Export driving force for cosmetics: in 2026 it will exceed EUR 9.4 billion (+10%). US-EU agreement on tariffs takes its toll

Made-in-Italy cosmetics are becoming increasingly popular abroad: according to forecasts by the trade association Cosmetica Italia, in fact, in 2026 cross-border sales of make-up, creams, perfumes, body and hair care products will exceed the value of 9.4 billion euros, up 10% compared to this year, which should close with an increase of 8.5% compared to the 7.9 billion of 2024 - equal to about half of the total turnover - also up 12%. A fundamental contribution, that of exports, to the growth of the total turnover of the cosmetics industry in Italy. In the space of twenty years, the weight of exports on the sector's total revenues has doubled, rising from 24.7% in 2004 to almost 48% at the end of 2024, with a value that has almost quadrupled, from 2 to over 7.9 billion Euro. .

The international markets reward the quality and reliability of Italian production, with excellent performances in the United States, the first outlet market with a value of over 1.1 billion and a growth of 19.3%, France (797 million, +13%) and Germany (757 million, +8.2%) which, alone, concentrate one third of the total value of Italian cosmetics industry exports. However, the United States is not the only non-European destination to show double-digit growth: the top twenty also include the United Arab Emirates (+19.7%), Australia (+11.7%) and Mexico (+17.0%).

Foreign sales are holding up, therefore, although in the first part of 2025 some criticalities have emerged dictated by the difficulty of finding and costing raw materials also contributed by the drought, the increase in energy and logistics costs, to which must be added the protectionist measures and countermeasures of Trump's second presidency and the related impacts that lead to scenarios that are still uncertain: yet another challenge for the sector, dictated by an increasingly complex competitive environment.

"The entire supply chain of the Italian cosmetics industry is strategic for the growth of the economy and is a fundamental piece for the country system," comments Benedetto Lavino, president of Cosmetica Italia. "In 2024 it generated a total value of 41.2 billion euros, marking a growth of 6.5% compared to the previous year, and supported employment overall with about 440 thousand jobs created, equal to 1.6% of the workforce in Italy. The cosmetics industry alone has reached a turnover of 16.5 billion (+5.7% on average per year over the last ten years) and with a 12% growth in exports, cosmetics has positioned itself among the best performing sectors of the Made in Italy industry in terms of export growth, second only to jewellery. Today, about half of the total revenue comes from foreign markets, with the United States as the top destination followed by France and Germany. The strength of cosmetics is expressed along the entire supply chain, which is one of the excellences of Made in Italy'.

He adds: 'The announcement of a trade agreement between the European Union and the US with tariffs at 15% worries us because exports are a key driver for the growth of this sector. A contraction in our first foreign market of at least EUR 100 million needs to be balanced with concrete incentive measures in order to support not only exports to the US, but also new commercial outlets in other areas and countries with high potential, such as the Middle East, Mercosur, and India. This agreement, moreover, aggravates the situation of a sector whose extreme regulatory complexity, combined with rising energy costs, is already in danger of hampering, above all, innovation, competitiveness and investment by companies'.