The cosmetic market in Europe: today’s challenges, tomorrow’s opportunities
Although the European Union has a very short history behind it, in just 15 years it has established itself among the main economic powers, and with the United States and China it is the protagonist of world trade.
Europe is also a key market for the cosmetics industry. In 2019, the fund was worth a total of over $ 123 billion.
The global pandemic, which hit many of the 27 Member States hard, led to a 2020 closure with a drop of 3.5%, to 118.8 billion dollars, and seems to leave behind more long-term consequences than to other regions. The forecasts of Euromonitor International, an international market analysis agency, outline a slow recovery for 2021, with a value of just over 119 billion (+ 0.1% compared to 2020, down 3.3% on 2019), and not even in 2022 it seems possible to return to pre-covid numbers: for next year, Euromonitor analysts assume a turnover of 120.2 billion dollars, 2.3% less than in 2019.
To drive consumption on the European continent is the mass beauty: in 2021 the category will reach 69.7 billion dollars, up 0.3% compared to 2020. The sector suffered a moderate decline after the outbreak of the pandemic (-0.5% compared to 2019). More significant was the impact of Covid-19 on the Premium segment: from 34 billion in 2019, according to Euromonitor, it will reach 30.4 billion at the end of 2021, with a loss of 12.2%. Among the best performing sectors in Europe, skincare products are reacting best to post-covid transformations: in 2022 the category will exceed 27.5 billion, returning in line with 2019 values.
Among the member countries of the Union, there are actually 4 macro-powers with a double-digit annual market value, and Western Europe in particular is leading the entire continent towards recovery, with about 80% of the total annual turnover. The leadership belongs to Germany, with 19.3 billion dollars at the end of 2020. Following the United Kingdom, which in 2020, following Brexit, underwent a general downsizing (Read HERE Brexit: what impact for the cosmetics industry) . France closed 2020 at just over $ 14.4 billion, while Italy, the fourth largest market in Europe, recorded a value of $ 11.3 billion, down 12.8% compared to 2019. Above all, the decline in exports (-16.5%) weighed on the Italian turnover, but the sector recorded important signs of recovery. Cosmetica Italia, the national association of cosmetic companies, expects growth of 6.1% between 2020 and 2021, with a 5% increase in exports.
To return to significant economic growth, the European Union is preparing massive digital, environmental and social redevelopment projects, capable of limiting the differences between the Member States and creating a more compact body, to face the transformations with greater authority and cohesion. of the market.