‘Truly natural’ positioning to boost global market, says Kline

03-Feb-2015 - Last updated on 02-Feb-2015 at 16:32 GMT

The global natural personal care market could be due a boost in the coming years as brands begin to look at positioning themselves as ‘truly natural’ in order to gain the trust and acceptance of consumers.

Almost 75% of this market share last year was made up of products formulated with a high proportion of synthetic ingredients, according to market researcher Kline, and highlighting this means that truly natural positioning is gaining importance with consumers, manufacturers, and retailers.

What this has meant according to the researcher’s Natural Personal Care Global Series report, is that marketers have increasingly been reformulating with a higher proportion of truly natural ingredients in their products.

“These reformulations are the next natural step for companies aiming to establish strong natural concepts with high importance given to the trust between the brand and the consumers,” explains Agnieszka Saintemarie, Project Manager, Consumer Products at Kline.

“Moving upward in the natural ratings is a great way for natural brands to gain acceptance from a larger consumer base in the mid- to long-term.”

Inspired by nature

In Asia-Pacific, Kline says that the popularity of nature-inspired products is actually higher in some countries as disposable income and consumer awareness regarding product ingredients are low and where distinguishing between natural-inspired and truly natural cosmetics is not as important when making a purchase.

In more mature markets like in Europe and the US, a growing number of consumers are purchasing products containing predominantly natural ingredients.

This does not mean that natural-inspired products are not still performing well in these regions, but Kline notes it has seen a shift in natural positioning from a number of brands.

Efficacy

In what has become the age-old adage, consumers seem willing to invest in natural products, which are normally more expensive, as long as they deliver effective results.

Kline says this has seen marketers opt more towards pushing a product’s efficacy, communicating the quality of ingredients, certification and values in order to try make the choice an easier one.

Sales of the global natural personal care market increased by nearly 10% in 2014. Brazil and Asia-Pacific remain the fastest growing regions during 2014, with both expanding at double-digit rates.

The segment’s growth is projected at a CAGR of slightly less than 10% through 2019.