CBD seems to have taken the market by storm, and it’s no longer just the medical or recreational marijuana businesses that are making huge profits. It’s a significant hit in the cosmetic industry, and CBD cosmetics are now quite easily available in most markets.
As marijuana restrictions tend to loosen in most parts of the country, CBD cosmetic sales have continued to boom during recent years. In fact, an estimate from NielsenIQ suggests that 2021 will see a whopping $600 million in sales from CBD cosmetics and beauty products.
Hemp Industry Daily highlights some of the most critical dynamics as we look at the major insights from their recent post.
CBD Sales Boost Likely to Beat All Previous Records
The sales boost comes through the dense influx of CBD beauty products in the market this year. As major retail stores like Ulta and Sephora focused more on CBD-infused cosmetics, most retail stores followed them, setting a new market trend in the cosmetics industry.
Currently, the numbers are quite promising, and they are likely to get much bigger as the year progresses. For instance, serums, lotions, and skincare products held an 18% share in all CBD products sales last year. These sales accounted for nearly $340 million.
Moreover, the predictions from Nielsen suggest that the same category (exclusive of pharma and CBD-derivatives) will reach new highs this year as the CBD market keeps growing. Currently, the market trends suggest that cosmetics will hold nearly 20% share in total CBD sales for the coming year.
Guidelines from Major Stakeholders Could Enhance CBD Sales to a Whopping $2 Billion
On top of that, there are obvious areas for improvement in CBD supply chains. Hence, these numbers can grow even further if the FDA provides more guidance for beauty and cosmetic products. If the gaps are filled, CBD sales could reach $2 billion in 2025.
Associate Director of Client Service for Cannabis at Nielsen Rick Maturo says that for most current CBD brands, the cosmetic industry is a logical and more promising extension. These industries offer great chances to the sellers, and they promise to take the CBD industry further ahead.
Sales May be Promising, but There are Obvious Challenges in the Cosmetic Industry
Even though CBD cosmetic sales promise a lot to the CBD industry, there are obvious challenges for manufacturers, retailers, and brands. Mainly, it’s due to a shrunk target audience as compared to other CBD products, which are consumed by a larger audience.
Most CBD cosmetic customers are young women. They are the primary target group in any cosmetic industry. According to the survey from NielsenIQ, women under 35 are quite likely to use CBD cosmetics over the next year or so.
Understandably, this is quite a shrunken audience size compared to the other CBD customers. It, therefore, creates a barrier for many brands and retailers who want to jump into the CBD cosmetics business.
CBD Cosmetics Don’t Target General Health Issues
One logical argument for increasing CBD sales would be to formulate CBD products that equally appeal to other sections of the audience. However, that’s generally not the case. Most CBD cosmetic products don’t focus on internal health like sleep and anxiety issues because they don’t appeal much to most cosmetic product customers.
However, some of these products are appealing to those women who use CBD for sleep and stress problems. Moreover, CBD products are quite expensive as compared to other cosmetics, which creates an obvious barrier in their sales.
NielsenIQ estimated that the average spending on cosmetic products was around $36 per consumer in 2020.
Maturo says that the average spending for other CBD products is quite different, and rightly so. Those products have different uses, and their usage cycles are also quite frequent.
Interestingly, CBD cosmetics also have a redundant cyclic usage as nearly 42% of customers mentioned that they use these products at least once a week.
CBD Cosmetic Brands Using Influencers for Marketing
Maturo didn’t shy away from pointing out how CBD brands use influencers, especially through social media, to mold the thinking of their followers. Slowly but surely, influencers can tinker with the audience’s mindset, suggesting that these natural ‘good for you’ products can become a part of your daily routine.
As a result, these subtle yet powerful tactics can help CBD cosmetics to go a long way in the coming years.
Conclusion
CBD is no longer a myth or a hush-hush product by any means. Even though they attract a relatively smaller portion of the CBD audience, the 18% share in total CBD sales suggests that the CBD cosmetics industry is steadily growing.
It is no wonder that the predicted figures are substantially large, and if the CBD cosmetic industry gets the right support, it shouldn’t be much of a problem for the industry to reach the figures in the coming years.
