KOTRA Paris Office Latest Report

 

Market size

France leads the latest cosmetics and fashion trends. France is the home country of L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company. What are the latest product trends in the French cosmetics market?

 

The French eye makeup product market trend report recently published by the KOTRA Paris Trade Center presents an analysis of the trend of the French eye makeup product market, which recorded a high growth rate after the pandemic, but has slowed down due to inflation that has blown around the world, and the future outlook.

 

As of the end of 2021, sales in the French color cosmetics market were approximately 1.031 billion euros, down 1.2% from the previous year. The color cosmetics market was found to show a moderate decline in 2021, the following year, after a sharp decline due to the Corona 19 pandemic in 2020.

 

In France in 2021, there was a curfew at 6 p.m. related to the pandemic, and retail stores, which could be said to be major channels for color cosmetics, were unable to operate.

 

The Paris Trade Center report predicted, “Demand is relatively low as mask wearing and telecommuting continue, and it will take time for the color cosmetics product line to regain its vibrancy before Corona 19.”

 

As of 2021, lip products performed the worst within the color cosmetics category, while eye makeup and nail categories performed well, albeit based on relativity.

 

As of 2021, eye makeup had the largest sales share among color makeup products, recording the highest year-on-year growth rate with total sales of 370 million euros.

 

Retail sales of color cosmetics in France are largely divided into the general market and the premium product market. Prior to the pandemic, the gap in market size between the two products tended to narrow, but the general market significantly outperformed the premium market overall over 2020 and 2021, as the post-pandemic economic crisis reduced household spending.

 

However, if the economic stabilization trend continues, the premiumization trend is expected to show growth again.

 

Eco-friendly, Upcycling, Social Commerce

Research consulting company Alcimed analyzed and reported three trends through the Cosmetics 360 International Exhibition (October 12-13, Louvre Museum, Paris) last year.

 

The first is the popularity of solid cosmetics. Many manufacturers are gradually reducing packaging and releasing solid or powder cosmetics that are easy to transport, and consumers also prefer solid-type makeup products in terms of eco-friendliness.

 

The second is the upcycling trend. Innovative cases that maximize eco-friendly factors from product ingredients to packaging are emerging. For example, HPRD-Health Products R&D announced an exfoliation product using cherry seeds. Cloud Beauty Innvation Hub has announced eco-friendly packaging using natural waste such as shells and egg shells.

 

A third trend is the rise of artificial intelligence technology. An example is a service that analyzes an individual's skin tone, facial structure, and skin type using machine learning technology derived from artificial intelligence and provides a skincare routine that considers individual characteristics.

 

Income trends

Last year, the largest import of French eye makeup products was $344.07 million, up 4.5% from the previous year.

 

The main importing countries are Italy, Germany, China, the United States and the Netherlands. In particular, Italy is the most important import destination, accounting for 40.6% of total imports. Over the past three years, imports from China, the Netherlands and Japan have gradually increased.

 

The amount of imports from Korea decreased by 4.4% from the previous year to a total of $8.48 million in 2022 (2.5% share, 9th place), but in 2021, it increased by 25.0% from the previous year to $8.86 million.

 

Competitive Trend

The largest share of French eye makeup products is held by Gemey/Maybeline. French products such as L'Oreal Paris and Yves Roché also show a wide range of sales.

 

As for eye shadow products, palette-type products that can be freely used in various colors are popular, and stick-type eye shadow products are also popular. In the case of mascara, unlike Korea, which prefers stiff mascara containing fibers, the sales rate of mascara that adds volume with a soft texture is high.

 

Distribution Structure

72.5% of French eye makeup products are distributed through offline stores. Online accounts for 27.5%, but offline is decreasing and online distribution is growing year by year. Cosmetic stores account for 37.8% of offline distribution. Among them, 1.7% are health and beauty product stores such as pharmacies, which are currently the only offline stores that are growing.

 

Beauty specialty stores account for 31.4% of the market, but the trend continues to decrease. In the case of online, the e-commerce market occupies a 25.5% share. Currently, it is growing most actively.