Brazilian Consumers Seek Body Creams With the 'Right' Story

According to market data firm Canadean's "Consumer and Market Insights: Skincare Market in Brazil" report (published December 2014), the desire for beautiful bodies is one of the main drivers of the skin care market in Brazil. However, as consumers are not able to evaluate the effectiveness of a product straight away, brand owners need to make a bigger effort to appeal to them.

 According to a Canadean report, the desire to enhance appearance influences over a quarter of skin care consumption in Brazil. In body care, which takes a 70.6% share of the Brazilian skin care market, this desire is the strongest, influencing 28.8% of its consumption. This demonstrates that Brazilians consider healthy and youthful body skin as vital for attractiveness.

“Demand for body creams and lotions with skin-enhancing claims (such as vitalizing, firming, counteracting cellulites and stretch marks) is growing," says Veronika Zhupanova, analyst at Canadean. "The same goes for body care with more emotive claims such as promises of smooth, shiny and silky skin."

Canadean’s research shows that Brazilians evaluate the effectiveness of a product with their senses. “[Brand owners] have to remember that consumers can not evaluate the effectiveness of a skin care product straight away," Zhupanova says. "They will, therefore, check out the attributes that are available to them, such as stylish packaging, pleasant tactile and visual sensations, scent, absorption speed, and feel on the skin. This is an initial hurdle where skin care producers will need to make an effort to attract consumers in Brazil.”

Direct sales is a popular sales channel for skin care products in Brazil. As consumers do not always have access to the product before they make a purchase, it is crucial that brand owners provide a full description of the item in the sales catalogue. In addition to that, a story around skin care needs to be created, explaining what served as an inspiration for the product and why. According to Zhupanova, “this will create an emotional connection with consumers while explaining how the product works. For example, the acai berry, used by Brazil’s indigenous Amazonian population, is rich in antioxidants and associated with a number of benefits, including anti-aging.”

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