Who is the cleanest of them all?(year 2000 cosmetics and toiletries sales, European Union, United States, Japan)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)

The retail market for cosmetics and toiletries in the five largest EU countries, the USA and Japan

Demography, in the form of old age, increasingly shaped demand for cosmetics and toiletries in 2000. Manufacturers responded to buyers' fears of ageing, with new formulations incorporating anti-agers such as Q10 co-enzyme. The range of skin-care products was extended across all sectors, however.

Men became a force to be reckoned with too in cosmetics and toiletries.

At almost $43bn in 2000 the US cosmetics and toiletries market was the largest of the seven markets researched, almost double the value of the second-placed Japanese market. But growth was positive everywhere. The main trend in cosmetics and toiletries has been consumers' willingness to indulge themselves by trading up to innovative, premium products.

Cosmetics and toiletries -- per capita value

The Japanese spend the most on cosmetics and toiletries, with per capita expenditure of over $168 in 2000. In second and third positions are the US and France respectively, with $155 and $147. Fragrances and skin care, many of them premium in nature, make up the bulk of per capita spending in France. The French beauty industry claims to lead world fragrances not only in terms of brands and production, but also consumption.

Consumers in the UK and Germany spend about the same amount per capita on baby care and bath/shower products. German per capita consumption on men's grooming is comparable to that in Italy, but is more than 10 times that in Spain.

Italians spend one and a half times as much on sun care as Germans. More surprising perhaps, British consumers spend twice as much as Germans on protecting their skins from the sun. British and German consumers splash on similar amounts of fragrance.

Men's grooming is growing across Europe, albeit not at the breathtaking rate that was predicted. More brands have followed the example of Nivea, the Body Shop and, most recently in the UK, Boots the Chemist, which introduced a range exclusively for men.

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