Vegan prestige beauty products in the UK are said to have achieved a 38 percent sales rise in the 12 month period ending January, 2018, according to a report by the NPD Group.

The rise and rise of vegan beauty has been boosted by social media and campaigns such as ‘Veganuary’, with consumers said to be continuing to lead a more holistic and green lifestyle overall.

According to the NPD Group, there has been an increase in vegan brands within the prestige beauty market, however, they are said to be limited in distribution.

Helen Duxbury, Senior Account Manager, NPD UK Beauty says: “There has certainly been a rise in the number of vegan brands in prestige beauty and this coincides with consumers adopting a more conscientious approach when purchasing products, looking closely at the underlying philosophies and actions of the brands. They not only investigate ingredients and efficacy, they want to know about traceability, and how animal friendly they are. Vegan and cruelty-free are two of the big issues for customers in 2018, but still remains a niche segment of the skincare market.”

Other wellness areas are said to have boosted the prestige beauty market, such as natural brands, which includes organic, naturally-derived and vegan. These are said to be growing at a rate of 16 percent. Meanwhile beauty brands with cruelty-free certification account for 20 percent of the women’s face and skincare channel.

Duxbury continued, “Whilst most of these are in limited distribution, we are also seeing an increase in mainstream brands offering a vegan range or who are fully vegan, such as the launch of Super Food Skincare by Elemis, which is not only vegan, it meets consumer demand for super food ingredients. We believe the trend for beauty products that not only help consumers look good but feel good about their purchase too is set to grow in 2018.”