Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin makers of manufacturing and packaging equipment may find opportunities in Mexico’s personal care product industry.
The personal care products industry in Mexico is expected to post healthy gains in the coming years, after slower sales during the pandemic.
Mexico is the 10th most populous country in the world, with a population of 129 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; as of 2020, the median age was 29.2.
With its relatively young population, Mexico is one of the top 10 markets in the world for cosmetics and personal care products, and second only to Brazil among Latin American countries, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. The average Mexican spends nearly $185 per year on beauty products, based on 2020 figures from Mexico’s National Association of the Personal Care and Home Products Industry (CANIPEC).
Mexico is the third largest producer of cosmetics and personal care products—after the U.S. and Brazil—and those sales represent 0.7% of the country’s manufacturing gross domestic product. According to the National Institute of Statistics, 47 companies, with a total of 20,700 employees, manufacture soap products for consumer use in Mexico.
Three global corporations—Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive—generate 40% of the market sales of soap in Mexico for the consumer market. According to CANIPEC, Mexico exported about twice as much consumer soap as it imported during the 2020-21 period. Imports came primarily from France, the U.S., Germany and Brazil.
However, overall, the U.S. is the leading country of origin for beauty products that are sold into the Mexican market, according to the International Trade Administration, with total sales of U.S. products expected to reach $2.65 billion in 2022. Men’s care products, especially for beard grooming, and organic and natural products are growing categories.
This growth presents opportunities for Wisconsin companies that make personal care products or packaging for the industry.
