Beauty and the BRIC countries

 Accounting for over 20% of the sector’s world value they are a strong driver of its growth, while also slowly becoming global trendsetters themselves: BB creams, for instance, originated in Asia but have now conquered developed markets too. In population terms, the BRIC countries together represent 42% of the people in the world. This – together with their strong economies, and the changing purchasing habits of shoppers who are more able to afford non-essential items – means they offer huge potential to personal care brands. Looking at the shopping habits, behaviour and priorities of women between the ages of 18 and 55 in the four BRICs countries, as revealed in Kantar Media’s Global TGI survey, gives us an insight into their market dynamics – and also the opportunities that exist for brands to target them and get their products into more shopping baskets.

Brazil’s cult of the body beautiful

Of the four BRIC markets, Brazil has seen the strongest growth in beauty and personal care in the last couple of years. Among the most popular segments, with the highest levels of penetration, are hair care (hair conditioners in particular), nail polish/varnish, body care and fragrances: these are purchased by over 80% of women aged between 18 and 55. While hair care products perform most highly among older women, makeup is mainly bought by younger shoppers. The development of the beauty category in Brazil can be explained by the fact that 74% of women feel that it is important to be attractive to the opposite sex – a higher percentage than in the other BRICs. Over half of them also claim that they spend a lot of money on toiletries and cosmetics for personal use. The way their body looks is extremely important to Brazilian women: 40.5% say they would like to have surgery to improve their appearance, compared with only 5.2% of Europeans who would consider this.