THE ITALIAN COSMETICS MARKET, IMPORT AND EXPORT
Part 1
It’s no secret that Italy is one of the most important homelands of cosmetics. But how important is the Italian cosmetics market, taking into account cosmetics products that are produced in Italy and exported abroad and those produced abroad and imported into Italy?
In this article, let’s consider both positions.
The European cosmetics market
According to statistics from Cosmetics Europe, the European association representing the Cosmetics Industry Italy ranks 4th in Europe, despite the difficulties experienced recently due to Covid-19 pandemic and the various lockdowns that followed; all of which created quite a stir.
Did you know that the European cosmetics and personal care market is the largest all over the world? That’s right, with a total value of 76.7 billion euros at retail price in 2020. WOW! Europe is followed by the United States with €63,800 million, China 61,600 million, Japan 29,300 million and Brazil with 19,000 million. Who would have thought it?
To go into the details of the European countries, the largest national markets for cosmetics and personal care products are Germany (14 billion euros), France (11.5 billion euros), the United Kingdom (9.8 billion euros), Italy (9.7 billion euros), Spain (6.4 billion euros) and Poland (3.8 billion euros).
So, to answer our question and get to the point, addressing you, dear American/Australian/extra-European brand reading this (thank you very much, I’m touched!), the Italian cosmetics market is extremely important and worth a lot of money. So what are you waiting for, it’s time to start selling in the market!
I warmly invite you to find out more information about our regulatory and Responsible Person services dedicated to EU and UK.
Cosmetics imported into Italy
To finish this chapter, I have one last question to answer for you, my dear readers: which are the most imported cosmetics in Italy?
Well, in 2020, Italy imported 677 million euros, or 55,938 tons, of “creams and other products”. Second place goes to “eau de toilette and colognes” (209 million euros or 49,541 tons); I would include a tie with “perfumes and eau de parfum” with 203 million euros and 11,752 tons. We conclude the third place of this all beautiful, clean, and fragrant podium with “lotions and other hair products”; Italy imported 132 million euros and 36,217 tons. This data has been provided by Cosmetica Italia, the National Association of Cosmetic Companies in its “Annual Report 53rd analysis of the cosmetics sector and consumption in Italy in 2020”.
Part 2
Cosmetics made in Italy and exported abroad
In this second part, we will focus on cosmetics products made in Italy and exported abroad.
Drum roll, please… According to Il Sole 24 Ore “the top ten destinations by value of Italian cosmetic exports are growing at a sustained rate, […] In the first half of 2021, France is in first place (262 million euros and +6.6%) followed by Germany (232 million euros and +11.4%), the United States, the top non-European destination (229 million euros and +15.9%) and the United Kingdom (121 million euros and -0.1%). Of relevance in sixth place is Hong Kong which, with a growth of over 44%, comes to 155 million euros; and the United Arab Emirates, the ninth destination with +62.1% and 73 million euros.”
Are you curious to know what Italians export the most? Pizza of course, but no, we’re not talking about food…Italians mainly export “creams and other products”, in 2020 it was 918 million euros, equal to 55,654 tons of product. In second place are “lotions and other hair products” (648 million euros, 122,127 tons) and in third place “eau de toilette and colognes” for 554 million euros and 19,147 tons.
So if you are an Italian brand, reading this, and you need a partner who can help you with the international regulatory services offered by Biorius, don’t hesitate to contact me immediately!
Conclusion
I would like to remind you again that we are considering a historical timeframe that is not exactly propitious. The crisis linked to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has affected both consumption and the performance of cosmetics companies, but there is no doubt that the resilience, strength, and flexibility of these realities will show us a full recovery (return to 2019 levels) by the end of 2022.
Perhaps, however, not everything is so bad… Italians seem to have more time to pay attention to their beauty routines since they are no longer stuck in traffic trying to get to the office on time since working from home has become more popular. Since they have become much more conscious to the concept of safety and natural ingredients…thus giving the green light to skincare, face and body creams imperatively with natural, green and sustainable connotations.
This trend may also be due to the uninterrupted use of the surgical mask, which has protected us from viruses and droplets but at the same time has created various skin related problems such as redness, dryness and the newly coined term ‘maskne’. Cosmetics can also be used, not only to make us ‘look better, but also to soothe these small problems by moisturizing and regenerating the skin. To discover all the trends for 2022, check out the article!
Just ask Biorius
Biorius and its team of experts are always ready to help you with all the regulatory challenges when placing a product in the market, our aim is your products to be safe and compliant wherever you want to go.
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