Naturals outperform the sector
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Health and beauty did not enjoy the same surge in demand through the pandemic that many food & drink categories enjoyed Overall, the categories in this sector struggled with a lower growth than grocery. Toiletries saw -5.5% decline driven by reduced frequency. But in an example of how a brand can capitalise on any new opportunity, Astonish expanded into a new category and leapt 18 places up the ranking with their new liquid soap.
The beauty category has been influenced by new norms created by the pandemic as work from home has led to a much simpler beauty routine for many. Despite this, we saw a certain degree of resilience across some categories and channels. Healthcare was the only category in this sector to see growth versus two years ago (pre-pandemic) up +4.9% (52we 26 Dec 21), driven by increased volume and price.
From a channel perspective, online built on the gains from 2020 – with almost 50% of shoppers buying on Amazon over the past year. Amazon now holds 22% share of the online health and beauty market, with strong ambitions for future growth.
There has been a shift towards natural health and eco-conscious shoppers continue to grow in importance. A record 2 million shoppers bought a natural healthcare product last year. The top 20 eco-active brands in the sector have seen significantly greater growth than the total market this year while the penetration of refillable products in toiletries has almost doubled. Tapping into this trend, TENA is one of the fastest growing brands this year with a 3% growth in CRPs. The brand launched into washable incontinence underwear reflecting the new needs of eco-shoppers.
Garnier is one of the only major brands in this sector growing in consumer reach points this year, with 2% growth - climbing two places to ninth overall.
This strong performance has been driven by a combination of products. Garnier’s Ambre Solaire suncare range bounced back from poor performance during the pandemic with the launch of an over make-up SPF spray, reflecting the new needs lever for growth. Their Ultimate Blends Hair Food’ is another new innovation that continues to grow in popularity.
