Across the region, companies have increased their production of all cleaning products and have benefited from the use of e-commerce and the increases in retail prices.
In Colombia, the figures before the national emergency was declared show the growth of both sectors. According to Statista, during the last week of February, sales of liquid cleaners and detergents grew by 31%, window cleaners by 29%, and laundry detergents by 28%.  As for personal hygiene products, in this same period sales of wet wipes and hand soap increased by 44% and 35% respectively.

The latter product is doubtlessly one that has become every day in recent times. Euromonitor International estimates that world sales of liquid soaps will grow by 11.1% in 2020, and in Colombia, sales prospects estimate an annual growth of over 7% over the next five years (2020-2024), rising to over US $34 million.

On the other hand, exports of domestic cleaning products increased 17.1% in the January-February 2020 period, compared to the same period last year, indicating that international demand also grew significantly.

Internationally, these sales are expected to have increased and to continue growing in the months following February, as consumer needs and habits in the cleaning and washing sector have increased. According to Nielsen, attributes related to sustainability, natural ingredients or quality were previously sought after, while those related to germ elimination, immunity and general health promotion are now the most sought after. 

At a national level, it is estimated that sales of in the beauty and personal care sector in Colombia will show exponential growth over the next four years (2020-2024), reaching an average annual sales growth of 1.5%, equal to US $3.297 billion in 2024. 

This represents a major opportunity for investing in the Colombian sector. For several years now, the country has positioned itself as a regional production center for cleaning products and is today an ideal destination for foreign investors looking to expand their business.

At ProColombia, we have identified different investment opportunities in the cleaning and cosmetics sectors. Establishing centers for logistics, distribution, and research and development to supply the local and regional market, as well as installing production capacity, particularly for private label products, a sector whose sales have grown nearly fourfold in the last 6 years, are presented as a great opportunity. 

Similarly, setting up manufacturing to transform palm oil into raw materials for detergents and soaps is also a promising scenario considering the current high imports for these in the country.

As for the cosmetics sector, the construction of centers of production and logistics was identified as an opportunity to supply the growing Latin American market and implement infrastructure that allows agricultural production residues to be used in the cosmetics industry. 

Another opportunity worth highlighting is the development of research centers for the production of cosmetics based on natural ingredients or the extraction of essential and vegetable oils.