São Paulo – The third leading consumer market for beauty products in the world, Brazil also exports its cosmetics to cater to the vanity of consumers elsewhere in the globe, including the Arab countries. All sorts of items, from makeup to soaps, from deodorants to floss, but the highlight is hair products.
“The forte of the Brazilian industry is hair products. The hair product consumer market in Brazil is very strong, and that is where the industry goes. The racial mix of Brazilian people causes there to be products for different types of hair,” explains Hélio Lobo, manager of the Beautycare Brazil project at the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex). Promoted through a partnership with the Brazilian Association of Toiletries, Perfumes & Cosmetics Industries (Abihpec), the program promotes foreign sales by 48 companies in the sector.
Last year, according to figures from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Brazil exported US$ 9.929 million worth of beauty and personal hygiene products to the Middle East countries. The amount is equal to only 1.1% of the total exported by the beauty and personal hygiene industry in Brazil. However, according to Lobo, these figures do not reflect the actual market relation between Brazil and the Arab countries, because many Brazilian products shipped to those nations go via European distribution centres, and thus are not computed into the export figures.
“If we do a cross-sectional study of the Brazilian industry, that rate is not just 1%. Sales to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc composed of Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) have grown by 21% from 2007 through 2012. In terms of growth, the region is important and a priority,” says Lobo.
According to the Apex manager, Brazilian-made hair products possess a strong advantage in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa. “Brazilian products are adapted to the climate. They are prepared for the weather and the temperatures of the region, and therefore require no adaptation to the Arab market,” he says.
The highlight products show through in the figures. While total exports to the Arabs averaged at 21% in the last five years, hair items only saw an average annual growth of 67%.
In 2012, hair products accounted for 55% of Brazilian exports to the GCC, followed by cutlery items such as scissors and blades, at 27%, shampoos (13%), fragrances (5%) and makeup for lips and eyes, powders, talcum, and skin lotions (2.2%).
In terms of destinations, the United Arab Emirates are the main gateway for Brazilian beauty products into the Arab world. However, the country is not the leading consumer of these products. “The Saudi market is bigger than the Emirates’, but the Emirates are a (distribution) hub,” he says. In 2012, the Emirates imported US$ 5.805 million worth of beauty products from Brazil, while Saudi purchased US$ 1.485 million.
According to Lobo, Kuwait and Oman are also good buyers of Brazilian beauty products. “Through the intermediation of these countries we also get to Bahrain and Qatar,” says Lobo.
“Growth in Arab countries is a constant in all of (Apex’s) projects. Our regulatory framework is very strong. That ensures the exclusive quality of our products. The reliability of Brazilian product is a competitive differential which the Arab market recognizes, because it is a demanding market,” says the executive.
In order to increase that growth, the Apex and Abihpec are promoting joint actions in the Arab countries. Lobo explains that recently, the two organizations held a meeting with members of the press and distributors in Dubai to showcase the quality and the advantages of Brazilian products. The Abihpec also entered a partnership with local associations to gain a better understanding of Arab countries’ regulations, and during the Confederations Cup, the Apex will bring Arab buyers of beauty and hygiene products to Brazil.
Beautyworld Middle East
One of the main promotional actions of the industry is the participation of Brazilian companies at the Beautyworld Middle East fair, held on an annual basis in Dubai. This year, the event will run from May 28 to 30, featuring over ten Brazilian companies.
These companies will include the Minas Gerais state-based Kanechom, which has sold to the Arabs since 2003. Presently, the company ships product to the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria and Egypt. Kanechom exports 20 types of hair moisturizer cream, shampoos, conditioners, combing creams, gels, and lotions.
“We have attended the Beautyworld every year since 2004,” says the International Business manager Flávio Perim. He says Arab countries are worth investing in, because they are a market with a “strong demand.” “Per capita consumption is high, due to the high temperatures which are really harsh on the hair. Arab women have a lot of vanity, and they really enjoy Brazilian products,” he says.
The Beautyworld will be the first ever international fair for the face and body cream manufacturing company Kiva. The company is based in the city of Campinas and exports 90% of its output to the Ivory Coast.
“We are attending in order to promote our products in the Middle East. It is a market in which there is a demand for our bleach line,” says the trader Elizabeth Alves. “We have a keen interest in dark-skinned markets. That is why we have chosen Dubai, because it is visited by Africans and Indians,” she says.
Brazilian Secrets Hair has been exporting to the Middle East for one year now, shipping its products to the Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Tunisia and Morocco, and it is already negotiating with Algeria. Andréa Vieira, the director of the Rio-based company, believes the prospects for the event are good.
“It is one of the leading fairs for the industry, considering our target buyers. They are importers from different countries, representing small and large companies,” she says.
The company exports its professional line to the Arabs, comprising 15 items, among them straightening and treatment products. “We are fully accredited to export. We have the Intertek certification, which Saudis and Egyptians require,” says Vieira. The certification is an attestation of product quality. The products’ labels, for instance, are written in Portuguese, French, English and Arabic.
Lesson
These companies are proof that, despite strong competition from major companies, there is a lot of room for the Brazilian industry, which comprises 2,300 companies, to grow.
“The larger companies always account for the bulk of our exports, but the potential to increase those sales lies with the micro, small, and medium businesses,” says the Apex’s Lobo. “We work for companies to grow steadily, and thus realize that international trade is good business,” he says.
According to the executive, the Apex is working for companies to become familiar with the regulatory frameworks of different countries, to become aware of the existing requirements, and to close their first sales via trading companies. “If a company works hard, we will offer it the tools to develop, and that will also make it more competitive on the domestic front,” he says.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
