What are the characteristics of the Saudi market? What are the expectations of local consumers? What about the regulatory framework that governs cosmetic products in this country? The International Cosmetics Congress organized by Business France and Cosmed in December 2015 was an opportunity to make an update on what companies should know before exporting cosmetics to Saudi Arabia.
Pascal Roger, Director of the Business France offices in Saudi Arabia, spoke first to present the country and its market and highlight its importance.
With a surface area of 2,149,690 km
2
, Saudi Arabia is three times bigger than France and represents 4/5th of the Arabian Peninsula. It also accounts for 40% of its wealth.
It counts about 31 million inhabitants and is characterized by its very young population, divided into three major consumption areas:
• The West coast, with the cities of Jeddah and Mecca, the main trade and pilgrimage hub
• The central region, including the capital, Riyad
• The eastern area, with cities like Al Khobar, Dammam, and Dhahran, where gas and oil industries are gathered
The GDP reaches 52,183 dollars per inhabitant, which ranks the country 12
th
in the world.
Saudi Arabia has signed free-trade agreements with the major countries in the world: China in 1997, Germany in 1999, Korea and the United States in 2003, France in 2004, India in 2008, Turkey in 2009, Japan in 2013, EFTA (the European Free Trade Association) in 2014…
The cosmetics market
In 2014, the cosmetics market weighed 4.8 billion dollars, with an annual growth estimated at …
