Questions and Answers
Q: Do you believe that sustainability will become increasingly important in the fragrance packaging market? What actions going towards this direction have you seen to date? It will inevitably become more important, but the fragrance category is relatively slow to change – despite some increases in launches of environmentally-friendly packaging in the last couple of years, the numbers are still very low. We have noted more fragrances in board cartons that use post consumer recycled fibres and are printed with water-soluble inks. Also of note are refillable and reuseable packs, but these are all quite niche and there are relatively few on the market. Q: Are you seeing a reduction in the use of palm oil? Not in terms of new product introductions. A quick free text search in GNPD for “palm oil” shows a general increase in time. We also believe there likely are a number of products that use palm oil but do not specifically call it out in the ingredient statement (using the more generic “vegetable oil” instead). We do see some products that mention that they use palm oil from a sustainable source, however. Q: What does LOHAS stand for? LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. In the words of the LOHAS journal, it is a market segment focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice. (See www.lohas.com) Q: When will you have 2009 data to share to understand the real recession impact? Do you expect this to be a short term drop or longer term? Mintel will continue to research this area and publish new data during the course of the next few months – for information on specific categories or areas of interest please contact your Account Director. Q: Does the chart on slide 5 refer to UK or is this a global reference? Slide 5, looking at new product claims as a percentage of all ethical and environmental claims, covers introductions in the c. 50 countries covered by Mintel GNPD.