Organic growth Of 15,000 'all natural' and organic products released so far this year around two thirds were organic, according to data drawn from Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD).
Charting the global figures over the past two years indicates that 'all natural' launches have tailed off while the number of organic products hitting the market has continued to increase sharply.
Starting from a similar level at the beginning of 2006, organics has accelerated past 'all natural' so that they now take a two thirds share of the market niche.
Naturals expected to win Despite what the data suggests, Mintel expects 'all natural' to win out in the end.
Beauty analyst Nica Lewis told CosmeticsDesign.com that the growth of the organic market will be hampered by supply issues.
She said: "Companies are already buying up all the available supplies of certain ingredients making it harder for others to expand in the long run."
Consumer demand for organic cosmetics continues to be strong but Lewis said the free-from trend will perhaps trump the organic movement.
Consumers are determined to avoid certain ingredients such as parabens and may opt for free-from products rather than fully organic alternatives.
Lewis said the organic movement also faces other challenges such as the harmonization of standards.
Currently, the proliferation of organic certification bodies is causing confusion that could have an impact on sales.
"Consumers have a much clearer idea of what an 'all natural' cosmetic product is than an organic one," added Lewis.
Related to this is the issue of strengthening standards that is set to continue especially in the US where products are often marketed as organic despite having little organic content.
Tougher standards and regulations will make it harder and more expensive for many companies to use the organic claim.
Lewis said this will put significant downward on the number of organic beauty launches in the coming years.
Data source: Mintel's Global New Products Database