The global volume consumption of personal care ingredients was close to 575,000
tonnes in 2009 (Kline’s definition of the global market for personal care
ingredients covers five regions/countries - Europe, United States, Japan, China,
and India; and the following product categories - antimicrobials, emollients,
hair fixative polymers, rheology control agents, skin whitening/lightening agents,
specialty conditioning polymers, specialty surfactants, UV absorbers.).
The personal care ingredients market showed signs of slowdown at the end of 2008
and in Q1 of 2009 in the United States and Europe, primarily caused by inventory
reductions among mass and luxury marketers and retailers as consumers tightened
their belts. Reductions among mass-market players were complete by the end of
Q2, but luxury brands, which were more acutely affected by the economic recession,
completed destocking by the end of Q3 of 2009. In China or India, for instance,
consumer demand remained, but this business relies a lot on export as well, thus
slowdown in EU and the United States showed some impact.
The subsequent, relatively stable consumption of cosmetics and toiletries during
the crisis stimulated the specialty chemicals market to its rather quick recovery.
A continued growth is anticipated at an annual volume rate of 2.6% in Europe,
2.2% in the United States, a mere 0.5% in Japan, and a tremendous growth of 9.6%
in China through 2014. In 2010, Europe remains the largest market for personal
care ingredients post-recession; however, the region is losing share as emerging
markets gain momentum.
The extent of the impact on personal care ingredients suppliers has varied, depending
on their product portfolio. Those suppliers with a portfolio skewed towards functional
ingredients such as surfactants and rheology control agents for everyday, mass-market
categories like body washes, soaps, shampoos, and toothpastes weathered the recession
much better than ingredient suppliers with portfolios skewed towards specialties
for luxury skin-care brands, for example. The suppliers who turned to innovation
and development of raw ingredients for the natural marketplace have also registered
a notable growth in that sector.
Natural personal care products have been the bright spot globally during the most
recent recession - sales grew in all countries in 2008-2009, albeit from a relatively
small base compared with the global personal care market. On a global scale, the
natural personal care market is approaching $300 billion at the retail level,
with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) and Argentina expanding
their share at a rapid rate in 2010. In Europe, still the largest region, the
natural personal care segment posted nearly 14% growth in 2009, compared to the
overall market at just 4%. In the United States, the segment peaked at 8%--still
quite robust considering the overall performance in the industry as a whole. Amid
all of this attention, suppliers are working hard to develop the natural ingredients
to meet the demand. While great strides have been made in some ingredient categories
to deliver the natural positioning and the performance required, some categories
still remain a challenge.
In our following blogs, we would like to offer you a range of detailed insights
into the various ingredients categories and provide analysis of ingredient markets
from different regions, as well as insights on the trends and drivers affecting
the ingredients market from the end product perspective.