Coconut beauty products now generate £12 million per year

Coconut is one ingredient trend that hasn’t dropped off in popularity, according to figures from data provider IRI.

Data collected over the last year (for the 52 weeks ending June 10, 2017) shows coconut products in the health, beauty and accessories category are now worth more than £12m to UK supermarkets, chemists and independent pharmacies.

Showing a clear link between the rise in popularity of coconut health foods and drinks such as coconut milk, growth was particularly strong in the personal care sector, which grew by 31% in value sales. Coupled with the haircare sector, this accounted for more than £11m a year in sales.

Liquid soaps and shower products in particular were responsible for driving the growth. Value sales of liquid soaps infused or scented with coconut increased by 11% to £15.5k, while shower products grew by 7% to £3.7m.

“We can see that coconut as an ingredient has really been gaining in popularity since January of last year, which corresponds with figures showing that coconut-related web searches have been on the rise over the past couple of years,” said Kaajal Bhatti, retail insight manager at IRI. “I think what we’re actually seeing is something of a coconut revolution, rather than just a fad, as the gap between food and drink and health and beauty closes, suggesting that more and more people are looking to products and ingredients that look after both their internal and external health.”