UK sales of refillable prestige beauty products up 47% from January to July, valued at £34M during the period; refillable products account for a small share of the beauty market but to be more mainstream as consumers grow conscious of sustainability: NPD

LONDON , September 15, 2022 (press release) –

Sales of refillable prestige beauty products in the UK increased 47% from January to the end of July 2022, reports The NPD Group

According to The NPD Group, which recently merged with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI®) to create a leading global technology, analytics and data provider, sales of refillable prestige beauty products in the UK increased 47% from January to the end of July 2022. The market for refillable prestige beauty products was valued at £34M in this seven-month period. Sales of these products performed better than the total prestige beauty market, which increased 22% between January and the end of July 2022, compared to last year.  

The total refillable beauty market includes the sub-category Product Refill Only, where the consumer buys the product refill for use with the refillable exterior packaging. Sales of Product Refill Only grew the fastest, with sales increasing 79% in the period from January to the end of July 2022.

Fragrance leads the way 
Fragrance is leading innovation in the market for refillable prestige beauty products. 5% of fragrance sales weight can be attributed to refillable packaging. However, refillable fragrances accounted for a small proportion of the market. To date brands have only offered a limited choice, focusing on larger sizes. However, in the period from January to the end of July 2022 sales of 45-74ml fragrance juices (in all formats including EDT, EDP, Perfume and Cologne) have experienced strong increases, compared to the same period last year, marking a shift in retail as refillable becomes more mainstream. 

Traditionally brands present their new fragrance innovations in August and September. Refillable beauty is a key theme this year. Some of the new launches with refillable options that The NPD Group has observed include Good Fortune by Viktor & Rolf, D by Diesel and Prada Paradoxe.

Make-up matters
The strongest category growth was reported in makeup where sales of refillable products increased 364% in the period from January to the end of July 2022, compared to the same period last year. This contrasts with sales growth in the total makeup market which reported a 30% increase year-on-year. 

Just over half of makeup refill sales can be attributed to lip colour. Other sub-segments that dominate the refill space include bronzer and blush.

Emma Fishwick, Account Manager, NPD UK Beauty explains: “As consumers become more conscious of the importance of sustainability and their role in promoting it, we have seen a corresponding rise in sales of refillable prestige beauty products. These latest figures demonstrate that as far as beauty consumers are concerned, buying refillable products is becoming more mainstream. But there is a long way to go. What we are seeing here really marks the beginning of the refillable beauty story as only a small percentage of sales weight of makeup products are currently refillable. This is similar for skincare and hair products.”

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.