In this article, we discuss the 14 biggest beauty companies in the world. If you want to read about some more beauty companies, go directly to 5 Biggest Beauty Companies In The World.
The beauty industry has successfully navigated the multiple challenges posed by the pandemic crisis and the subsequent economic slowdown of the past two years and is now on a path from recovery towards growth. The importance of the beauty market to the global economy can be judged by the $100 billion in sales revenue that the industry generates worldwide every year. Top beauty firms have faced intense competition over the recent past as consumers are equipped with greater bargaining power due to the rise of online shopping trends.
This has pushed beauty firms to become more dynamic and innovative to meet the changing consumer demands, as per Brand Finance. This year, an appreciable recovery has been witnessed in terms of brand value of the top 50 beauty brands as compared to last year. However, this growth is still yet to reach the levels witnessed before the onset of the pandemic in 2020. According to the Top 20 Global Beauty Companies 2021 Report, the biggest beauty companies in the world are The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), and Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL).
Our Methodology
These were picked from a careful assessment of the beauty industry. The details of each beauty company are mentioned alongside a discussion around top firms in the sector in order to provide readers with some context for their investment decisions.
14 Biggest Beauty Companies In The World
Amorepacific, a South Korean company, founded in 1945, is one of the biggest beauty firms in the world with sales worth $4.4 billion. The company has above 20 luxury and daily care beauty products and heath care brands such as Amore Pacific, Primera, Goutal Paris, Hanyul, Sulwhasoo, Mamonde, Innisfree, Laneige, Sienu, Etude, Hera, IOPE, and Lirikos.
The company gained global prominence and consumer attention through a diversified online channel portfolio and innovative digital marketing in recent years.
Just like The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), and Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), Amorepacific is one of the biggest beauty brands in the world.
LG, a South Korean company, founded in 1958, is also one of the biggest beauty brands in the world with sales worth $4.8 billion. LG has a cosmetics, hair care and skin care range which includes major brands such as The History of Whoo, CNP, O Hui, Belif, Beyond, SU:M37, Code Glokolor, Veilment, Dermalift, CNP Rx, Isa Knox, Sooryehan, Dr. Belmeur, VDL, Vonin, Carezone, The Saga of Xiu, TheFaceShop, FMGT, Nature Collection, Elastine, Organist, Reen, Yehwadam, Silk Therapy, and Gentology.
LG has also introduced vegan beauty cosmetics, namely The Crème Shop in 2021, which has been a success despite the uncertain economic global environment. This year, in May, LG setup its new research and development (R&D) center in Hokkaido, Japan, with a prime focus on microbiome beauty products. The company’s top management has highlighted its plans to establish a natural fermentation production system and introduce different microbiome ingredients at the R&D center.
Kao, the Japanese beauty company, founded in 1887, is a beauty industry giant with sales worth $5 billion. Kao engages through its two business segments which are consumer products and chemical products. The major brands of the company are Curél , freeplus, Athletia, Kanebo, Sofina iP, Molton Brown, RMK, Kate, Kao Sekken White Sensai, Suqqu, Asience, Bioré, Cape, Blauné, Guhl, Jergens, Liese, Essential, John Frieda, Kms, Merit, Rerise, Segreta, My Kirei, Success, Goldwell, and Oribe. It has also introduced its new products such as Sensai Absolute Silk Illuminative Cream, Goldwell Rainbow Dye, Sensai Contouring Lipstick and Allie Chrono Beauty Line.
Although the global pandemic period affected the company’s growth, but the net sales improved in 2021. Since March 2022, the company has joined the global call for support in the Ukraine crisis. It has made huge donations up to $502,000 to UN agencies in this regard. Kao has also donated essentials for refugees such as personal hygiene items, sanitary items as well baby diapers.
Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY), a French-American multinational, founded in 1904, is a top beauty firm with sales worth $5.3 billion. The company has a vast range of products including fragrances, color cosmetics, skincare as well as body care products for both its luxury and consumer range. Luxury brands of the firm include Kylie Jenner, Alexander McQueen, Bottega, Chloé, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Escada, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Veneta, Davidoff, Hugo Boss, and Philosophy. The company has brands such as Adidas, CoverGirl, Max Factor, Sally Hansen, Rimmel, and Nautica.
Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) has gained momentum in the US market since 2021 through its ecommerce and innovative strategies. This year, in April, Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) pulled out from the Russian market after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In May 2022, the actress, Kim Kardashian closed down her fragrance brand KKW Fragrance, in order to re-introduce it under a new name as the actress’s initials have changed after her divorce. Notably, the company owns a 20% stake in Kardashian’s KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance.
Beiersdorf, a German multinational, founded in 1882, is a prominent beauty firm with sales worth $7 billion. The major brands it owns are Nivea, La Prairie, 8x4, Labello, Eucerin, Aquaphor, Florena, SlekMaestro, Atrix, Gammon, Hidrofugal, and Coppertone. Some of the latest additions to the company’s product range are Nivea MagicBars, Eucerin Dermo-pure Serum, Nivea Men Sensitive-Pro Ultra-Calming facial skin care, Nivea EcoRefill hand soap, and Pure & Simple sunscreen spray. The company believes that its skincare segment helped in reaching the sales targets which was primarily possible due to E-commerce activities.
The company's main brand is Nivea, which resulted in sales growth of 5.5% in the year 2021. Another brand, La Prairie, generated higher than expected sales for the company in the post-pandemic year. This year, in June, the company partnered with Borealis, Clariant and Siegwerk, to minimize plastic waste in order to reduce climate change impact.
Natura &Co Holding S.A. (NYSE:NTCO), a Brazilian multinational, founded in 1969, is a major beauty firm with sales worth $7.1 billion. The major brands it owns are Natura, Aesop, The Body Shop and Avon. The new brands launched recently are Aesop: Exalted Eye Serum, Natura: Biome body and shampoo bars; and The Body Shop: White Musk fragrance range, breath, boost and sleep wellness collection. The company’s executive chairman and CEO, Roberto Marques, has stated that he has strong faith in the resilience of the company to remain on the growth track in 2022-2024. Despite facing a challenging 2020-2021, the CEO expressed his confidence in the sustainable profitable growth, and further indicated the overall sales climbing 8.8% with more than half of the revenues coming through digitally enabled sales of the company.
LVMH, a luxury brands company, founded in 1987, is another top beauty company with sales worth $7.5 billion. It is a France-based company having its top line range in perfumes and beauty products, such as Christian Dior. This year, Miss Dior Roses N’Roses, J’adore Infinissime perfumes, and Rouge Dior make-up resulted in improved performance. The company is known as one of the world’s largest luxury products conglomerates. Interestingly, the company owns several luxury brands such as Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Tiffany & Co., Bvlgari, Acqua Di Parma and Marc Jacobs Beauty.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), a U.S.-based multinational, founded in 1886, is one of the biggest beauty firms in the world with sales worth $7.7 billion. The major brands in beauty range it owns are Johnson Baby Products, Dabao, Le Petite Marseillais, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, OGX, Lubriderm, Neutrogena, Vivvi, Bloom, Lubriderm Extra Dry Skin Advanced Therapy, Neutrogena Clear Coverage makeup, Neutrogena Stubborn Acne & Marks Treatments and Sundown.
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI), a U.S. based multinational, founded in 1990, is a top beauty firm with sales worth $7.9 billion. The product range includes personal care fragrances, lotions, body creams, shower gels; candles, hand sanitizers, liquid hand soaps, and home fragrances diffusers. The latest range includes Fall in Bloom Fine Fragrance Mist, Cinnamon Sandalwood Body Wash and Foam Bath and Sweet Whiskey Ultimate Hydration Body Cream.
In 2021, the company officially separated from Victoria’s Secret to become an independent brand which turned out to be a wise decision. The sales rose to $7.9 billion which is a 22% increase from previous year. However, the pandemic period affected the company’s overall growth, it still managed to increase its presence globally through digital platforms and expanding buy-online-pick-up-in-store, called BOPIS model, which further enhanced the online presence and increased the customer base of the firm.
In addition to The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), and Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), Bath & Body Works is one of the biggest beauty brands in the world.
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Disclosure. None. 14 Biggest Beauty Companies In The World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
While having a good working knowledge of raw materials and formulations is important for being a great formulator, having a working knowledge of the cosmetic industry is just as important for your cosmetic chemist career. Today, we’ll take a look at the companies in the cosmetic industry and who owns some of the biggest brands.
Every year the trade magazines put together a list of the biggest cosmetic companies in the beauty industry. It’s a pretty handy list and if you are just starting or have been working for a while in cosmetics, you should be familiar with these companies. At the very least, you’ll know where there might be future employment opportunities. These companies hire lots of cosmetic chemists.
You can see the complete list of the Top 20 Global Beauty Companies as compiled by Beauty Packaging magazine.
Here is the quick list. They are ranked by yearly sales. After that I’ll write a little about the main companies and how that can be useful for cosmetic formulators looking for jobs. Note that these are the biggest companies worldwide and it considers only the beauty portion of the business. Some of these companies are much larger than reported here, but that is because they also have significant business in other industries like household or food.
Before we talk about the specific companies let’s discuss how this information will help you. Of course knowing the industry companies can be of trivial interest, it can also be quite useful to a cosmetic chemist in the following ways.
First, it is useful in terms of competitive research. If you already have a job, it’s good to know which brands go with which company. This can help you compare formulas and determine what raw material blends they might be using. This could help you in your efforts to knock-off their formulas. You can also see where they are using the same basic formulas for different brands. A chemist who is more knowledgable about their competitors is more valuable to their company.
Next, knowing the industry players can help stimulate new product ideas. You can get a good idea where these companies are putting their development efforts. This can spark ideas on what areas you might want to pursue or even avoid.
Finally, you ultimately work for yourself and often you’ll be faced with finding a new employer. Knowing the cosmetic industry can be incredibly helpful when researching for interviews. If you want to stand out when interviewing for a cosmetic science job, it’s helpful to know something about the company. This list can quickly get you familiar with your potential employer. It can also help you learn about the company’s competition. The more you know about the industry, the better your chances of landing a job.
Alright, let’s give a little more detail of the top 10 biggest companies in the cosmetic industry. You may already or someday will be working for one of them. At the very least you will be competing against all of them. These companies often have the best technology and the best performing products. It’s great to learn from them by studying how they are putting together their formulas.
Company number 10 – Kao corporation
This company headquartered in Japan has yearly beauty sales of $5.3 billion. It sells products in most all cosmetic categories including color cosmetics, skincare, facial and body cleansers and hair care. Popular brands from this company include Bioré, Jergens, John Frieda, and Goldwell. While based in Japan, they have a significant presence in Cincinnati if you were looking for a job in the US.
Company number 9 - Amore Pacific
This beauty company based in South Korea has yearly sales of $5.6 billion and has benefited from the K-beauty trend in recent years. They are rapidly growing with an almost 18% increase in 2017. Among its most popular brands are Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, Innisfree, Etude, Lolita Lempicka, Annick Goutal.
Company number 8 – Johnson & Johnson
Although they are primarily a pharmaceutical company J&J had beauty product sales of over $5.9 billion. This includes products for baby care, skin care and oral products. It’s most famous brands include Johnson’s Baby, Neutrogena, Aveeno, and Listerine. The company is located in New Jersey, USA.
Company number 7 - Beiersdorf
This German based company had sales of over $5.9 billion in 2017. They have a wide range of personal care products including skincare and body care brands. Some of their most important include Nivea, Eucerin, Labello, Florena, and La Prairie.
Company number 6 – Shiseido
Another Japanese based company makes our top ten list with sales of just over $7.3 billion. This company makes all types of personal care products including skincare, fragrance, hair care, sun care, body care and makeup. Some of its popular brands include Shiseido, Za, Senka, Anessa, Sea Breeze, Nars, and Bare Essentials.
Company number 5 - Coty
This is a New York based company who built up their beauty business through acquisitions in recent years. In 2017, they had sales of $7.7 billion. They are a big player in Fragrance (#1), professional hair care (#2) and color cosmetics (#3). They bought a number of brands from P&G and now own brands such as Adidas, Clairol, CoverGirl, David Beckham, Katy Perry, Max Factor, Rimmel, Sally Hansen and Wella. They also own luxury brands such as Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Gucci, Hugo Boss, and Philosophy.
Company number 4 – Proctor and Gamble
Now we’re starting to get into the bigger numbers. This huge company had annual beauty product sales of over $11.8 billion which is down significantly from the $20 billion plus of years ago. But they sold a bunch of brands to Coty to become more efficient. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA they still hold dominant positions in the skin care and hair care. They sold off most of their color cosmetic products. They spend the most money on advertising so it’s not surprising that they have a number of well known brands including Aussie, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Ivory, Olay, Old Spice, Pantene, Safeguard, Secret, Crest, Oral-B, Scope, Art of Shaving and more.
Company number 3 – Estee Lauder
This New York based company has annual sales of about $11.8 billion. They have a number of prestige brands in the main cosmetic categories including color cosmetics, skin care, hair care and fragrances. Their well-known brands include Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, MAC, Smashbox, Clinique, Origins, Ojon and more. If you work on more expensive beauty products the products from this company are good ones to emulate.
Company number 2 – Unilever
The second largest company in the beauty business is located in London. It has annual sales of $21.3 billion and much like P&G has a number of well-known mass market brands. They sell products in every cosmetic industry category and have some of the best selling in them. Popular Unilever brands include Axe/Lynx, Dove, Lifebuoy, Pond’s, Close-Up, TRESemmé, Suave, Sunsilk, and Vaseline. This is the company that purchased my former company, Alberto Culver. Fortunately, I was gone before they shut it down.
Alright, and the number 1 beauty company in the cosmetic industry is…L’Oreal.
L’Oreal has annual beauty product sales of over $27.2 billion dollars. They are based in France and sell products in color cosmetics, skincare, hair care, sun care, and fragrances. Their most important brands linclude L’Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, and Softsheen. They also sell luxury brands like Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, and Kiehl’s. They have professional hair care products such as Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, and Pureology. Finally, they also own beauty product distributors such as The Body Shop. You don’t get to generate nearly $30 billion in sales without having a number of streams of revenue!
So there you have it, all the biggest beauty companies in the world. Make it a point to learn about them as you may find yourself working for or with them at some point in your career.