In a competitive personal-care market, formulations using recognizably natural ingredients are pulling ahead of the pack.
In a recent article for Cosmetics Design, Deanna Utroske covers new trends revealed in Mintel’s Facial Skincare and Anti-Aging US 2016 report. “The market research firm is quick to point out that 2015 sales in the facial skincare and anti-aging categories were down,” Utroske writes. “And it’s mild, natural and anti-pollution products that are capturing consumer attention just now.”
Indeed, Mintel has highlighted passion for natural ingredients as one of the four main trends set to change the personal-care industry over the next 10 years.
And they aren’t the only ones tracking consumer demand for non-synthetic products. Kline & Company’s 2015 Natural Personal Care Global Series report detailed the growth in natural-ingredient reformulations, pointing to the increasingly clean products of companies such as Avalon Organics, JĀSÖN, Annemarie Borlind and Melvita.
“Growing consumer awareness of synthetic chemicals in cosmetics and toiletries and the desire for truly natural products will continue to propel the global natural personal care industry,” predicted the Kline Group. “This segment’s growth is projected at a [compound annual growth rate] of slightly less than 10 percent through 2019.”
UL Prospector is seeing a corresponding rise in searches for natural personal-care ingredients. The most obvious uptick is in the natural emollients category. Using UL’s Industry Analytics tool, we are tracking an increase in both search volume and relative interest in popular natural oils and waxes, including jojoba oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, shea butter and beeswax.
Besides emollients, easily recognizably natural ingredients that are common in other wellness markets are also rising in personal-care searches. Rosemary, bamboo, honey, green tea and aloe all show boosts in volume and relative interest. Aloe made significant gains in early 2016, perhaps hinting at Mintel’s prediction that calming and anti-stress ingredients are on the cusp of big popularity.
Other natural ingredients experiencing search growth mirror consumers’ greener grocery shopping habits. Cranberry, yogurt, oatmeal, rapeseed and turmeric searches are all trending up in volume and relative interest. (See “Superfoods Surge in Personal Care” [add link] for more on the connection between popular edibles and personal-care trends.) The steady growth in yogurt searches may reflect consumers’ continued interest in probiotics for both gut and skin health. Mintel reports that 72 percent of adults who use skin-care products in the U.S. are interested in probiotic ingredients.
More niche natural ingredient searches are also showing movement, although their relative interest tends to make volatile swings. Personal-care searches for burdock root (an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant), ginkgo biloba (an antioxidant with circulatory benefits), poria cocos (an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant fungus), willowherb (an antimicrobial and antioxidant plant also called fireweed) and edelweiss (also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredient) are all on the rise.
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