDIF, Solabia, and Incospharm are all picked out by the firm as leading in ingredients innovation for anti-pollution. Added to this, BASF is another player working in this field.
“Although some of these ingredients seem to be very promising, further clinical research is necessary to better understand their effects against pollution,” cautions the firm’s Maria Coronado Robles.
“So far, there is no perfect solution or miraculous single ingredient able to provide full protection against pollution. A combination of a variety of botanical extracts, vitamins and ingredients that creates a physical barrier is likely to be the preferred option by consumers.”
Markets in focus
In the Asia Pacific region, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is China that offers the greatest opportunities for anti-pollution ingredients, followed by India and Pakistan.
“Unsurprisingly, cities in Asia Pacific, such as Shanghai and Beijing in China, New Delhi and Bangalore in India, and Karachi in Pakistan, are on the list of the most polluted cities in the world,” Euromonitor says.
“According to the World Health Organization, over 99% of the urban population in China, India and Pakistan are regularly exposed to PM2.5 concentrations higher than those recommended.”
The West is increasingly showing an appetite for anti-pollution too, with consumers there likely to begin expecting to see anti-pollution as an additional benefit in multifunctional products.
Trends ahead
The firm suggests that the naturals trend will have a strong influence on the segment, but other ingredients are likely to grow too.
“Plant extracts and vitamins are the ingredients with the greatest growth potential, but demand for other antioxidant ingredients, such as niacinamide and ascorbic acid, is also expected to grow,” says Coronado Robles.