Store Brands are Beautiful

Powered by innovative and unique store brands, beauty and cosmetics is enjoying a surge of interest among U.S. consumers overall and in some surprisingly new retail places. In response to this accelerating consumer and retailer interest the overall department will be a special point of emphasis for both visitors and exhibitors at PLMA's upcoming Show.

In 2023, among the food and nonfood product departments Circana tracks for PLMA, the top section for store brand dollar sales growth was the Beauty department, which increased by 11% to $3.8 billion. Unit sales were up 2% to 956 million. Store brand dollar share rose to 7.6% and unit share moved ahead to 12.8%.

Drilling into the data, some of the strongest store brand dollar sales improvements last year included a wide range of areas such as eye cosmetics (up 70% over the prior year; $41 million in sales), lip cosmetics (up 50%; $26 million), facial cosmetics (up 37%; $49 million), women's fragrances (up 29%; $50 million), shampoo (up 10%; $105 million), and suntan products (up 8%; $200 million).

The products continue to shine this year. During the first quarter of 2024, Beauty again was the leading revenue gainer among all food and nonfood departments, improving by 7.9% in store brand dollar sales and by 2.1% in unit sales.

With that kind of growth, top retailers from across a variety of formats in the U.S. are pivoting toward increasing store brand beauty and personal care products on their shelves and upping their marketing game. In fact, by taking a page out of the luxury brands’ playbook and using social media personalities to raise awareness of their beauty programs, retailers are reaching thousands of consumers on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Among the marketing strategies being deployed by retailers to attract beauty and cosmetic shoppers are mini stores within a store in collaboration with specialty chains such as Ulta and Sephora. Target has successfully implemented this strategy and is known for its extensive, stand alone and well merchandised beauty department.  Not only does Target exclusively offer indie brand Thread Beauty, a gender inclusive line of cosmetics, but has also developed a program to reach the tween market with its More Than Magic™ line. They’ve also captured the booming men’s grooming category with its Goodfellow & Co.™  line of men’s skin and hair care with products such as Kelp & Sea Mineral Face Wash, Moroccan Mint & Cedar Beard Balm and more.

Traditional supermarket Kroger has announced it will exclusively carry MCoBeauty across its U.S. locations. Launched in Australia, MCoBeauty markets itself as a bright and affordable alternative to some of the brands carried by well-known mall retailers that are popular among younger shoppers.

Along with make-up and skin care lines of discounters Lidl and Aldi, drug chains such as CVS and Walgreens continue to expand their beauty lines designed for mass appeal to all genders that include skin and hair care as well as grooming appliances. Online, Amazon’s Solimo and Basics brand of sun, skin and hair care products appeal to the shopper seeking active, eco-friendly and free-from ingredients.

Store brand dollar shares in personal care were also impressive in 2023. These large categories ran from 55% for Cotton Balls/Swabs and 50% for Moist Towelettes to 21% for Hair Accessories, 7% for Skin Care and 6% for Soap.

The prominently featured Beauty and Cosmetics Pavilion will present exhibitors showcasing products from around the world in the South Hall of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center., Nov. 17-19 in Chicago.