Natural Body Care Continues to Rise in Retail

The three fastest growing body care categories, cross-channel, are skin care, hair products and soap & bath preparations. Combined growth of skin care is 20 percent, for the most 52-week period. Hair products follow, with 18 percent growth, and soap and bath preparations are third with 15 percent. Conventional FDM is driving overall growth of top categories, with a 54 percent increase in skin care, 55 percent in hair products and 27 percent for soap & bath preparations. While growth is strong in conventional FDM, natural supermarkets still account for the majority of dollar volume, with a 52, 75 and 67 percent share of total sales respectively for skin care, hair products and soap and bath preparations. These three categories are the most developed in natural body care, producing the most volume, and together represent nearly two-thirds of the segment’s dollar share. In conventional FDM skin care, personal care & first aid and oral care generate the highest dollar volume, though the growth of both personal care & first aid and oral care is fairly flat. In conventional FDM, combined sales of skin care, hair products and soap and bath preparations represent 42 percent of the overall segment, in comparison to a combined 64 percent in the natural supermarket channel. Growth drivers of the three top categories, as well as the overall natural body care department clearly differ by channel. Growth in the natural supermarket channel is driven by velocity gains, while conventional FDM is driven by distribution gains.

At the subcategory level, the top performers vary significantly by channel. In natural supermarkets, facial lotions & crèmes, followed by body lotions & crèmes, and shampoo are the top dollar volume generating subcategories. With an average price of over $19, facial lotions & crèmes produced $42.3 million in sales via 2.2 million units sold. Bar soap and toothpaste & tooth powders moved the most units and also rank in the top 10 in dollar sales. Consumers may purchase these items more often than other natural body care products and in multiples for larger households; with an average retail price of $3, consumers also might find bar soaps an easy entry category for natural body care. In conventional FDM, lip balm, analgesics, and toothpastes & tooth powders produce the highest dollar volume and also rank in the top four in terms of units sold. The lip balm subcategory, with segment dollar share of 15.6 percent, experienced year-over-year growth of 55.8 percent and moved more than 16 million units, with an average retail price of $3.38, to attain a position of the top dollar and unit volume subcategory. Facial lotions & crèmes, body lotions & crèmes and shampoo, which are in the top 10 dollar volume subcategories in both channels, have higher average retail prices in natural supermarkets; this is likely due to the quality and selection of products carried.

Top brands and items also vary by channel, as does the degree of product variety offered. Natural supermarkets offer more than 800 brands and 12,000 items, versus conventional FDM’s 220 brands and 3,300 items. Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine, Biotene, Alba Botanica and Jason Natural Cosmetics are the leading brands in conventional FDM, collectively representing 56 percent of total department dollar volume. Top dollar volume brands in natural supermarkets are Jason Natural Cosmetics, Burt’s Bees, Alba Botanica, Tom’s of Maine and Avalon Organic, which together represent 26 percent of dollar sales. Though there are similarities in the top performing brands, leading dollar volume brands have a much larger influence on sales in conventional FDM stores due to their significant share of department sales. Conversely, brand share in natural supermarkets is more evenly dispersed among the best sellers, with no one brand dominating the department.

Natural body care is clearly a dynamic department and its future looks bright. As consumer awareness around ingredients, preservatives, and the environment continues to increase, the availability and sustained growth of natural body care will continue to flourish across channels. Natural supermarkets will continue to set trends, with vibrant and vast product selections; conventional FDM will continue to refine and augment their natural product sets as natural body care manufacturers expand reach into conventional FDM. Products will continue to showcase innovation, with ingredients and formulations, particularly around the combination of efficacy and purity. In addition products will display an increased inclusion of organic ingredients, in both formulations and usage of the USDA organic seal. ■

Alison Tirone is a marketing consultant with Schaumburg, Ill.-based SPINS, a market research firm. SPINS is a leading provider of industry reporting and consulting services for the natural products sector. SPINS’ comprehensive offering includes retail measurement services, content-based reporting, consumer information and consulting services. Learn more at SPINS.com, or contact the company at (847) 908-1200.

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