As the world recovers from the impact of coronavirus, consumption habits are gradually bouncing back with French personal-care giant L’Oréal indicating it has seen a big “uptick” in its results, marking a 20 percent overall growth in the first semester of 2021 compared to 2019 results, according to Vismay Sharma, President of South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, L’Oréal.
In the personal care industry, the pandemic resulted in a consumer shift towards skin and facial care products versus make-up and fragrances, explained Sharma.
“When the Covid hit last year, it did have an impact on the beauty industry because consumers were locked in their homes and so there were fewer social events and instances where they could go out and express themselves. So some of the categories that we operate in, like make-up or fragrances, which are very linked to social events, did suffer,” said Sharma.
“But at the same time, we saw a massive uplift in other categories like skin and haircare and hand products because consumers were washing their hands more frequently. Also, people were getting much more conscious about health and wellness and so we saw an uptick on our high-end skin care products as well across every market,” he continued.
With global economies gradually recovering from coronavirus, the beauty business is booming and there’s “almost a revenge buying of make-up and other categories so we see a big uplift”, said Sharma.
“Overall, at the end of first semester, L’Oréal had a plus 20.5 percent growth, which is very strong and ahead of 2019. For the SAPMENA region, it’s 19.5 percent growth so very close to the global number. So we see that bounce-back now and are very optimistic for the balance of the year.” he added.
Sharma linked economic recovery to vaccination rates, explaining that the higher the vaccination rates in a country are, the faster its economy opens up. As such, he said: “In Asia and a lot of countries, the opening-up is happening now [as vaccination rates are increasing] so we are very optimistic about the last quarter.”
L’Oréal’s presence in this region goes back decades with Sharma saying the UAE is among the strongest market for the personal-care company in the region and Saudi Arabia, the biggest by virtue of its population size.
“In total beauty, we are the market leaders here in the GCC,” said Sharma.
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Vismay Sharma, President of South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, L’Oréal.
“We are very optimistic about this region because the populations are growing, they are young people, affluence continues to grow and beauty is an important subject for consumers. So we are very confident that this market will continue to grow for us,” he continued. Sharma listed several products across L’Oréal’s vast array of brands that are designed specifically to cater to the region’s unique beauty needs and characteristics.
One of the lasting impacts of the pandemic, is that it led to consumers becoming more environmentally conscious, a fact which plays well in L’Oréal’s long journey towards sustainability.
“For L’Oréal, the journey of sustainability started long back, it doesn’t happen in two years. Sustainability became fashionable five years ago, by which time we were more than ten years into the journey already so that’s what makes the difference,” said Sharma.
The French multinational started working on sustainability in 2004 by establishing metrics to measure CO2 emissions and water usage for every finished product. Between 2005 and 2021, L’Oréal reduced CO2 emissions from its manufacturing operations by 81 percent, despite its units having gone up, said Shamsa.
As is outlined in L’Oreal for the Future (a list of the company’s sustainability target), the company is working on reducing its distribution and transportation CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030. It also aims to have all its SAPMENA sites carbon-neutral by 2025.
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L’Oréal is the Expo 2020’s official Beauty Partner.
“We are also trying to reduce plastics and so, by 2025, all the plastic we use will be recycled, recyclable, rechargeable or compostable. By 2030, we will stop bringing any virgin plastic into our supply chain and will use only recycled plastic or packaging from bio resources,” said Sharma.
“But it’s just a start. I think we all have to do a lot more and the journey is going to continue because eventually we have to have zero net impact on the environment and probably, if possible, even positive impact,” he continued.
As Expo 2020’s official products and services partner, L’Oréal has several activations designed to showcase its products and sustainability-focus, including a La Maison L’Oréal Paris beauty concept store, which will highlight the brand’s 50-year mission to empower women and a Kiehl’s boutique, where customers can replenish their own aluminium bottle.
“We find the theme of the Expo to be very powerful. It shares values that are very close to our heart and is all about connecting people and creating the beauty that moves the world in multiple ways including embracing diversity and inclusion, sustainability, etc.,” said Sharma.
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