Britain’s beauty industry set to overshadow France

It’s enough to have chic Parisians smudging their mascara with tears of envy. After dominating the beauty industry for generations, France is finally set to be overtaken by Britain.
Booming sales of skincare products and perfume combined with the success of British brands, such as Typebea and Charlotte Tilbury, mean the UK market is growing at nearly twice the pace and will eclipse France by the end of next year.
Figures released by Circana, a US market-research firm, show that sales of luxury or “prestige” make-up, fragrance, skincare and hair products in the UK jumped by nearly 11 per cent in the year to June to reach £1.53 billion. By comparison, the French market, which has long been the pre-eminent and most prestigious in Europe, grew by 6 per cent, taking its value to £1.62 billion, only £90 million bigger than Britain.
Circana says that since 2019 the UK industry has grown at more than twice the pace of France. If this continues, the British market will outstrip the size of the French by the end of 2025. The UK beauty industry is already bigger than those in Germany, Italy and Spain.
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Prestige beauty products are those not mass produced, such as shower gel, shampoo and soap, but produced by luxury businesses. This industry has traditionally been dominated by French companies, such as Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, but is increasingly being challenged by British brands, including those set up by celebrities such as Rita Ora, Georgia May Jagger and Victoria Beckham.
The British Beauty Council says the growth in the UK market is down to innovative suppliers creating new and popular products and the impact of beauty influencers. Millie Kendall, the chief executive of the trade group, said: “British Beauty has always been a hub of creativity, birthing the first ‘celebrity’ hairstylists — including Sam McKnight — and some of the most successful beauty brands of today, Charlotte Tilbury and Pat McGrath.
“Britain has also always been a global leader in sustainable beauty. The industry began pushing environmental boundaries long before green issues became headline news and other markets are now catching on.”
She added that Britain’s beauty influencers are “astounding”. Influencers such as Lisa Eldridge and Caroline Hirons have built up huge followings by posting about their beauty regimes online and recommending products. Eldridge has nearly two million followers on Instagram while Hirons has three quarters of a million, and their endorsements can send sales of a product soaring.
Celebrities such as Kate Moss, Ora, Jagger and Beckham also have huge sway online and have capitalised on this by starting their own beauty brands.
Analysis by the consultancy Oxford Economics said that the total value of the British beauty industry, including all products and services such as hairdressing and beauty treatments, reached £27.2 billion last year, supporting a workforce of more than 600,000 people.
However, the success and influence of the industry has led to concerns that young people are being encouraged to buy and use unsuitable products. The British Association of Dermatologists recently warned that the growing trend of children using skincare creams could leave them with irreversible problems.
It highlighted that children as young as eight are asking their parents for luxury items after seeing them used by their favourite influencers on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Many of these contain potentially harmful active ingredients intended for adults only, such as exfoliating acids. The association said such products can provoke allergies or eczema.
A recent thread on Mumsnet asked why parents are not protecting their daughters from this “blatantly misogynistic and physically and emotionally damaging exploitation”.
Despite the concerns, Oxford Economics predicts that the UK market will continue to expand next year at a pace quicker than the rest of the economy. But Kendall said the British industry could only capitalise on its position if the government eased access to the EU which, post-Brexit, has led to almost an £850 million drop in beauty exports.
She said: “We’ve had to be dynamic and pivot — looking to China, the USA, Australia, the Middle East and India to help grow our exports in the face of increased red tape when trading with the EU.”
French officials in Brussels are unlikely to want to see that happening any time soon.