What are the changes to the 60% increase in Cosmetics in the Middle East market?

Beautyworld Middle East is the largest international beauty trade fair in the region and has been running for 25 years.

By the numbers, more than 1,400 players in the beauty industry from 66 different countries are present at this year’s show to showcase their products and services, a 60% increase on the same period 21 years ago, with all halls in the exhibition center open and companies from Singapore, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Morocco and Tunisia all making a return appearance at this year’s event. In addition to this, the Thai, Korean and US country pavilions all continued to expand, even surpassing their pre-epidemic size levels. This shows that the beauty industry is being revitalized after a hiatus of almost three years

The UAE region has a global reputation for fragrance perfumery as it is an integral part of local culture and tradition. According to Euromonitor International, the UAE is one of the world’s largest consumers of high-end fragrances per capita, with retail sales of all fragrance products growing by 12% to US$626 million in 2021. With the outbreak of the new epidemic causing consumers to become increasingly health conscious, and the global expansion of the fragrance market leading to continued growth in the fragrance industry, one of the key themes of the show is ‘fragrances’.

Some of the global fragrance giants are seeing this event as an important part of their global marketing activities, including the very familiar Eurofragrance (Spain), CPL Aromas (UK), Vermilion (Switzerland), Symrise (Germany) and many more.) , V. Mane (France), Chivaton (Switzerland) and Robertet (France) to name but a few. They are adding a touch of fresh, light floral and fruity notes to the richly coloured traditional Middle Eastern fragrances. In addition, there is more interest in the process behind the production of perfume materials and their origin, Europeans now seem to crave the richness and longevity of incense, traditional Arabic blends are becoming more popular and some markets, such as the USA, are seeing an increase in demand for attars and high quality ingredients.

Amna Abbas, the senior analyst at Euromonitor International, said “The beauty and personal care industry in the Middle East is worth US$36 billion and is expected to grow by 11% by 2026. Hair care, fragrance and skincare are the top performing categories.” The growth of the beauty industry in the region is directly linked to its growing number of millionaires – both local nationals and expatriates.

There are currently over 75,000 UAE residents with wealth between $1 million and $5 million, and this number will continue to grow. With the World Cup being held in the Middle East for the first time this year, the relaxation of tourist visas and entry policies and the influx of international tourists into the region has accelerated the growth of tourism spending and the emergence of high-end beauty and skincare centers, with a bright future for the local professional beauty sector. In addition to the popularity of finished products and packaging, there is a shift in demand to other countries as the region does not have a complete tool manufacturing facility.

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the health effects of organic products, which is reflected in the marketing campaigns for these cosmetics. More and more people, especially affluent women, tend to seek out and use personal and beauty care products containing natural, organic or vegan ingredients, and as a result, the “HALAL BEAUTY” craze continues to grow, and it was possible to see how quickly some brands are adapting to the changing and growing demand. One of the main trends was the increasing share of premium products.

The Halal cosmetics market is segmented on the basis of geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South and Central America, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The growing Muslim population and increased spending on cosmetics in South East Asian countries are driving the Halal cosmetics market, while the Middle East and Africa is the second largest market for Halal cosmetics, with consumers in Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, taking the lead in driving the demand for Shariah-compliant health and beauty products, with a Halal certification standard drafted in Malaysia that assesses the formulation of cosmetics and beauty products, production methods, storage, handling and packaging. This is reflected in the surge in demand for halal beauty product certification, as customers in the booming and high-growth markets of the Middle East become increasingly discerning about the quality and content of the products they use.

In addition to this, it was evident on the show floor that eco-friendly products are increasingly being used and popularised, with more and more manufacturers and brands flocking to this track. Many of the new products that were launched were seen on site, both in terms of packaging design and formula design, as well as in terms of branding concepts that emphasize the concept of “green”.

With more and more companies now looking for innovative ways to use software and artificial intelligence to enhance the customer experience, the ‘no-frills’ Dubai market is striving to become a futuristic leader, with the ‘Beauty Tech’ zone being a dedicated area for the beauty The ‘Beauty Tech’ section is a dedicated area for the beauty industry to embrace cutting-edge technology.

The ‘techification’ of beauty products is a natural consequence of technological developments and with the concept of the metaverse ‘BEAUTEVERSE’ is on the agenda of industry leaders, especially with artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) technologies innovations are helping to make beauty accessible to the masses, helping each individual to find the best products for their unique characteristics.