May 29th, 2014, Tanya Sharma
The cosmetic and fragrance markets in the Middle East are rapidly developing due to economic and population growth and rising disposable incomes.
As a result, international skincare product manufacturers and suppliers consider Saudi Arabia and the UAE as having immense potential for growth. With new brands entering the region each year, competition for share of wallet is rising and brand perception and loyalty are key to success.
Ahead of Beautyworld, the largest international trade fair for beauty products, hair, fragrances and wellbeing in the Middle East, YouGov evaluated consumer perception of the top makeup, fragrance and skincare brands in the UAE and Saudi Arabia using BrandIndex, the only brand tracking tool in MENA that measures and tracks brand perceptions amongst consumers on a daily basis.
Beauty brands were rated using YouGov’s flagship Index score, which measures brand health by averaging consumers’ sub-scores on quality, satisfaction, impression, value, reputation and willingness to recommend. YouGov BrandIndex assessed the top brands in the makeup, fragrance and skincare sectors amongst adult women in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the last 3 months.
According to research from YouGov’s FMCG Oracle*, more than 4 out of 5 women in the UAE use perfumes at least once a week, while 65% use makeup/cosmetics on a regular basis. Interestingly, Westerners are more likely to wear makeup regularly with 81% claiming to use it at least once a week (vs. 65% Emiratis, 65% Arab Expats and 61% Expat Asians). According to BrandIndex’s overall Index score, the top ranking makeup brand amongst women in the UAE is L'Oreal, whilst Gucci comes first for fragrance and Olay tops the list for skincare.
In Saudi Arabia where women spend up to $2 billion on cosmetics, Max Factor is the top ranked makeup brand amongst women, while Chanel dominates brand health in the fragrance sector and L'Oreal is the highest ranked brand for skincare.
Index Scores UAE: Fragrance brands, women
Index Scores UAE: Makeup brands, women
Index Scores UAE: Skincare brands, women
Index Scores KSA: Fragrance brands, women
Index Scores KSA: Makeup brands, women
Index Scores KSA: Skincare brands, women
Index Scores are based on a 6 week rolling average.
*FMCG Oracle survey base: 933 respondents in the UAE, July 10, 2013.