Naturals market having ‘major impact’ on personal care

This is the conclusion drawn by Kline Group personal care industry expert Karen Doskow, who revealed key information about the category in a presentation at a conference entitled Ride the Next Natural/Organic Wave, held at the New York Hilton Hotel this week.

Entitled Growth of the Natural Market for Beauty Products, the Kline presentation highlighted how the naturals category has rapidly evolved in the course of the past few years, influencing the formulation of personal care products in all categories.

Naturals break out of the niche mold​

“For a long time, natural products have been the domain of health and organic food stores – niche retailers with a core group of loyal customers,”​ said Doskow.

“Naturals are now becoming commonplace in the aisles of the national chain grocery and discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target. This will have a major impact on the competitive edge of the personal care market.”​

This development has already taken place in key markets in Europe – specifically in France and the UK – where the naturals and organic personal care market has already undergone significant development and ‘mainstreaming’ in recent years.

Growth in US market remains robust​

The most recent data from Kline’s Natural Personal Care 2008: Competitive Brand Assessment and Ingredient Analysis report, indicates that growth in the US personal care market is likely to remain robust until at least 2013.

The report highlights that during this period the market for natural is likely to continue to grow at an average of 13.2 percent per annum, pushing the value of annual retail sales to $11.7bn.

Doskow also highlights how naturals market growth is likely to continue to outstrip relatively dormant growth in the personal care market as a whole, underlining the fact that most recent figures put general market at 3 percent in contrast to the 13 percent annual growth in the natural and organic market.

More than 50 presentations​

The conference, which was held October 21 – 22, covered presentations in three main categories – anti-aging, skin care and personal care and special skin needs, included 50 sessions, 40 corporate exhibitors and was attended by over 100 industry professionals.

It kicked off with a plenary session, which was highlighted by the Kline Group presentation and three other sessions.

Those other presentations included The Current Regulatory Climate and where it is headed given by Louis Paul; Ingredients Making the News by Dr. Zoe Draelos; and Can We Call it Natural/Organic or What? a duel presentation by the Soil Association and Aveda.