Of the 110 sunscreen manufacturers in Brazil, only 4 have a product for black skin, says research

The consumption of black and white families is very similar in the different product categories. The most significant difference is in the basket of personal care and beauty products, which consumes 29.8% of the expenses of black households and 28.8% of white households.

This prevalence of consumption by black families, however, is not accompanied by industry and retail with adequate production and distribution, and it is common for products not to reach a large part of the shelves.

The findings belong to the Afroconsumo 2021 survey, prepared by NielsenIQ, a global consultancy specializing in retail. According to the survey, the hygiene and beauty category is the largest basket in both blacks and whites, followed by sweet groceries and non-alcoholic beverages.

Within the hygiene and beauty basket, NielsenIQ highlights the Afro Basket, which brings together the lines of sunscreen/tanner, shampoo, after-shampoo, makeup and hair stylers aimed at the black population.

This Afro Basket represented 6.5% of the total hygiene and beauty market, equivalent to a consumption of R$ 657.1 million, in the 12 months from October 2020 to September 2021.

But it remains ignored by the industry. According to NielsenIQ’s survey, of about 110 sunscreen manufacturers, for example, only four have Afro products. Those with black skin have a greater amount of melanin, which contributes to the appearance of spots – a condition that can be avoided with the use of specific sunscreen for black skin, according to dermatologists.

The hygiene and beauty market as a whole, between October 2020 and September 2021, had a turnover of R$ 10.11 billion. In it, the main product is shampoo (41.6% of sales). But, in Cesta Afro, the best-selling category is after-shampoo (61%), followed by shampoo (27.7%), protective and suntan lotion (7.8%), makeup (2.2%) and hair modeler. hair (1.3%).

According to the survey, Cesta Afro is not properly represented in the pharmacy channel – which accounts for 26.4% of sales of Afro products, compared to an average of 34.7% of sales of hygiene and beauty in general. On the other hand, there is a greater presence of Cesta Afro products in the cash-and-carry channel, which accounts for 25.7% of the basket’s sales, while the hygiene and beauty market as a whole represents 21.7%.

The perfumery channel also accounts for a larger share of Cesta Afro, when compared to sales of hygiene and beauty in general: 8.6%, compared to 6.10%.

“Cesta Afro has less distribution in most channels”, says Domenico Tremaroli, customer service director at NielsenIQ. “There is great potential for consumption of hygiene and beauty products among black families, which is not being properly used by retailers,” he says.

Afro makeup, for example, only appears in 10% of pharmacies, while the makeup category reaches almost 100% of the channel. In the same way, the Afro shampoo post reaches 50% of supermarkets (self-service), while the post shampoo category is practically everywhere. Also in supermarkets, the sunscreen category reaches 80% of stores, in which the product in the Afro basket simply does not exist.

Distribution failures account for part of this discrepancy, according to the executive. “When there is the product on the shelf, at a competitive price or promotional packaging, the consumer takes it. The problem is that Cesta Afro items do not reach a relevant number of points of sale”, he says, stressing that, despite the Penetration of most categories being greatest within white households, black households still represent the greatest potential.

NielsenIQ pointed out that black and brown families make up 52% ​​of households in Brazil, but represent 47% of consumption. Black households are mostly in the North (71.8% of the population), Northeast (63.2%) and Midwest (53%) regions of the country.

During Covid-19, black households were the most impacted: 59.3% of them had their income affected during the pandemic, compared to 54.5% of white households, the survey indicated. In black homes, 14.5% received emergency aid, while among whites this percentage was 11.5%.

“Black homes are more loyal to the basket of hygiene and beauty products, but there is a gap in serving this public in some squares in particular, such as São Paulo”, says the executive. “The afro-consumption basket is still very small when compared to its potential”.