Kerfoot Group, a leading supplier of natural, organic and essential oils, waxes and butters for the personal care products sector in the UK, has commented on the upward momentum of the market as new product development begins in earnest after a number of challenging months.

The personal care products sector, like many other of its contemporaries, has struggled to move forwards in terms of new product development (NPD) during lockdown as many businesses suffered supply chain challenges and needed to streamline their ranges to core products only. In addition, widespread furloughs have reduced the workforce numbers required to create new lines.

Market intelligence agency McKinsey reports that around 30% of global beauty industry outlets closed either temporarily or permanently as a result of Covid-19. The same research projected a 14% drop in week-on-week personal care sales across the whole category within the UK, including a 48% deficit in cosmetics and beauty products alone, with similar findings in Japan and the US.

Simon Corner, Sales & Marketing Director at Kerfoot Group, commented: “The personal care product sector has seen some extreme challenges through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and a significant dip in sales, particularly across categories that lean more towards the cosmetics and beauty end of the scale. While areas such as skin care and wellbeing have not suffered to the same degree, the wider market has seen new product development on the backburner as a result.

“However, we are beginning to see the market stabilising as we settle into ‘the new normal’. Product technologists and formulators are once again expanding existing ranges and exploring new innovation options. The key takeaway for brands is that while launches may have slowed, consumer appetite for innovation, particularly around natural and sustainable products, hasn’t. We are seeing a strong resurgence that bodes well for the industry and for shoppers.”

Kerfoot Group, part of the Avril Group, specialises in offering technical support to brands seeking to integrate authentic, high performance plant-based oils, matched with global reach and the logistics to ensure consistent supply.

Simon concluded: “It’s an exciting period for the personal care sector as new product development kicks back into gear. We can only hope this energy and appetite for innovation continues, because it could well signal a prosperous year in 2021 if that’s the case. What will prove crucial to the sector’s commercial recovery is how well brands meet the evolving demands of the consumer under a supply chain that is still somewhat challenged. There is real value to choosing an innovative partner over a standard supplier – and the time is now.”

To find out more about Kerfoot Group oils, please visit kerfootgroup.co.uk