South Africa’s rising middle class to boost cosmetics growth
According to Euromonitor analysts, the increase in available disposable income will push consumers to raise their spending on affordable luxuries, with a focus on colour cosmetics.
“The forecast period is expected to witness a rise in middle class disposable incomes; this increase coupled with new product launches, advertising campaigns, price promotions and the increasing influence of international trends are expected to fuel volume and constant value sales,” they state of the beauty segment.
Revlon dominant
Revlon is the brand currently dominating the scene, claiming 31% of the market in value share thanks to the popularity of its key lines, including Revlon, Charlie, Almay and Cutex.
“The strong heritage of the brand globally allows Revlon to consistently maintain a leading position within the colour cosmetics market,” confirm the Euromonitor’s analysts.
Lately, other brands have also been making moves to leverage the opportunity offered by South Africa: L’Oreal recently launched a dedicated research centre in the country, confirming the company’s interest in making its brands relevant to the region’s consumers.
“The team at the Institute has developed deep knowledge on ethnic beauty routines and specific expertise in ethnic product formulation and evaluation and L’Oréal is strongly committed to this work,” the brand told Cosmetics Design.
Innovate to stay ahead
Investment in research and development is a wise move according to Euromonitor, as innovation will hold the key for the continued growth of South African colour cosmetics, with analysts noting that consumers will increasingly demand added value.
“The main emphasis will be on increased efficiency, convenient applications, multi- benefits, long lasting and a move towards natural ingredients,” they state.
Cosmetics for application to the face currently hold the largest portion of the beauty market share, with the eye, lip and nail segments trailing behind somewhat.
