Nicholas Micallef, senior beauty and personal care analyst at Euromonitor International, reveals the latest insight from the market firm to CosmeticsDesign.
According to the firm, the skin care market in Eastern Europe grew 7.8% between 2015 and 2016, and in the more mature Western market, it grew 1.9%.
Premium: area of key potential
While premium is not currently meeting the mass segment in terms absolute gains, according to Micallef, the future looks particularly bright for higher-end products.
“While global mass colour cosmetics and skin care remain stronger than the premium segment, predicted to addUS$6 billion and US$12 billion in absolute gains, respectively, the key regions of North America and Western Europe reveal a healthier outlook for the premium segment."
Following in the fragrance market’s footsteps, it looks like mass skin care and colour cosmetics may indeed be up for a decline in the coming period, he suggests.
“Potentially, mass skin care and colour cosmetics may experience the same fate as mass fragrances, which is in decline in North America (-2.5% CAGR over 2016-2021), while in Western Europe, projections show a flat 0.1% CAGR over the same period,” the analyst explains.
“These regions are now premium-dominated in fragrances. The premiumisation trend, prevalent in discretionary categories, is pushing mass brands in this direction, merely to survive in the marketplace, as more consumers seek the quality and product results associated with premium formulations.”
Dermocosmetics: health alongside beauty
In terms of key future trends to watch out for, Micallef reckons that moving more towards health care related claims will continue to bolster brands.
“The resilient dermocosmetics segment is boosting brands, such as Rodan + Fields and La Roche-Posay, both of which grew in double-digits in 2016, but also channelling innovation in this direction,” he explains.
“For example, Exuviance boasts makeup that leverages its dermocosmetic heritage, to complement its skin care solutions. The make-up artist brand, Bobbi Brown, made the bold move to launch Bobbi Brown Remedies with pharma-inspired solutions and packaging.”
Moving forward from here, probiotics seems to be the major area of unknown potential that the industry is keen to explore, observes Micallef.
“More novel for the beauty industry are products formulated with live probiotics that claim to act on skincare issues by helping to balance the skin’s bacterial flora. Among the pioneers are Mother Dirt and YUN Probiotherapy, both of which take dermocosmetics to a new level.”