Home ›› 02 Mar 2022 ›› Front
The demand for expensive natural and chemical-free beauty products has been soaring in Bangladesh over the years, boosted by an increasing income, health consciousness and access to information.
A shift in focus encouraged many local companies to venture into the segment and thrive, opening up an opportunity to export.
Available products include soap, oil, shampoo, cream, lotion, toothpaste, fairness, shower gel, skin cream, and face wash. These products use ingredients including neem, mushroom, aloe vera, lemon, goat milk, turmeric, coconut, sandalwood, fuller’s earth clay, among others. The prices are high, for example, a soap costs as much as Tk 950.
Market researcher LightCastle says people are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of chemical-rich healthcare products through social media. Reviews by beauty bloggers or peers in community groups encourage more people to switch to natural skincare.
Local companies Gemcon Group, ACI, Unilever, Marico, and Aarong, are active in the market while many more companies manufacturing chemical products are gradually exploring the segment.
Marico Bangladesh Limited has launched Parachute Naturale Shampoo, Parachute Naturale Conditioner, Nihar Naturals Shanti Badam Amla, Nihar Naturals Joba Amla, Nihar Naturals 5 Seeds, Parachute Skin Pure Natural White Body Lotion enriched with natural ingredients. Marico Bangladesh Limited’s annual report showed the company registering 15.4 per cent revenue growth with a 12.7 per cent increase in volume. Their products using natural ingredients drove the growth.
Popular brands include Skin Cafe, Ribana, Sarin’s Store-Embrace Nature, SoaperStar, Amlaki, Afterglow, and Mehars. UNDP selected Ribana for the Youth Co:Lab programme last year.
Nazmul Sheik, CEO and Co-founder of Shajgoj Limited, said organic products have significant demand among health-conscious people. “The market is now worth Tk 200 crore with an annual growth of 10 per cent,” he said. “These products cost around 50 per cent more than the regular ones.”
Niloy Mahmud, sales and marketing manager of Skin Café, said the organic cosmetics market witnessed robust growth in the last five years. More consumers are avoiding regular cosmetics rich in chemicals. He said they had more than 64 items in the market. “We recorded a 100-time growth in the last five years,” he told The Business Post.
Md Wahiduzzaman, founder of Ribana, said their sales rose by 50 per cent annually in the last three years. “We started the business in 2005 with Goat’s Milk Soap and now have seven products with many more to come,” he said.
Sarin’s Store - Embrace Nature’s co-owner and co-founder Zarin Tasneem said they came to the market with three products.
“Now we are supplying more than 30 products. If 20 per cent people used organic products earlier, the percentage is now 50 to 60,” she added. “Our annual sales volume is more than Tk 2 million.”
Toxic chemicals in regular cosmetics
Several studies found chemicals used in cosmetics are harmful to both people and the environment. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) tested some renowned beauty products in 2020 and found the excessive use of harmful chemicals.
BSTI collected samples of 13 skincare brands and found eight of them using mercury and hydroquinone at least 200 times higher than the permissible level. The brands include Goree, Chandni, New Face, Due, Golden Pearl, Faiza, Noor, and White Pearl Plus.
A 2016 study by the Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) found many toxic chemicals in both imported and exported beauty products in Bangladesh. It found carcinogenic Titanium, twice more harmful than mercury, in more than 78 per cent of fairness and bleaching creams.
On Feb 4, ESDO, in collaboration with Zero Mercury Working Group, released another study that found a high amount of mercury in nine branded creams out 14 different brands.
According to International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association, natural and organic cosmetics are greatly influencing and changing the cosmetics panorama. While “beauty” is still the primary term that comes to mind when we think about cosmetic products, an increasing number of consumers expect to find “sustainable”, “environmentally friendly” and “ethical” qualities in the cosmetics they purchase.
Natural and organic cosmetics represent these as part of their core values and commitment to human well-being and protecting the environment and biodiversity.
Israt Jahan Moumy, an assistant judge, said she purchased a foundation for a marriage ceremony from a shop in Dhaka’s New Market area. But there were chemical reactions and the face turned black after applying it.
“Now I use 90 per cent homemade natural organic products and 10 per cent regular products like foundation and powder albeit rarely,” she said. “I prefer cosmetics from reliable sources and choose them after review. The organic products are more beneficial to the skin.”
Bangladeshi brands winning hearts
Skin Cafe has recently teamed up with Amazon to sell its organic beauty products in the US. Before listing, the products got the Food and Drug Administration’s approval.
Niloy Mahmud, sales and marketing manager of Skin Safe, said 95 per cent of cosmetics are imported. “We are exporting to UAE and the US and eyeing the European market,” he said.
Md Wahiduzzaman, the founder of Ribana, said that they had already started exporting. “This time, we are going to export 30,000 pieces of products to America,” he said.
Md Jahangir Alam, director of Excellent World Agro Foods & Cosmetics Limited, said they exported beauty products to the UAE and Malaysia and had plans to expand to 20 other countries.
Challenges remain
A lack of policy support is holding back the organic cosmetics business. Besides, many unscrupulous companies are supplying substandard products affecting the sector’s reputation.
Darul Islam, the owner of Total Natural Company, said the policy support system needed to be updated to help the industry thrive. “We have to face hassle when we go to obtain permissions from BSTI,” he alleged.
Medicinal Plants and Herbal Products Business Promotion Council’s Executive Officer Fathama Nargis said the enterprises must have permission from BSTI. “We’ll take action if we get any allegation of harassment,” she said.
