Ingredient formulators set to profit from anti-ageing obsession
contributed to steep growth in the anti-ageing product market,
which is set to prove particularly lucrative for formulators of
cosmetics ingredients. Tom Armitage reports.
According to a new report, market analysts Kline and Company say that cosmetics product marketers and manufacturers of formulation ingredients should ready themselves to take advantage of growth - especially in the active ingredients sector.
The market for speciality active ingredients - referring to compounds that provide a demonstrable therapeutic benefit to the skin or hair - together with their corresponding ingredient delivery systems, is estimated to be valued at US$400-500 million.
"Speciality actives and delivery systems represent the only growth area in the overall cosmetics and toiletries market for the short term," commented Gillian Morris, industry manager for Kline's Chemical Practice.
"Suppliers of speciality actives and delivery systems, particularly nanoparticles, peptides and substantiated botanicals, have to come up with new performance claims and innovations to stay competitive," she added.
According to Morris, a spate of mergers and acquisitions in the US anti-ageing skincare sector has also highlighted "just how important it is for companies to diversify in order to compete in this market."
Cosmetics manufacturers have in recent years made a concerted effort to tap in to the lucrative US anti-ageing products sector, which is worth an estimated US$2.5 billion at retail level, and is showing double-digit growth rates.
"Marketers and suppliers of speciality actives and delivery systems know that they have to take advantage of the robust growth in the industry," Morris added.
The report also claims that although much of the recent growth in the anti-aging sector has been confined to traditional retail brands, the growing segment of professional skin care brands will provide an area of considerable future growth for suppliers and marketers alike.
Another study by Kline, The US Professional Skin Care Market 2004, to be released later this year, notes that professional skin care products have, since 1998, been expanding at an average annual rate of 12.3 per cent.
"With over US$675 million in sales in 2003, the professional products market could prove attractive for marketers of traditional cosmetic and toiletry products," said Carrie Bonner, industry manager for Kline's Consumer Products Practice.
"It might not become a core channel of distribution for a large marketer, but it could be an attractive alternative channel to drive and build sales, especially since many traditional outlets have become stagnant," she added.
