Geopolitics puts brakes on Moroccan cosmetics growth

The report says that a return to Islamic values deadened sales as women stopped wearing make-up and fragrances in public. Skincare sales were also affected by such a shift as middle-income women preferred to return to products such as ghassoul and henna instead of using packaged skin care products.

Eye make-up drove value sales with growth of 12 per cent with sales reaching Dh159.6 million (€14.53m) with the majority of sales occurring in mascara. Eye make-up remained very popular as many traditional women wore kohl eye pencils, which are sanctioned in Islam. By extension women also continued to wear mascara as again it is not expressly forbidden in Islam. This permits many women wearing hijab some expression of individuality, the report's author Leonie Tait says.

Euromonitor expects that geopolitical events will have a market impact on volume growth of the cosmetics and toiletries market over the forecast period. Should US and UK troops pull out of Iraq and the US attempt to put a credible plan forward to stopping Palestinian/Israeli violence, then consumers are likely to become more favourable towards buying US products, which is in turn expected to boost volume sales of US brands.

However, the most likely scenario is that US and UK troops will remain in Iraq over the forecast period. As a result, the backlash and turn towards Islamic values is likely to continue with many middle-income young people preferring to return to Islamic symbols such as the wearing of hijab and using traditional products as a way of showing solidarity with Iraq and Palestine, Euromonitor says.

Cosmetics and Toiletries in Morocco​ was released by Euromonitor​ this week. Its analysis trends and developments impacting the industry. It also includes detailed sector coverage of baby care, bath and shower products, deodorants, hair care, colour cosmetics, men's grooming products, oral hygiene, fragrances, skin care, depilatories and sun care.