Record-breaking Italian cosmetics export: which countries to sell in?

Italy is known as the country of the three Fs: Fashion, Food and Furniture (Furniture). But, for some time, several sectors have been growing at a fast pace, driving the domestic economy and being increasingly appreciated abroad. Among them, we can definitely count the cosmetics sector.

On closer inspection, the weight of this sector in the national economy has increased significantly in recent years, especially in the post-pandemic period: the sector ended 2022 with A turnover of 14.2 billion euros, up 7.7% from 2021 which closed at 13.2 billion, an increase of 9% over 2019, the pre-crisis year.

Not only that: driving the recovery in post-covid is mainly cosmetics exports, which weigh in at more than 42%: figures for the end of 2022 speak of an Italian export value of 5.6 billion euros (+15.8% over 2021), and expected to increase to 6.2 billion (+10% over 2022) by 2023).

But what are the countries where cosmetics are most valued? On which markets Italian companies should focus their cosmetics exports To take advantage of the best business opportunities?

In which countries to export cosmetics?

The numbers above show how passion for beauty, personal care and attention to physical appearance are very important elements for foreign consumers, who are increasingly using Italian products. This is especially true for three specific countries, which have seen significant growth in cosmetics products from Italy in recent years: United States, South Korea, United Arab Emirates.

United States

The United States is, after Europe, the leading market globally for beauty products, with total sales of more than 80 billion euros in 2022. It is therefore not surprising how Italian companies export 11.6% of the total value of the cosmetics industry, worth 563 billion euros.

In particular, the US is the second largest destination market for Made in Italy, only behind France. Particularly appreciated perfumes, whose exports, according to Eurostat data, Have practically doubled compared to pre-pandemic, both in terms of values (193 million euros in 2022 versus 107 million euros in 2019) and volumes (+88% in 2022 over 2019). Also on the rise are the essential oils, which fully regained their pre-pandemic values in 2022, with Italian exports increasing 18% in volume terms compared to 2019.

South Korea

South Korea represents a rather robust economy, being the tenth largest globally and the fourth largest in Asia. An even more relevant element is the fact that this country is characterized by an upper-middle per capita income, comparable to that of Italy, which has allowed the consolidation of a rather substantial upper-middle class segment of the population. In addition, South Korea has proven relatively resilient to the current international economic situation, with GDP falling only -0.7% in 2020, and growth in the 2021-2023 period estimated to be +2.7% per year on average.

As with the United States, South Korea's imports of Made in Italy cosmetic products have also returned to pre pandemic levelsa, both in absolute values and in real terms. In fact, compared to the year of the pandemic, the value of exports reached 55 million euros (+26.3% over 2020), while volumes registered +9.5%. In this market are particularly liked the scents (28 million in exports in 2022 vs. 20 million in 2020) and hair solutions, the latter segment reaching a value of 5.6 million in 2022 versus 4.7 million in 2020.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates represents a very important destination for Made in Italy, especially in the fashion, luxury, furniture and construction sectors. And thanks to recent reforms regarding foreign investment, opportunities for Italian SMEs have multiplied, even in other sectors, just like cosmetics.

So much so that the value of Made in Italy exports in this sector have increased from 143 million euros in 2019 to 235 million in 2022 according to Eurostat-a considerable increase only partly justified by inflation, as volumes, in the same time frame, increased by 17.5%. And in this country they are much appreciated beauty products, such as make-up, manicure products and body creams, compartment that has grown By 37.5% compared with pre-pandemic.

Conclusions

The reported numbers show that, for Italian cosmetics exports, this is a particularly important historical moment, which theand manufacturing enterprises on the Peninsula absolutely must take advantage of to increase its presence abroad. In particular, the countries to focus on are the United States, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, three nations that have seen an increase in Made in Italy cosmetics exports not only in terms of values, but also in absolute values.

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