The British beauty industry grew by 11% in 2023, research shows
By Rebecca Hitchon | 20 August 2024 | News
The British Beauty Council has published its latest The Value of Beauty report, compiled by Oxford Economics, revealing that the British beauty sector grew by 11% to a value of £27.2 billion during 2023.
This is almost the pre-Covid average of £28 billion, demonstrating signs of recovery following the pandemic, Brexit and cost of living crisis.
The growth is driven by a 10% increase in spending on personal care products and services by UK households, and the hair and beauty services sector accounted for 31% of the personal care industry’s total GDP (gross domestic product) contribution in 2023.
This places the personal care sector ahead of the publishing, chemical manufacturing and creative, arts and entertainment industries in terms of contributions to GDP.
The industry’s workforce increased by 10% between 2022 and 2023, supporting the employment of 603,000 people. Of this, 418,000 were supported directly by the industry, with the hair and beauty services sector providing employment for 224,000 people.
In 2023, the personal care industry also supported tax contributions of £7.3 billion to the UK treasury, of which £3.6 billion was contributed directly by the sector. The industry’s total tax contribution is large enough to fund 86% of the annual total expenditure by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
Looking to this year, the report states that the personal care industry’s annual growth rate is forecast to be higher than the national average.
Oxford Economics expects this to peak at 3% year-on-year: above the economy’s 1% average. It is also estimated that the sector will support a total GDP contribution of £281 billion in 2024.
Millie Kendall OBE
Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, comments: “We have almost returned to our 2019 peak economically, despite challenges. We’ve had to be dynamic and pivot – looking to China, USA, Australia, Middle East and India to help grow our exports in the face of increased red tape when trading with the EU.
“The adaptable and agile nature of the British beauty industry enabled us to surpass the biggest four members of the EU in growth across prestige beauty and skincare in the first half of 2024. Couple this with our tremendous domestic growth and we have a lot to be optimistic about.”