UK beauty industry 'not meeting ethnic consumers' needs'
Black and Asian women in the UK are not being adequately catered for by the beauty industry, a report out today says.
The UK market for cosmetics and toiletries aimed at this group is worth £65m (€91m) – up 24% since 2002.
But it still accounts for less than 2% of the UK’s £3.7bn (€5.1bn) beauty market, according to market analysts Mintel.
It would seem the beauty industry is not meeting the needs of modern-day consumers, Mintel’s Ethnic Cosmetics and Toiletries report says.
Around one in 10 adults in the UK is now of ethnic origin, according to Office for National Statistics figures used in the report.
Mintel senior consumer analyst Alexandra Richmond said: “Today there is clearly a demand for products specifically designed for the growing number of ethnic consumers.
“Although there are luxury beauty ranges for those with darker skin tones, mass-market alternatives on the high street are still few and far between.”
Many US ethnic brands launched in the UK in the 1980s and have barely changed their marketing since then.
This means they are out of sync with today’s young black and Asian women, according to Mintel.
But the report says the ethnic cosmetics and toiletries market could grow by as much as 35% in the next five years if manufacturers invest in new products and advertising.
