Photo by Lindz Graham: Flickr
According to a new report put out by Research and Markets, the Canadian organic and natural personal care industry is set to double its sales in the coming years. Most of the gains being made are at mass market retailers and the market share of local natural health products stores is declining as a result. If trends continue, natural and organic products are on track to comprise 10% of personal care products purchased in Canada by 2016.
While this is good news, the fact that the growth is coming at the expense of small natural health food stores is not good. I have found in my own shopping trips that I am more likely to find a purely organic product in these stores, instead of the “natural” ones offered at mass market retailers. As we know, “natural” could mean anything, and organic is generally expensive enough that mass market producers of personal care products will avoid making their products 100% organic to preserve their margins.
