PHILIPPINE makers of beauty products such as whitening creams and lotions as well as virgin coconut oil may tap into export potential of these products in the United States as well as countries in Middle East and Europe, among others, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“One brand, the Kojie San is being exported. And then the Silka Papaya is also a very strong brand that’s being exported,” DTI Acting Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque told reporters on the sidelines of the DTI’s first Beauty Fair held in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday.
For her part, Marievic Bonoan of DTI-Bureau of Market Development, Promotions and [One Town,One Product] Otop said that the Kojie San soap is now “saleable” in Indonesia, according to DTI’s commercial attaché in Jakarta.
Aldeguer-Roque emphasized “There’s really a strong export market for these beauty products especially the products that are let’s say papaya or virgin coconut oil [based], which are also very popular abroad.”
In pushing to tap the US$3.3 trillion global potential of Halal products, the DTI Acting Secretary also noted that “So there’s also Halal beauty products. So we’ll push for this one.”
As to the potential markets which the Philippine beauty product makers can tap, Aldeguer-Roque said, “There’s the Middle East, there’s also US, there’s also Europe, because they also like the pili oil. They also like the virgin coconut oil. They like any coconut products and then they also like the whitening for some…let’s say, countries where they want to make paputi or what, then the papaya soap is very strong.”
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicate that coconut oil exports posted the fastest growth rate among the merchandise exports of the Philippines in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
PSA data noted that coconut oil exports grew by 52.8 percent to $891.34 million in the January to June 2024 period from the $583.24 million in the six-month period in 2023.
During the DTI’s first Beauty Fair held at the Megamall, Aldeguer-Roque said she wants to “level up” the trade fairs being held by the Trade department by making these fairs more “targeted” in order to gather more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“So I decided to start with a very targeted trade fairs, which is like the food fair, we just stuck it to all to food, and then the National Trade Fair, which is the handicrafts and a little bit of food. Now it’s the beauty. After that, we also have fashion,” said Aldeguer-Roque.
She noted, “Then after that, we also have a bridal [fair] so it’s really targeted ang fairs ng DTI so that we can really get a lot of the MSMEs together so that hindi siya halo-halo.”
With the potential to grow into a “billion-peso” industry, Aldeguer-Roque described the Philippine beauty products as “easy to sell.”
“You can sell it online. You can also sell it in stores. The stores don’t have to be big,” she noted, adding that social media has been the growth driver of the local beauty industry.
The DTI Beauty Fair 2024 at the Mega Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong City will be from August 28 to September 1.
DTI said there are more than 40 local brands present at the Beauty Fair. These exhibitors are selling skincare, haircare, personal care, bodycare and cosmetics products, among others.
Among these local brands, there are around seven brands selling coconut-based beauty products.
