When you’re doing business in Latin America, it’s important to note that you are really doing business with almost two dozen individual countries. Each has its own trends, customs, distribution systems, ways of doing business, and government regulations, which means it’s critical to know each region you are working with on a local level – something that was driven home to our teams during the conversations they had with buyers who participated in ECRM’s recent Latin America Health & Beauty Care session held last month in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

In fact, two of these buyers in particular were interviewed on video by ECRM International Account Manager Victoria Fernandez Bermejo, during which they discussed challenges, trends and opportunities that were unique to their markets: Hilda Novelo, Gerente Comercial en Farmacias del Ahorro, and Valentina Gonzalez, Analista Comercial de Importaciones en Hipermercados Tottus Chile (Note – these video interviews were conducted in Spanish -- the videos are also embedded below).

However, there are some general health and beauty care trends that cross most of Latin America, and these were discussed by Euromonitor International Senior Analyst Evelyn Rodriguez during the session. These included growth of several subcategories including fragrances, hair care, men’s grooming, skin care ad color cosmetics; the prevalence of non-store retailing – which includes direct selling and ecommerce; as well as the mega trends of Shopping Reinvented, Wellness and Personalization across channels. In the videos below, ECRM VP of Content Joseph Tarnowski discusses key takeaways of the presentation with Evelyn, and what they mean to the health and beauty care industry.

Click here to download the presentation slides.

Mega Trends: Shopping Reinvented, Wellness and Personalization

Euromonitor International Senior Analyst Evelyn Rodriguez discusses how the Latin American mega-trends of Shopping Reinvented, Wellness and Personalization are impacting how the Latin American beauty and personal care consumer shops

Non-Store Retailing (Direct-Selling and E-Commerce)

Many beauty categories —particularly fragrance and cosmetics — are sold via direct sellers, who sell one-to-one or to people directly in their communities (think Avon). When it comes to online retail, issues of consumer connectivity and lack of credit pose challenges, but consumers and brands are finding workarounds to this.

Trending Categories in Latin American Health & Beauty Care

Fragrance, hair care, men’s grooming, skin care and color cosmetics are growing categories across Latin America, and as consumers in these countries seek more convenience, these items are sold across many channels, including grocery stores and para-pharmacies.

About Euromonitor

Evelyn provides an overview of Euromonitor International, how it gathers its research, and the countries and markets it studies.

Hilda Novelo, Gerente Comercial en
Farmacias del Ahorro, Mexico