The strength of the European beauty and personal care market is confirmed by the presence of as many as five European nations among the leading countries of this market, among which we recognize Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. In addition to that, Europe made up approximately 22 percent of the global cosmetic market in the year 2021.
Within Europe, Germany had the highest sales value and market value. As of 2014/15, Germany's sales value was roughly 13 billion euros, approximately six and seven billion more than the United Kingdom and France respectively. Germany's market volume of cosmetics and personal care amounted to roughly 14 billion euros. Therefore, it is not surprising that personal care products sales in Germany grew by 2.2 percent in 2014/15 compared to the previous year. Spain had the highest growth rate, with personal care product sales growing by 2.4 percent. When looking at the sales value of segment-specific products in European countries, oral care had the highest share of sales, which amounted to approximately 15 percent. A little less than 13 percent was reserved for haircare, and the facial care sales share amounted to 11.7 percent. One of the major key players with a high market share among the mentioned products is L'Oreal. Their market share in Europe was approximately 20 percent.
One of the main trends in the personal care market to be taken into consideration is the emergence of natural and organic care products. Approximately 80 percent of respondents to a consumer survey about the reasons for purchasing these products mentioned the use of exclusively natural products, which were not tested on animals. The country where consumers were most aware of the differences between natural and organic personal care products in Europe was Sweden. Approximately 50 percent of Swedish respondents who participated in a consumer survey on organic care products knew the difference, whereas Italians and Germans answered with 36 and 30 percent respectively. Nevertheless, with the European consumer becoming more aware of environmental and sustainability issues, this trend might have an impact on the future of the industry.
