The British Beauty Council’s newest Value of Beauty Report uncovers the high growth and ongoing resilience of the beauty sector
The British beauty industry grew by an impressive 11% last year – with signs it is shaking off the triple hangovers of Brexit, Covid and the cost of living crisis, the new report shows.
According to the British Beauty Council’s latest Value of Beauty Report compiled by Oxford Economics, sales reached £27.2bn last year for both products and services. This is close to the pre-Covid average of £28bn.
The growth puts the personal care industry ahead of publishing, chemical manufacturing, and the creative arts and entertainment industries.
Employment across beauty also saw growth in 2023, witnessing a 10% increase in the total workforce – amounting to more than 603,000 people. The hair and beauty services sector supported a direct employment of 224,000 alone.
Labour taxes paid by this workforce, coupled with the indirect and induced contributions made by wider activity, are large enough to fund 86% of the annual total expenditure by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. This only serves to reinforce the importance of the beauty industry to the socio-economic footprint of the UK.
2023 saw sustained success, and things are looking up for 2024 too.
Although growth is expected to slow next year along with price rises, Oxford Economics still predicts growth of three percent in 2024 – far higher than the 1% average for the economy.
Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, hailed the findings as a tribute to the hard work, dynamism and versatile nature of the industry and its workers:
‘We have almost returned to our 2019 peak economically, despite structural and economic challenges,’ she said. ‘This is credit to the ability of our industry 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.’
Kendall continues: ‘British Beauty has always been a hub of beauty creativity, cultivating some of the most global beauty talent to date. We also lead the way when it comes to sustainability, product safety and innovation. This has all resulted in this clear success, which is also reinforced by the power of beauty on UK high-streets.’
Key findings from the Value of Beauty Report include:
- In 2023, the beauty and personal care industry made a direct contribution to UK GDP of £13.5 billion. The industry’s activities supported an additional £13.6 billion of UK GDP through its supply chain and employee spending, implying a total contribution of £27.2 billion.
- Nearly half of the personal care industry’s total GDP contribution in 2023 (£13.5 billion) was generated by the industry itself, representing 0.5% of the nation’s GDP.
- The industry’s workforce increased to 418,000 in 2023, a 10% increase on the previous year. As an employer, the beauty industry is more important than the real estate sector.
- Economic activity sustained by the beauty and personal care industry supported £7.3 billion in tax revenues, of which £3.6 billion was contributed directly by the sector and its workforce.
