The Cosmetics Europe Annual Report 2024 and Cosmetics Europe Market Performance 2024 Report – both released earlier this month to coincide with the European trade association’s annual conference held in Brussels, Belgium – outlined Europe as a “flagship market” for cosmetics and personal care products.
“Global” in its outlook and “export oriented”
According to the reports, Europe [1] generated retail sales of EUR 104 billion last year across cosmetics and personal care – up 6.3% on the previous year and just behind the US with its €107bn retail sales. China generated retail sales of €65bn for the year, Brazil €27bn, Japan €25bn, India €15bn and South Korea €12bn.
Cosmetics Europe reported that trade within Europe of cosmetic products hit €52.3bn for 2024 and total cosmetic and personal care exports leaving Europe reached €29.4bn – 38% or €11.28bn of which came from France alone. Imports sat at €8.5bn in 2024, with €5.5bn coming from four key import partners: USA, China, Canada and Japan.
John Chave, director-general at Cosmetics Europe, described the European beauty industry as “global” in its outlook and “export oriented”, providing high-quality employment across various sized businesses whilst staying “dynamic and innovative”.
“In other words – the type of industry which is key to our future European prosperity,” Chave said.
Markets continue to exhibit strong diversity
Market wise, Germany generated the lion’s share of 2024 retail sales in cosmetics and personal care – totalling €16.94bn. This was followed by France (€14.18bn); Italy (€13.39bn); UK (€12.24bn); Spain (€11.21bn); Poland (€5.84bn); and the Netherlands (€4.05bn). The remaining European markets each generated retail sales lower than €2.6bn for the year. The strongest year-on-year growth, however, came from Hungary – up 10.6%, followed by Bulgaria (+10.1%) and Romania (+8.9%).
Sector wise, Europe’s largest category remained skin care in 2024, holding 28.9% of the market with retail sales of €30.1bn. This was followed by toiletries at 23.8% and €24.7bn in retail sales; hair care at 17.4% and €18.1bn retail sales; fragrances and perfumes at 16.5% and €17.1bn retail sales; and decorative cosmetics at 13.4% with €13.9bn in retail sales for the year.
Growth across these categories differed, with fragrances and perfumes showing the most year-on-year retail sales growth in 2024 – up 8.9% on 2023. Decorative cosmetics grew retail sales by 8.2%; skin care grew by 6.6%; hair care by 5.6% and toiletries by 5.4%.
In employment terms, the cosmetic and personal care industry employed nearly 2.9 million people up and down the European value chain in 2024 – 63% women and 37% men – across businesses of varying size. Last year, industry was made up of more than 9,600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with over 2,000 of those in France and over 1,000 in the UK.
’Staying ahead’ on the global stage
Fast forward to 2025 and the focus for Cosmetics Europe was on “staying ahead” as waves of regulatory change and geopolitical pressures continued to shape and strain the European beauty market.
Addressing attendees at the conference during the opening remarks, Isabelle Martin, president of Cosmetics Europe, said: “We have so much to be proud of. In 2024, the value of the European market exceeded €100 billion for the first time. This is a testimony to the great strengths of an industry that is consumer driven and innovative on the global stage.”
But Martin said industry had faced a “huge” amount of pressure in recent years, largely around regulatory overhauls and an unsettled global market. Staying united and working collectively, therefore, was more important than ever for “defending and promoting” beauty effectively, she said. “Our competitiveness is fragile,” and we need support from the authorities in order to “stay ahead,” she highlighted.
Taking the stage after, Susana Solís Pérez, Member of European Parliament (MEP) from Spain, added: “We are at a critical moment in the midst of geopolitical instability and technological change. Europe is re-writing its future.”
European resilience, therefore, would be key in navigating this change, Solís Pérez said, and regulatory harmonisation was now a “strategic necessity”.
“Fragmentation weakens us; harmonisation strengthens us,” she said. “I strongly believe that the future of the European cosmetics sector must be built on dialogue – a constructive, transparent and continous dialogue between policy makers, industry and civil society. So, let’s work together to share this future – a future where beauty and responsibility go hand-in-hand, where green ambition is matched with industrial growth, and where Europe continues to set global standards by choice.”
