With the recent announcement of L’Oreal’s intent to purchase Thayers Natural Remedies—plus Shiseido’s and LVMH’s purchases last year of Drunk Elephant and Tatcha, respectively—it seems that the naturals personal care market has become a hotbed for future acquisition targets. Natural personal care market growth has been on a strong upward trajectory as consumers quickly gravitate to brands with unique product premises and socially responsible messages.
Our recently published report Natural Personal Care Global Series shows the global natural personal care market has grown at 8% in 2019, a markedly higher growth than many segments in the beauty and personal care products markets.
In the U.S. market, Raw Sugar Living, bioClarity, and Hand in Hand—brands that often support giving back to the community and have portfolios spanning a wide array of product categories —saw impressive sales gains. As consumers place more value on connecting with a brand and its mission, donations and other purpose-driven initiatives help create a strong brand image for marketers in the natural marketplace. Raw Sugar Living sales more than doubled year over year to $35 million at the retail level.
One of the key trends spanning the natural skin care market is naturally positioned products utilizing strong active ingredients or promoting results-oriented products. These brands typically utilize brand stories to promote active ingredients, including CBD. Cannuka and True Botanicals were some of the fastest–growing brands in the market, emphasizing the benefits of ingredients including anti-aging, hydrating, and acne care. Another key acne care brand making moves in the market is Bioclarity. The hero ingredient for the brand is Floralux®, an antioxidant derived from chlorophyll, treating breakouts and other acne-related skin concerns.
In China, Florasis, a naturally positioned makeup brand, experienced exceptional growth of 2,000% in 2019, reaching sales of +$100 million. The brand is based on flower ingredient positioning; its key success factor is unique brand positioning, sales through the e-commerce channel, and partnerships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs).
Next week, we will explore the natural personal care indies markets in Europe and Brazil, both posting strong gains in this space. To get the full picture of the dynamic natural personal care space, subscribe to our Natural Personal Care Global Series report, focusing on market size and growth, newsmaking imports, key new launches and product trends, and alternate channels in key regions such as Brazil, China, Europe, and the United States. This report segments the market into truly natural and natural–inspired brands based on ingredient ratings using our proprietary rating scale.
