All markets, including key destinations such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Germany, are on the increase in the European Union, the primary destination for Spanish exports.

Exports of fragrances and cosmetics to the United Arab Emirates, which ranks among the top ten destinations for Spanish perfumes and cosmetics, increased by 39% in the first half of 2021, owing to high growth in the perfumes category. 

Exports from Spain to China were constant in the first half of 2021, at 170 million euros, after a large increase the previous year (+41 percent).

Conclusions

According to a recent survey by STANPA, the consumption of perfumes and cosmetics in Spain has increased by 2% in the last year to 6,954 million euros. Spain is the world’s second biggest supplier of fragrances after France, and it is the fifth largest European market for the consumption of perfumes and cosmetics.

The Spanish perfume and cosmetics business continues to operate strongly, with a +3.5 percent increase in 2016 and a +2.15 percent increase in 2017. According to data released recently by the Spanish Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Perfumery Association (STANPA), perfume and cosmetics sales increased by 2% in 2018. 

With a per capita consumption of EUR 150 per year, well exceeding the European average of EUR 137 per person and per year, the Spanish market for beauty goods has reached EUR 6,954 million, placing it as the fifth largest in Europe.

The world’s second-largest fragrance exporter 

Perfume, cosmetics, and essential oil exports are also on the rise, reaching EUR 4,680 million in 2018. 

In 2018, exports of fragrances and cosmetics (excluding essential oils) were EUR 4,260 million euros, up 10% from the previous year. As a result, Spain has established itself as the world’s second largest perfume exporter, trailing only France but ahead of Germany and the United States. This product category’s exports were 1,820 million euros, accounting for 39% of the total.

Spain, on the other hand, bolstered its position as an exporter of essences and scents. Essential oil exports increased by 8.4% to 420 million euros last year. Citrus oils such as grapefruit, lemon, and orange lead the way in this area for the country’s exports. 

Products for the face and body 

The primary categories of personal care goods in Spain are personal hygiene and skincare. According to STANPA, these categories account for 52 percent of the country’s personal acre product consumption.

As a result, sales of face care products climbed by 4% in the previous year. In Spain, these goods were sold in a total of 97 million units in 2018. 

Perfume consumption accounts for 20% of the whole cosmetics sector and increased by 4.6 percent in 2018, with men’s fragrances performing particularly well (+5% in 2018). 

In a hyperconnected society, the value of one’s image is becoming increasingly significant, as seen by the rise in color cosmetics sales (+5%), which now account for about 10% of the market. In 2018, eye makeup climbed by 7%, face makeup by 5.5 percent, and lipstick by 4.7 percent.