The natural/organic skincare, haircare and cosmetics market is expanding significantly and is expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2008 from about $3.9 billion in 2003, according to a report by the US Market for Natural Personal Care Products. That means that the average annual growth for the period will be at least nine per cent.
In comparison, the overall growth of the personal care market was three per cent in 2003 according to ACNielsen.
As people believe that natural ingredients make the beauty products better and healthier, "natural" written on the label is becoming a huge sales driving force. Retailers say many consumers already read the labels very carefully because they want to know what exactly it means. Consumers want to know whether a product is five per cent or 90 per cent natural, and these percentages make a huge difference in terms of sales and marketing.
The first natural standard was set in California last year. According to the California Organic Products Act only products with 70 per cent or more organic ingredients can put "certified organic" on the front label.