Summary of our market study

The French sunscreen market is estimated at 420 million euros.

The global sunscreen market, estimated at around $7 billion in 2023. Its forecast annual growth rate is over 5.%.

Sales of suncare products in French pharmacies are rising, while sales in supermarkets are falling.

20% of consumers are ready to switch brands if they learn that their sunscreen has a non-environmentally-friendly composition.

In France, pharmacies and parapharmacies dominate the market, accounting for over half of sales. Online sales account for 12% of the market.

It can take up to 10 years to bring a new product to market, with extensive testing to guarantee efficacy and safety.

European regulations, governed by EC regulation n°1223/2009, guarantee strict compliance with product composition and sunscreen labeling, with future considerations focusing on the environmental impact of certain UV filters.

The main players in the French sun protection market are Avène, Biafine, La Roche-Posay, L'Oréal, Pierre Fabre and Beiersdorf.

Trends in demand for suncare products in France

Demand fell sharply during the pandemic. The market for suncare products has recovered thanks to global awareness of the dangers of overexposure to the sun, such as premature skin aging and melanoma.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets saw a significant reduction in the value of their sales, on the order of 9-10% in volume terms.

Seasonality has a strong influence on demand. Consumption peaks just before the summer vacation period, with 80% of annual sales taking place in July and August.

Women and people over 55 give priority to the use of sunscreen. Young people are inclined to use sunscreen all year round, unlike older age groupsThe sunscreen market has also seen a diversification of product offerings.

Market leaders

L'Oréal Group: A cosmetics and beauty giant, L'Oréal not only owns popular sunscreen brands such as Vichy and La Roche-Posay, but is also a refence in the suncare industry thanks to its research and development activities and its commitment to combining sun protection and skin care.
Laboratoires Pierre Fabre: This company has carved out a niche for itself with brands such as Avène, renowned for meeting the needs of sensitive skin.
Beiersdorf: this multinational, best known for its Nivea brand, offers a range of practical, affordable suncare products, making sun protection more accessible to families.
Naos: This group, which includes prestigious brands such as Bioderma and Esthederm, focuses on skin biology and ecobiology.
Avène: A spin-off from Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, Avène is based on a tradition of thermal water-based products, recognized for their soothing properties and popular with people with reactive or intolerant skin, who require gentle, effective sun protection.
Biafine: Owned by Johnson & Johnson, Biafine is synonymous with skin-healing and regenerating properties and after-sun care

the sun cream market - France

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Number of pages : ~ 40 pages
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Last update : 05/12/2023

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Summary and extracts

1 Market overview

1.1 Market definition and presentation

Sun creams are often used as a generic term for sun care products as a whole . These are all the products that enable the skin to be properly cared for in the face of the dangers of the sun's rays. Among them, sun creams are defined by the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products(ANSM) as "a cosmetic product intended to be applied to the skin. intended to be applied to the skin to protect against ultraviolet (UV) radiation by absorbing or reflecting this radiation". Also included are after-sun and self-tanning products.

Two categories of UV rays are identified: UVA and UVB. UVA rays are responsible for premature skin aging and diseases such as skin cancer. UVB, on the other hand, causes sunburn. It is therefore essential to protect against both types of solar radiation. The filters contained in sun creams help protect the epidermis.

Suncare products can be found on the market in several forms:

creams ;
gels ;
oils ;
aerosols.

Sunscreens can be segmented as follows:

products based on chemical filters, whichabsorb UV rays;
products based on mineral filters, which reflect UV rays.

The sunscreen market, whether global, European or national, is a dynamic one, with growth set to continue. Indeed, growing awareness of the risks associated with (over)exposure to the sun is widespread, ensuring dynamic demand. The global market, for example, is estimated to be worth around $7 billion in 2023, and to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% over the period 2021-2031, reaching $10.64 billion [Business Research Insights]. The French market, meanwhile, was valued at around 469 million euros in 2019, before the advent of the health crisis. [Pharma Magazine; LSA]

This covid-19 crisis has indeed somewhat slowed the pace of growth planned for the 2019-2024 period, by imposing an indoor lifestyle on the population (through the implementation of confinements) and forcing them to postpone their vacations. For example, by the end of March 2020 sales had fallen by 20% in the United States compared with 2019. [Business Research Insights]

The baby and children's sunscreen segment in particular is experiencing strong growth, and brands are relying on efficient R&D departments to be innovative and as close as possible to their customers' needs.in general, brands are tending to adapt more and more to consumers' real lives, so that effective protection against the sun is not synonymous with constraint .

They are also taking steps to launch more environmentally-friendly products. Indeed, last year, the French agencyAnses denounced the degradation of marine environments by certain UV filters present in the composition of the majority of sun creams. [Les Echos]

2 Demand analysis

3 Market structure

4 Offer analysis

5 Regulations

6 Positioning the players

List of charts presented in this market study

World sunscreen market
Sales of suncare products in supermarkets
Sales of suncare products in pharmacies
Number of foreign visitors
Sunscreen selection criteria
Use of sunscreen according to protection factor
Most popular sunscreen brands
Distribution of sun care products
Positioning in the face of a product's non-environmentally-friendly composition
Profile of French sun protection users
Share of 45-54 year-olds in the population using sun protection only in spring and summer
Population using sun protection all or most of the year
Interest in "sun cream" research
Have you ever used organic or natural sun protection products?
Sales of sun creams by brand in parapharmacies and pharmacies
Place of purchase of suncare products by distribution channel

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Latest news

"The potential of dermocosmetics is immense", says L'Oréal - 11/05/2023

One in four people has a skin problem.
After the age of 60, it affects one in two.
L'Oréal's dermocosmetics division achieved sales of 5 billion euros, with growth of 22%.
The dermocosmetics segment represents 8% of the global beauty market, compared with 5% a few years ago.
L'Oréal's growth last year was two and a half times faster than the market.
La Roche-Posay and CeraVe are brands with sales in excess of €1 billion.

Johnson & Johnson values its products at over $40 billion - 25/04/2023

Kenvue: new company resulting from the spin-off of Johnson & Johnson's (J & J) hygiene, beauty and consumer health division
J & J to own approximately 92% of Kenvue after IPO
Kenvue sales (fiscal year ending January 1): nearly $15 billion
Kenvue: over 22,000 employees, 25 manufacturing sites, operations in over 165 countries.

Pierre Fabre successfully returns to growth - 16/03/2023

Group sales 2.7 in 2022
The pharmaceuticals division (oncology) accounts for 45% of the Group's total sales (1.2 billion euros)
Dermo-cosmetics accounts for 55% of sales (1.4 billion euros, up +11.7%).
Avène, which accounts for 60% of sales in this sector, is set to break the billion euro barrier for the first time this year
Number 1 in dermo-cosmetics in France by 2022, with a 20.2% market share (Avène, Ducray, Klorane, A-Derma, R.Furterer brands)
Number 2 in Europe in 2022 with 11.4% market share - Global dermo-cosmetics market size: 20 billion euros

La Roche-Posay wants to grow by relying on dermatologists. - 02/01/2023

Leader in L'Oréal's active cosmetics division
Strong organic growth for several years
Leader in dermo-cosmetics brands
100 clinical studies by 2022
Two billion people worldwide suffer from skin problems
The L'Oréal group's cosmetics division achieved sales of €3.9 billion in 2021
In China, it will launch a premium regenerative medicine range in a year's time

Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

Johnson & Johnson

La Roche-Posay

Eau Thermale d'Avène (Pierre Fabre Groupe)

Biotherm (L'Oréal)

Laboratoires de Biarritz

Lancaster Beauty (Coty group)

Ultra Violette

Garancia Laboratoire

The Ordinary

Expanscience Mustela Laboratoires

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