Hair Care in Latin America

Market defined by Brazil’s movements

The hair care environment of Latin America largely reflects events in Brazil owing to its size. In 2016, this meant that the Brazil-reliant hair care market in Latin America remained deep in negative territory for a second year running amid extreme macro environment factors that led many consumers to shorten routines and cut back spending on anything beyond the basic. For many companies, expsoure to Brazil is fortuitous but it would pay for most to extend their roots further afield into more stable economies.

Healthier alternatives rapidly gaining awareness and following

Mirroring developed regions, products positioned for a healthier lifestyle, or with preventative claims, rose in prominence on retailers’ shelves, especially in Mexico. Latin America has long had an affinity for the natural space, with companies like Natura, cementing ethical practices in the minds of beauty consumers since the 1980s. This trend opens up opportunities to entice this mass-centric market to trade-up in the interest of their health, especially now hair health is being taken as seriously as the skin.

Regional cues benefit at brand level

The competitive landscape in Latin America is geared towards international companies, namely, Unilever, L’Oreal and P&G. However, these companies are very astute in their ability to adapt products to suit the best interests of this ethnically-diverse population. Those brands who still rely on their legacy and western heritage, are struggling to maintain relevance. This is further supported in that Multilatina companies such as Natura and Belcorp lead sales through their ability to offer products specifically relevant to local demographics.

Premium set to grow fastest, but mass will always reign

With a view to the future, premium will grow ahead of mass, but still will only contribute to a meagre 4% of value gains through to 2020. There are vast opportunities to leverage consumers’ health concerns to successfully market value-added products. A shift in distribution will be needed, however, for hair care to grow in sophistication, as grocery retailers are not conducive to premium or specialised products.