Body Care

According to Mintel’s latest data, the French body care market is in the doldrums somewhat as value sales fell by 2.6% in 2010 totalling t584m with product sub-sectors such as gradual tanners in particular turning in sharp losses. The mass market has also seen substantial losses with Symphony IRI France reporting that gradual tanners here fell by a whopping 30% in the past year to total just t7.5m, whereas back in 2008 this sub-sector was worth a much more bronzed €14.1m.

According to data from Symphony IRI Germany, the German body care market is inching in the right direction, growing from a market value of €439.67m in 2009 to €443.09m last year, a rise of 0.8%. However the adult body care portion of the overall market did see a decline of 1.3%, dropping from €334.67m to €330.45m, while hands and feet both grew by exactly the same amount of 7.3% to €79.54m and €33.09m respectively.

The Italian body care market had reason to smile in the past year as it grew by 1.3% to make €519.35m, according to Unipro. This compared with a rather meagre 0.2% growth in 2009 so Italians definitely seem to be increasingly interested in getting their body in tip top shape. One area which is always a favourite with Italian consumers is that of anti-cellulite products, which put on a healthy 4.9% over the previous year to make €106.88m.

According to Symphony IRI Spain, the body care sector here saw losses of 4% in the past year, falling to €160m, however volume sales did fare better, rising by exactly the same percentage to 15.8m units. Body care products for adults, which in Spain account for 90% of sales, saw value sales again fall by 3% to make €142.7m, while volume rose here by 5% to 14m units. These results could be a sign that Spanish consumers are switching to cheaper own label products rather than turning away from the category as a whole.

After several months of stagnation, the UK body care sector is finally moving onwards and upwards, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. The market for body care increased significantly, rising 4.3% to reach £356m by the end of February this year, while volume increased pretty much in line with value growth, rising by 4.6%. These figures proved to be the most robust in the market and are testament to the fact that UK manufacturers are pouring renewed investment into this sector.