Ethnic Beauty : Make up or make do?

Latest research from MINTEL finds that black and Asian consumers are not being adequately catered for by the beauty industry. Although the UK’s market for ethnic cosmetics and toiletries has grown by some 24% since 2002, it is still only worth £65 million – less than 2% of the total £3.7 billion UK beauty market. Considering that over the last five years, the ethnic community has grown rapidly, and one in every ten adults in the UK is now of ethnic origin (according to ONS figures), it would seem that the beauty industry is failing to meet the needs of modern day Britain. ” a lack of new product development on the part of manufacturers as well as limited availability, has undoubtedly been a major barrier in the ethnic beauty market,” comments Alexandra Richmond, senior consumer analyst at MINTEL. “Today there is clearly a demand for products specifically designed for the growing number of ethnic consumers. Although there are luxury beauty ranges for those with darker skin tones, mass market alternatives on the high street are still few and far between. “