Private label in the Spanish personal care market and the role of the distributor: Interview with Alessandro Monda, Business Manager Iberia, Personal Care

Over the last 10 years, the Spanish personal care private label market has continued to grow, utilising new and innovative ways to help keep costs down whilst continuing to widen its overall offering. Here, Alessandro Monda, business manager Iberia, Food & Health and Personal Care looks at how the market has grown despite the challenging economic climate.

For many in the Spanish market, it has been a long and tough road to recovery following the recession. The personal care market however has seen a significant upturn and remains the fifth largest in Europe. Among the factors that helped the sector to grow, there are two key aspects:

  • Increase in exports has filled the gap caused by the decline in domestic consumption;
  • The change in consumer behaviour, seeking value for money in private label.

Alessandro explains, “Whilst brand is important for Spanish consumers, private label also has a strong presence which has only been strengthened by the economic crisis. When it comes to making the decision to buy private label over brands, we see that consumers are driven by cost but certainly not at the expense of quality”.

Toiletries in particular is one of the biggest areas for private label. There is a real focus on delivering a quality product that offers value for money too. By manufacturing and packaging products in larger quantities, companies can drive down costs enabling them to pass the savings. Distributors like Azelis are able to position themselves as a complete solution provider to manufacturers of private label, helping to streamline the whole process whilst helping to keep costs to a minimum.

Alessandro adds, “With quality being a top priority, whilst the cost of the end product may differ according to the premium nature of the ingredients used, once the formulation is made, the same product testing and safety principles used to develop a premium brand are applied.”