Elfriede Dambacher, publisher of the "Natural Cosmetics Yearbook" (Naturkosmetik Jahrbuch 2012), outlines the challenges that the natural cosmetics market faces in Germany.
With total sales of 815 million Euros in 2011 natural cosmetics in Germany enjoyed a market share of 6.5 percent. This makes the sector once again the biggest in Europe, and after the USA, it is the second biggest in the world. Among the five most important manufacturers are Weleda, Dr.Hauschka, Annemarie Boerlind, Lavera and Logona. But it should be noted that in recent years there have been a countless number of international brands pushing for a share of the market.
New challenges are emerging due to the fact that natural cosmetics are now widely available and can easily be found, even in mass arket outlets, as certified proproducts. In fact Alverde, sold by the DM drugstores, has become the natural cosmetics range in Germany with the highest level of sales.
However, the growth level in 2011 in the “near natural” sector – for instance the new Nivea brand Pure & Natural reached a wide section of the mass market – demonstrates just how difficult it is to reach consumers with the real additional benefits of certified products. After the enormous share (85.8 percent) taken by traditional cosmetics the 2011 share taken by “near natural” cosmetics stood at 7.8 percent and the share of genuine natural cosmetics, at 6.5 percent, was just a little below this.
Whilst it is own-brand products that define the market for new entries, many suppliers and products lack the necessary product differentiation. It is interesting to note that, although the users of natural cosmetics are a very heterogeneous consumer group, their readiness to try something new is very high, as is their readiness to spend relatively large amounts of money on cosmetics
Photo: Naturkosmetik Verlag
