Page 26 - HPIC-Magazine (Feb-2021)

Cover Story

better, especially when it comes to more than before the pandemic, that The product mix itself has been

ingredient safety and shelf-life. their products are safe, ethically turned upside down during this
According to Mintel research on clean sourced and produced, and effective. period: the wearing of masks has led
beauty, more than one in 10 adults They are paying closer attention to to a drop in the use of lipstick, in
agree clean products expire too advertising and packaging claims, favour of eye make-up, and hygiene
quickly. More than ever, consumers and expect claims to be clearly sub- products have been propelled to the
will scrutinize ingredient safety and stantiated when challenged. forefront. Discretionary expenses like
evaluate the risk of possible product fragrances, hair styling products, and
contamination and expiration. The New channels to market make-up has significantly reduced as
future of clean ingredient formula- Diversion from offline to online a consequence of COVID-19. Con-
tions will rely on safe synthetic is an immediate necessity, accord- sumers are mainly spending on basic

ingredients, which may improve ing to Euromonitor, but building on necessities such as hand wash, body
shelf-life. the digital activation and omnichan- wash, and lotions.
nel strategies already observed pre-
Supply chain challenges COVID-19 will need a refocus in the Corporate performance seemed to
A major issue that affects all context of a more pronounced need for bear out these trends. Sales of cos-

supply chains, including natural virtual experiences alongside new metics business segment of Kao Cor-
ingredients, is that during the lock- points of sale within social networks poration decreased by 11.4% in the
down countries closed their borders and livestreaming, outlet numbers, first quarter of 2020, compared to the
or raised trade barriers. As a result, in-store experiences and product first quarter of 2019. Revlon, Inc., a
producers and exporters were fac- curation, given that physical shopping cosmetics company, saw decrease in
ing high competition to export their is still a much-preferred choice for sales by 18.1% in the first quarter of
goods. Air freight has been signi- many consumers, including the all- 2020, as compared to first quarter of
ficantly reduced for commercial important Gen-Z. 2019.
use, while many goods are usually
shipped via this means of transport. While online will inevitably gain While COVID-19 led to a reduc-
Therefore, producers faced difficul- a larger share after the pandemic, tion by consumers on discretionary
ties to honour their orders and busi- stores will need to reinvent. expenses (e.g., fragrances, hair styl-
ness slowed down. ing products), spending on basic
Drop in revenues necessities was relatively protected
Sustainability to the fore According to estimates by Kline & (e.g., personal liquid soap, hand and
One unexpected impact of the Co., a consultancy, the cosmetics body lotions).
pandemic related to sustainability and toiletries market was heading
is the heightened appeal for both toward the sharpest decline ever According to Coherent Market In-
manufacturers and consumers of local recorded in the 60-plus years Kline sights (CMI), brands such as Kiehl’s,
products with short distribution has been tracking the market, with a Lancôme, and Helena Rubinstein,
channels. decline of 5% likely in 2020. In com- which have a large proportion of
parison, during the 2009 recession, skincare products outperformed the
Consumers are also looking more the market dipped by 0.8%. The only
closely at the origin of their purchases, other time Kline noted a decrease
calling for products that are more was a 0.3% falloff in 1991 amid
effective, but also simpler – both in another recession(3).
terms of their composition and their
use: lighter or even elimination of According to estimates by Kantar,
packaging; use of recyclable bottles; in China, before COVID-19 hit, the
etc. are tending to become more personal care market was forecast to
widespread. The useful outweighs grow 9% in 2020, but is now on track
the futile, and the players in the for a 5% decline. In South Korea, the
sector understand that this trend, market has shrunk by 8%, compared
“clean beauty”, or “green beauty”, with expected growth of 4.8%. The
is set to continue. impact has been lower in Thailand,
where the sector was expected to re- Fig. 2: Pre- and post-COVID markets for
personal care ingredients
Consumers are demanding, even main flat, but has declined by 2.1%(4). Source: Coherent Market Insights
26 Home, Personal & Institutional Care India February 2021