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From Castor Coconut oil to a special blend scalp tonic, hair and body cold pressed Coconut oil, 100% castor oil, Lemon Grass and Honey hair gel, Tea Tree and Rosemary gel and Hemp shampoo the organic, personal body care line, Honey Vera has it all.

The brand started out of a need to satisfy the amused onlookers who kept asking Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HoneyVera, Christal-Ann Thompson about the products she used in her hair.

Having sourced the containers, Thompson started production in an outdoor kitchen, got the necessary clearance and began calling stores across the island, hoping for them to buy into her dream.

Much like Honey Vera, many cosmetic lines started out small and are now looking to solidify their stance in the global market space.

But what are the opportunities that exist?

According to Senior Research Officer at JAMPRO, Carlos Applewhaite, the personal care market is the largest in the world with an estimated $49 billion being spent in 2016 in the US on products ranging from makeup, hair and skin care among others.

“Within this large consumer goods industry, hair care products are especially profitable, leading the market with 24 per cent market share, followed by skin care 23.7 per cent and cosmetics 14 per cent. Key trends in this industry are the demand for natural products and multicultural campaigns driven by the millennials market segment (BMI Research, 2017). The afro/natural hair /ethnic hair care products segment have provided a resurgence for traditional home-used ingredients like castor oil, coconut oil, aloe vera and honey”

He said there is a similar climate in the UK where people are hungry for authentic, organic cosmetic products.

“The overall UK market for personal care products is at a historic high of £31 billion in sales, growth of 34 per cent since 2010… The UK market is supplemented by imports from France, USA, Germany and China. Imports of skincare products are the largest market, valued £1.7 billion with a volume of 196,761 tons. Perfumes are the second largest market having passed fragrances for manufacturing in 2014 to reach £786 billion in 2016. While hair care products have grown 28 per cent in years, to £512 billion in 2016, moving 1.7 million tons of product (Trade Map).”

Applewhaite adds that the growing trends in the market are in natural ingredients with a ‘green’ approach, along with products for men which target grooming and skincare.

“[Importantly too], most Jamaican products are afforded duty-free access to the USA through the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983 (CBERA) and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act of 2000 (CBPTA).”

With a booming cosmetics industry worldwide, Honey Vera and other brands can reap the benefits of export markets.