The natural personal care market in the U.S. jumped 19% to $2 billion in sales for 2008, Kline’s Natural Personal Care 2008 study revealed earlier this year. Major marketers are in an excellent position to leverage the naturals proposition that began with the smaller niche players. Manufacturing economies of scale, a stronger position for negotiating supplier agreements, and well-developed distribution channels will allow brands like Unilever’s Dove and Colgate-Palmolive’s Softsoap to ride the naturals wave even during lean times.
Nowadays many beauty product users say they are interested in some form of “eco-beauty” products being either natural, organic, green/eco-friendly, or socially conscious/responsible beauty. This growing demand for greener beauty products has driven marketers to incorporate eco-sourced ingredients into their formulations.
The use of botanicals is growing 8% in the U.S. and Europe—according to Kline & Company’s study, “Specialty Actives and Active Delivery Systems for Personal Care 2008”—outstripping the average 5.4% growth of other specialty actives. In fact, the increased use of botanicals is one of the major changes in the cosmetics and toiletries industry in recent history.
In the 2008 report on Natural Personal Care Kline examined 27 so-called natural cosmetic and toiletry brands in the U.S. market and rated each on a scale of 1 (highly synthetic) to 10 (completely natural/organic). Despite the proliferation of natural claims, the analysis revealed that truly natural products actually account for just over 40% of the market. The majority are natural-inspired, with ingredients that range from completely un-natural to those that are natural wherever chemistry allows, but also include silicones, polysorbates, ethoxylates, or chemical derivatives. (Read additional insights by Karen Doskow – project manager for Natural Personal Care 2008 report in the article Natural Products Well-positioned to Weather the Storm)
The upcoming 2009 edition of Natural Personal Care report (currently offered at a 20% discounted price ) will feature new sustainability ratings, which will be developed by examining carbon neutrality, ingredient sourcing, packaging, manufacturing processes, and social responsibility. The sustainability ratings will be taken into consideration along with the natural ratings to calculate each global brand’s “green score.”
Other new additions include:
- Expanded geographic scope to Asia and Latin America.
- Additional detail for individual countries, including category breakdowns and key players
- Global brand profiles.
- Profiles of more than 50 new brands.
- What is the definition of “natural”?
- How big is the market for truly natural products?
- Which brands are actually natural in terms of the ingredients they use?
- What are the opportunities for personal care marketers?
- Feel free to review our presentation on Natural Personal Care 2008
Password: klinenpcpub
