Understanding consumer and market trends, how competitors are innovating in response, and what new brands are entering the market are crucial elements in building a well-informed brand strategy. This is especially true in highly dynamic industries such as beauty and personal care, where new product launches occur frequently and the trend cycle moves rapidly.
Using the Passport Innovation Platform to understand new product development (NPD) in the region, Euromonitor International detected over 3,200 new product launches in the key Latin American markets of Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina in 2022. With beauty and personal care estimated to be worth approximately USD61,447 million (RSP) in all Latin American markets and expected to record a 7.1% CAGR over the forecast period, these markets are ones to watch.
Brazil and Mexico lead BPC launches in tracked Latin American markets
Market innovation can be measured by analysing both new brand launches (being the introduction of entirely new brands to market), and brand expansions, which represent new sub-brands launched from existing brands.
In 2022, 64% of all new launches (brand and sub-brand) in the four Latin American markets covered were seen in Brazil, followed by Mexico with 25%
Source: Euromonitor International
Brazil has a particularly dynamic beauty and personal care market with industry growth of 12% between 2021-2022 (retail value RSP) and an expected CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period (2022-2027 retail value RSP) which is 12.6% higher than the regional average.
A main driver behind the strong industry growth in Brazil is a cultural association between beauty and hygiene routines and health and wellness.
51% of Brazilian consumers identify beauty as 'looking healthy'
Source: Euromonitor International’s 2022 Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey
Mexico is a similarly dynamic market when it comes to sustainable beauty. According to Euromonitor International's Voice of the Consumer: Sustainability Survey, 44% of millennials and 33% of Generation Z consumers had purchased a beauty and personal care product with sustainable packaging features in the previous month.
Moisturisers and conditioners lead new product launches in region
Across the region, the largest number of new launches was witnessed in moisturisers and conditioners, accounting for approximately 20% of detected products. Around 10% of new launches were detected in body care and similar for shampoos. New product development in these categories was bolstered by renewed investment in beauty and personal care products after the pandemic and the high inflationary economic environment which is leading to demand for lower-cost options in these categories. Mass hair care recorded 9.2% value growth in 2022 and is predicted to record a 6.4% CAGR over the forecast period.
While consumers are re-evaluating their budgets, they are still spending on beauty and personal care, with a particular interest in new product features and claims. This has stimulated innovation in many of these dynamic categories. Following a period of uncertainty, conscious consumerism and wellness take on greater consumer appeal. As a result, much of the product development in these top categories seeks to respond to these interests with innovation in terms of packaging, formulations, and certifications. For example, the bar format of shampoo was introduced in Brazil by organic bar shampoo company, Organica Pure Farms, in 2022.
Utilising NPD to identify the manifestation of new trends in the market
Tracking product launches can reveal how competitor brands are capitalising on market trends and help to identify new emerging brands that are finding innovative ways to disrupt the market. Through using Euromonitor International’s Passport Innovation Platform, it is possible to identify the players that are innovating and in which categories. Observing NPD associated with crucial market trends such as conscious consumption and wellness can help to inform brands of new products competing with their own portfolios and help track “what’s next” in dynamic industries such as beauty and personal care.
Want to learn more about web scraping technology and its application to tracking global innovation across categories? Read this article: Monitoring NPD for Successful Innovation in Soft Drinks
For more on e-commerce, read our white paper, How to Optimise Your Product Mix with Consumer Trends and E-Commerce Data, or attend one of our webinars, such as Mastering E-Commerce Growth: How to Win Online Amid Uncertainty.