Fragrances in Costa Rica

PROSPECTS

More-affordable products set the trend during 2017

As a result of ongoing economic uncertainty, the performance of fragrances continued to be affected by the rising offer of more-affordable alternatives, which continued to emerge through the leading channels of beauty specialists, modern grocers and department stores. In this context, there was the increasing popularity of multiple “masstige” brands, including products from Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Arden and United Colours of Benetton (all under USD35.

New brand extensions continue to push demand for premium products

The use of additional brand extensions based on new juice blends continued to set the pace in the case of more-premium brands, such as CH212 VIP and DKNY Be Delicious, which already benefited from strong levels of recognition amongst higher-income consumers. Numerous innovations continued to leverage on strongly positioned umbrella brands, with the capacity of quickly gaining the interest of existing and potential customers.

More-natural products to gain momentum over the forecast period

As in the case of other beauty and personal care categories, a broader range of natural products based on essential oil combinations is anticipated to gain momentum amongst younger millennials over the forecast period. These alternatives may further develop unisex fragrances, which remained relatively dormant in 2017 due to the low capacity that these products had for targeting specific groups of consumers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Direct sellers continue to lead mass fragrances, while Saint Honoré Costa Rica leads premium sales

Benefiting from strong product coverage developed over many years, the players Corporación Belcorp de Costa Rica and Avon de Costa Rica continued to lead overall fragrances in Costa Rica in 2017. The combination of tradition along with their capacity for reaching a broad base of low- and mid-income consumers across rural and urban areas help to explain the popularity of these players, which tend to offer more-affordable products based on promotional offers and regular seasonal discounts.

New beauty players and products continue to emerge during 2017

Despite the strong dominance of Belcorp and other masstige brands within affordable but still prestigious fragrances, new players such as the popular Brazilian manufacturer O Boticário decided to enter Costa Rica in partnership with the leading department store player Universal. Besides its broad offer of mid-range fragrances offered under USD60.

Online platforms will continue to boost sales of “masstige” fragrances over the forecast period

As a broader base of millennial buyers continues to become interested in finding new identity references, it is anticipated that these consumers will have a positive response to new value-added products, which will be outside the undifferentiated and more-economic brands that tend to be found across most modern and traditional grocery outlets in Costa Rica. In this context, good development opportunities are expected for affordable “masstige” brands targeted at teenagers and younger adults.

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