Nielsen’s ingredient-level data shows sales growth in natural personal care
NEW YORK — Nielsen Product Insider, powered by Label Insight is bringing ingredient-level data to non-food categories, and data from the personal care category show that consumer interest in natural ingredients isn’t just a trend when it comes to food.
In particular, products with natural label claims are seeing double-digit growth when they also are free from certain ingredients. Natural products free of artificial fragrances saw 16% growth for the year ended May 6, according to Nielsen, with natural products free from phthalates seeing 15.4% growth.
“Until now, the industry has not had a view into non-food product ingredients, attributes and how those translate into sales,” Nielsen president U.S. buy Chris Morley said. “When looking at the personal care department, for example, products with a ‘natural’ claim saw 9.1% dollar growth. However, when a product features a natural claim and includes a more specific ingredient attribute, like ‘free from parabens,’ sales grew 12%. This indicates significant opportunities for manufacturers of non-food products to capitalize on growth potential they did not recognize previously.”
Besides natural claims, such ingredients as superfoods are driving growth among hair products in particular, according to a Nielsen blog post. Data showed that shampoo and conditioner with strawberry saw 107% dollar growth, coconut oil drove a 28% increase, legumes being included increased dollars by 24% and avocado oil drove a 6% dollar growth increase during the year that ended April 16.
“Consumers are trying to better understand ingredients today more than ever before, and not just in food categories,” Label Insight chief customer officer Ronak Sheth said. “The absence of undesirable ingredients is actually now more important than the inclusion of beneficial ingredients. In fact, consumers are willing to pay more for products free from undesirable ingredients. This shift requires brands to be more transparent, and consumers are demanding transparency across all categories.”