According to a recently released market report on the country by Euromonitor International, awareness among the young Iranian population is blossoming when it comes to beauty and personal care; a trend which is being complemented by 2015 having been “a year of stabilisation” for Iran.
“After mutual agreement between Iran and the West over the nuclear ambitions of the Islamic government, both suppliers and consumers hoped for improvement in the business environment,” explain the firm’s researchers.
“As a result, prices were less volatile and the supply chain encountered fewer interruptions. Consumers’ purchasing power, which was badly affected during the review period, had a chance to heal, and thus demand for premium beauty and personal care products improved.”
Young consumers
According to Euromonitor, key suppliers have upped their game in the Middle Eastern nation of late, resulting in better availability of the products increasingly in demand from younger consumers. Demand itself is being driven by better advertising campaigns.
The rise is being particularly driven by consumers’ rising appetite for more complex products offering multifunctional benefits, with young people turning away from simple products to “more sophisticated items”.
“The conversion from bar soap to liquid soap or body wash/shower gel, from double-edge blades to razor systems and from simple moisturisers to anti-agers are examples of how increasing awareness resulted in higher value sales during the last five years,” Euromonitor explains.
Welcoming trade
While Iran’s relations with the West improve, the country is also looking to Asia to boost trade in the current period.
Indeed, in an agreement signed between the two countries, Iran and Korea recently committed to reducing various barriers to trade between the two countries’ beauty markets. Korean cosmetics are particularly popular among younger consumers, suggesting Iran is keen to facilitate this rising consumer group.
“Under the agreement, Korean cosmetics-makers will only have to prove that they have been approved for sale in Korea. In effect, this means Iran recognizes Korean cosmetics standards as being on par with those made in the U.S. and Europe,” the Korea Herald noted of the agreement.