Brazilian beauty market set to drive plastic packaging growth
‘Latest Trends and Key Issues in the Brazilian Retail Packaging Market’ states that products with perceived health and beauty benefits drove the consumption of BRL 42bn ($18.9bn) worth of consumer packaged goods in 2012.
Plastic is preferred packaging material
The reports reveals plastic to be the preferred packaging material for health and beauty products in Brazil. Indeed, the industry is predicted to witness the fastest growing Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in demand for flexible packs during the 2012–2017 period.
Canadean analyst Kirsty Nolan told CosmeticsDesign.com USA that the popularity of plastic for health and beauty product packaging is down to its strong barrier properties and hygienic nature.
“Further to this, plastic packaging is lightweight and cost-effective, meaning that manufacturers can supply products safely, conveniently and inexpensively packaged,” she said.
Growth in flexible packaging for hair care
An example of plastic packaging use within the health and beauty sector as highlighted by Canadean is Unilever’s Dove Hair Therapy range, the packaging for which was designed by Brazilian design group Casa Rex.
Senior Canadean analyst Catherine O’Connor notes that “although leading brands in the haircare market largely use high-density polythene bottles, flexible tubes will become more popular due to their increasing use for hair colorants, conditioners and shampoo, where consumers desire their convenient, squeezable application features.”
Canadean forecasts that the number of flexible tubes used in the hair care market will grow to 732.4mn units by 2017, up from 511.9mn units in 2012. This translates as a CAGR of 7.4 percent during the period.
Growth of innovative plastic packaging types
The market researcher notes that growth in Brazil’s health and beauty market, which was worth BRL 56bn ($25bn) in 2012 and was the third largest globally, is being driven by the fashion-conscious middle classes as consumer spending power increases due the country’s strong economic growth.
This increased demand for health and beauty products is, according to Nolan, accompanied by rapid growth in the use of aerosols, bottles and tubes.
“This demonstrates that there is growing diversity in the health and beauty routines of Brazilians, including a wide variety of products, and it is this differentiation between consumer needs that is driving the growth of innovative plastic packaging types,” she said.
In terms of how beauty manufacturers can take advantage of growth in the market, Nolan highlighted that consumers are seeking out products that meet their age specific requirements and which have high quality ingredients.
“Meeting these needs will drive future development of health and beauty markets in Brazil, and packaging has a key role to play in highlighting these product attributes,” she concluded.
