Colourants offer biggest hair care opportunity in developed markets

According to figures from the researcher, global retail sales of hair care products increased by 5 per cent in 2011​ to reach $73.7 billion (€58.8bn), mainly boosted by spending in the emerging markets, notably China, India, Brazil, Russia and Mexico.

In comparison, North America, Japan and Western Europe showed collective flat growth between 2007 and 2011, and an increase of only 0.3 per cent last year; attributed to consumers dealing with a tough financial situation who are seeking out value-for-money deals.

Affordable luxury​

It appears the best opportunity in the flagging developed market lies with the trend toward affordable premium branding in Western Europe and the US.

“The affordable luxury trend might present an opportunity going forward, however, as consumers in developed markets are increasingly prepared to treat themselves to luxury items, provided they are positioned at accessible price points,”​ explains Rob Walker, senior FMCG analyst at Euromonitor.

“The best opportunities would be for colourants, conditioners and styling agents, which – as non-staple personal care products – can more realistically leverage treat-yourself consumption patterns. There is already some evidence of this happening.”​

Sustainability making a move​

According to Euromonitor, colourants was the best performing category in Western Europe in 2011, for example, based on incremental growth. And conditioners, colourants and styling agents each outperformed shampoo in the US last year.

As the sustainability agenda gets bigger, thanks to increased consumer interest, eco-friendly products could also hold potential in Western markets, despite weaker spending power.

For example, Procter & Gamble targeted this area with its Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion, a line of shampoos and conditioners packaged in a sugarcane-based bottle​.

HairCare Ingredients 2012​

Rival shampoo maker Unilever is one of the company’s involved in the educational programme at this year’s HairCare Ingredients.

Inge Terpstra, the regional R&D director for Unilever, will focus on the natural and green trend and explain how green technologies and ingredients are being incorporated into its hair care products.

Building on the success of the two Cosmetics Design skin care virtual conferences, HairCare Ingredients 2012 will take place on September 19th at 9am EDT, which is 1pm GMT.

For more information and to register click here​.