The sale of vegan prestige beauty products has increased by 38 percent in the UK during the last 12 months, according to The NPD Group.
The global information company reports that although vegan beauty brands currently only account for one percent of the women’s face skincare market, the category is growing at a rate “well above” that of other categories in the market.
Helen Duxbury, the senior account manager for NPD UK Beauty, says vegan is one of “the big issues” for customers in 2018.
“There has certainly been a rise in the number of vegan brands in prestige beauty,” she says.
“This coincides with consumers adopting a more conscientious approach when purchasing products, looking closely at the underlying philosophies and actions of the brands.
“They [consumers] not only investigate ingredients and efficacy, they want to know about traceability, and how animal friendly they are.”
Duxbury says “the popularity of vegan is undeniable and brands are now capitalising on the movement”.
“In the past year we have seen solid growth and a stream of new launches in the sector.
“Whilst most of these are in limited distribution, we are also seeing an increase in mainstream brands offering a vegan range or who are fully vegan, such as the launch of Super Food Skincare by Elemis, which is not only vegan but also meets consumer demand for super food ingredients.
“We believe the trend for beauty products that not only help consumers look good but feel good about their purchase too is set to grow in 2018.”
According to the NPD Group, the total UK market for “natural” prestige beauty products (of which vegan is a category) was valued at £124 million in 2017 and accounts for 26 percent of prestige women’s face skincare.
The company reports that natural brands (including organic, naturally-derived and vegan) are growing at a rate 16 percent ahead of the overall market growth which was seven percent in the 12-month period to the end of this January.
The top five product sectors for natural skincare products are anti-ageing, cleansers, moisturisers, eye treatment and masks.