Ethnic Spending on Hair, Beauty, and Cosmetics tops $8.4 Billion

New York, October 20, 2006 — Bolstered by ethnic-specific hair, beauty, and cosmetic (HBC) products seeing double digit growth between 2001 and 2006, overall purchases of both ethnic-specific and general-market HBC products by Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics are set to top $8.4 billion by year’s end, according to the latest market research from Packaged Facts.

Ethnic Hair, Beauty and Cosmetic Products in the U.S. pegs the current market for ethnic-specific HBC products at nearly $1.9 billion, a 19% gain over 2001 figures. Yet this is only a portion of what ethnic consumers actually spend on hair relaxers, nail and lip care, make-up, and other HBC products. General-market HBC purchases ring up at about 3.5 times more than ethnic-specific, with this year’s general-market purchases expected to total over $6.5 billion.

Yet the market remains difficult to target. After being drawn to high-end, “non-ethnic-specific” prestige-style HBC products early this century, the fading novelty factor coupled with ethnics’ special grooming needs has caused the ethnic sector to settle into a pattern of interspersing use of traditional ethnic-specific products with non-ethnic-specific splurge items. In fact, there are strong indicators that retail channels are blurring, with pop-prestige chains warming up to ethnic-specific fare. Meanwhile, mass retailers’ expansion now includes prestige—often “Dr. Endorsed”—products as well as low-end premium products.

“Ethnic consumers are not just choosing ‘ethnic’ or not. They’re also looking at high-end versus value, chemical versus organic, and the latest fad versus ‘urban style’,” said Don Montuori, the publisher of Packaged Facts. “Marketers should find that a more holistic approach to product offerings as well as more diverse retail promotional efforts will fare well with this rapidly growing demographic.”

This latest edition of Ethnic Hair, Beauty and Cosmetic Products provides the most comprehensive look at the ethnic HBC consumer, retailer strategies, and market potential. The report examines new product trends, offers competitive profiles of industry leaders, and provides sales forecasts through 2012. Priced at $3,000, this report is available from Packaged Facts by visiting: http://www.packagedfacts.com/pub/1190798.html. It is also available at MarketResearch.com.

About Packaged Facts
Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer industries, including consumer goods and retailing, food and beverage, and demographics. For more information visit www.PackagedFacts.com, or contact Tom Ehart at 240-747-3014, or tehart@marketresearch.com.