EU investing further in the colour cosmetics segment

“Despite high levels of innovation across all of the Big 5 European countries, only Germany and Italy managed to translate this into value and volume gains over the past year. France, Spain and the UK, meanwhile, saw a less positive set of results​,” noted analysts from Kantar recently.

Now, through projects such as the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technology Development (EFPRTD) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the segment is enjoying financial boosts from the EU.

UK firm​

The ERDF fund is a fund allocated by the EE to promote regional development, and is boosting cosmetics through investment into brands looking for a stronger foothold in the market.

Badgequo offers one example of brand benefiting from the fund: the UK colour cosmetics firm with a reported turnover of £10.9 million recently received £600,000 in investment from Finance Yorkshire, a project the ERDF backs to the tune of £30 million.

The brand states it will use to fund continued growth throughout the UK and abroad.

“We’re enjoying phenomenal growth both in the UK and abroad, and this latest investment will be vital in building further on that,​” said managing director Kai Arter.

R&D funding​

As well as investing in brands’ growth, the EU is also investing in research and development; this is particularly evident in its funding of testing alternatives.

“In the last 20 years, the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technology Development have contributed more than €200 million toward the development of non-animal models for drug development, chemical toxicity and ecotoxicology and product safety assessment​,” note the AXLR8 Consortium, a European body which promotes alternative testing methods.

A recent survey of EU member states found that reported funding of alternative (3Rs) methods has significantly increased in Austria, Denmark, Finland, and the UK since previous years, with Denmark now planning to set up a centre dedicated to alternatives.