Sales of coconut beauty products in the UK grew by 23% to £12 million in the year ending 10 June 2017, according to market research firm IRI.
The company's data shows particularly strong growth in the haircare and personal care categories, with combined sales of more than £11 million a year. Value sales of coconut haircare products grew by 29% over the last year, along with soaps (+11%) and shower products (+7%).
“Looking at our data, we can see that coconut as an ingredient has really been gaining in popularity since January of last year,” said Kaajal Bhatti, retail insight manager at IRI.
“I think what we’re actually seeing is something of a coconut revolution, rather than just a fad, as the gap between food and drink and health and beauty closes, suggesting that more and more people are looking to products and ingredients that look after both their internal and external health. "
Food Category
According to IRI's sales data, this is a trend than spans FMCG categories. In the food and drink segment, coconut water generated sales of £60 million last year, coconut milk stood at £16.4 million, and coconut oil was worth over £14 million.
"There are a few ingredients that work well across both sectors, like lemon and aloe vera, and coconut is a great example of this,” added Bhatti.
“Although the trend started in the food and drink industry, it has quickly evolved into health and beauty showing the true versatility and popularity of the ingredient and the opportunities for both manufacturers and retailers in terms of product innovation, range optimisation and promotional campaigns."
"But we could see it challenged in the future by other new ingredients hitting the shelves, including charcoal, which has been creeping into a number of products like face masks.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
