Mass Beauty and Personal Care in Switzerland

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Rising sales of essential mass beauty and personal care in line with greater mobility outside of the home

Overall, mass beauty and personal care was less impacted by the pandemic and its negative effects in 2020 compared to premium products, recording a much lower value sales decline. While value growth of premium beauty and personal care was higher than the mass segment in 2021, overall sales levels for the latter remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels in comparison, as many local price-sensitive consumers continued to focus on essential purchases.

Multinationals strengthen leadership of mass segment due to wide portfolios and consumer trust

Due to their longstanding history in beauty and personal care and vast product and brand presence (Garnier, L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Nivea, Eucerin, Labello) across various categories, L'Oréal Suisse SA and Beiersdorf (Switzerland) AG strengthened their lead of the mass segment in Switzerland in 2021. These players enjoy a high level of brand recognition as well as trust with many consumers having grown up with products such as Nivea, and trusting the expertise of L’Oréal.

Supermarkets retains relevant sales following pandemic boost, while e-commerce continues to gain share in 2021

Pandemic-induced lockdowns and restrictions on retailers’ activity in Switzerland affected some shifts in channel distribution as e-commerce continued to gain share in 2021, but generally, had limited impact on overall mass beauty and personal care sales. In fact, mass products benefited from this period, as beauty specialists (including boutiques and duty free outlets located at airports) remained closed or only offered limited shopping opportunities due to staff shortages and intensified safety precautions and measures.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Early full recovery for mass segment in line with greater mobility outside of the home

With restrictions expected to be further lifted in Switzerland in 2022 as the threat of the pandemic wanes, and consumers regain their confidence and purchasing behaviour returns to some level of normality over the course of the forecast period, sales of mass beauty and personal care are expected to quickly recover. The segment’s overall value growth (at constant 2021 prices) is expected to outperform the review period CAGR, mainly driven by a stronger recovery by mass colour cosmetics.

Heightened hygiene awareness will remain relevant trend over forecast period

Products that performed exceptionally well during the pandemic due to heightened health and hygiene concerns as a result of the pandemic, such as hand sanitisers and liquid soap, are likely to continue to experience high demand over the forecast period due to the consolidation of consumer habits in Switzerland. Local consumers are expected to maintain a higher standard of hygiene and cleanliness, not only with regards to appearance (which will continue to be fuelled by social media platforms such as TikTok, and Instagram) but also due to overall sanitisation awareness to support safety and health preservation/prevention of germs.

Local consumers likely to retain new habits in terms of shopping

Current developments are expected to continue impacting the split between distribution channels over the forecast period. While retailers such as hypermarkets and drugstores/parapharmacies are expected to regain some share, many consumers are likely to retain newly-developed routines (purchasing more often online and/or at the supermarket due to convenience factors).