The essential oils market - France (2024)

1.2 A growing global market

The global market:

The global market for essential oils is growing rapidly. It is estimated in **** at $**.** billion according to Grand View Research, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of *.*% between **** and ****. This gives us the following forecasts:

World market for essential oils World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

Here is a list of the world's most widely produced essential oils in ****, and their main producing countries:

Source: ****

Sweet orange and spearmint are the most widely produced oils. By ****, orange will account for almost a quarter of the essential oils market (***), thanks to its skin, nail and hair care qualities, which make it popular with women. [***]

Essential oil exports World, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

In ****, the United States dominated the global essential oil export market with a value of *** million euros, followed by France with *** million euros and India with *** million euros.

Exports from Brazil and China also stood out, reaching *** and *** million euros respectively.

The Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, Italy and the UK all recorded significant export values, but well below those of the market leaders.

Essential oil imports World, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

In ****, the United States was the world's leading importer ...

1.3 France, a major global player

NAF code **.**Z "Manufacture of essential oils"Essential oils belong to NAF code **.**Z "Manufacture of essential oils", this NAF code includes the manufacture of essences of natural aromatic products, the manufacture of resinoids (***), and the manufacture of compositions based on odoriferous products for perfumery or food.

Sales excluding VAT of essential oil production were worth *.** billion euros in ****, rising to *.** billion in ****. In ** years, this figure has almost doubled, with growth accelerating particularly since ****. The only year with lower growth was ****, down *.*% on ****, but this was offset in the first half of ****, with growth of *.*% on ****.

sales trend (***) for NAF code **.**Z - "Manufacture of essential oils France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

According to France Agrimer, sales of essential oils in pharmacies and parapharmacies reached *** million euros in ****, representing an increase of almost **% compared to ****.

Sales of essential oils in pharmacies and parapharmacies France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

The essential oils market in pharmacies and parapharmacies in France is dominated by a few key varieties. Ravintsara generated the highest sales at *.* million euros, closely followed by Tea Tree at *.* million euros and Lavender at * million euros.

Sales of the main essential oils in pharmacies and parapharmacies France, ...

1.4 Foreign trade in essential oils

France's trade balance for essential oils: France's trade balance has been in surplus in recent years, but will be in deficit by ****, with a coverage rate of **%.

French trade balance for essential oils France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

French imports of essential oils in ****:

In ****, the mainsupplierssuppliers areindiaitaly, Chinachina, Indonesia and TurkeyTotal imports of essential oils amounted to*** million dollars. The vast majority of France's essential oil imports are orange (***).

France's main suppliers of essential oils France, ****, in millions of dollars Source: ****

French essential oil exports in ****:

In ****, France exported a total value of *** million euros worth of essential oils . Its main customers are the United States, Germany and Switzerland, with orange (***) essential oils accounting for the majority.

France's main customers in the essential oils market France, ****, in millions of dollars Source: ****

1.5 Impact covid: essential oils, the new cure? No, but...

Considered as a remedy against COVID-**, essential oils were in the news during the health crisis, with many French people wanting to use them, wrongly, with the aim in particular of purifying indoor air in the home or in cars, for example. However, this information was quickly denied by the media, such as Le Parisien in April ****, indicating that Anses experts were categorical: "Essential oils do not constitute a means of combating coronavirus. ". Incorrectly used essential oils may even have caused skin reactions, since certain volatile organic compounds can be a source of indoor air pollution and cause adverse effects.

A few months after this episode, essential oils are back in the news: they are used for people still suffering from anosmia (***) following a COVID-** infection.

Since the beginning of ****, an aromatherapy boutique in Albi has been offering a support program to help people regain their sense of smell. Yiango, this Albi-based company, the Anosmie association and CNRS researchers had developed a protocol to help with problems linked to loss of smell before the crisis, but in view of the situation, this protocol has been brought up to date[***].

In ****, in Le Mans, Professor Denis launched the first olfactory rehabilitation application ...

2.1 Consumers and essential oils

Consumer profile

Breakdown of essential oil consumers by gender France, ****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****

Men represent **% of essential oil consumers.

Reasons for consumption

What drives essential oil consumption France, ****, percentage Source: ****

Another interesting fact is that for **% of respondents, the primary reason for using essential oils is to "treat oneself naturally".

Consumption frequency

According to a **** survey of *** essential oil users, **% say they use essential oils more than once a month. Among those who use them every day, **% use them sensibly *-* times a day.

Frequency of use of essential oils France, ****, in Source: ****

According to the plante-essentielle study, **% of those surveyed felt that the time required to learn how to use essential oils was insufficient. Fear of doing things wrong and of making mistakes were also cited. In response to this need for information and training, a number of practical workshops have been set up, along with e-learning and mobile application solutions.

2.2 Aromatherapy, the seductive use of essential oils

The previous survey showed that the popularity of essential oils stems from the desire to treat oneself naturally, a practice that corresponds to aromatherapy.this method involves theuse of essential oils for medicinal purposes.

French perceptions of alternative healthcare therapies France, ****, % of Source: ****

In ****, the French have a rather good image of alternative therapies, and the figures above confirm this trend. Indeed, the majority of respondents (***) say they have a fairly good image of alternative therapies. And **% say they have a very good image. These two positive views therefore represent **% of respondents, suggesting widespread acceptance of these approaches as a complement or alternative to conventional medicine.

On the other hand, **% of respondents report having a rather poor image of alternative therapies, indicating a degree of mistrust or skepticism towards them. However, it should be noted that only a minority, **%, claim to have a very poor image of these practices.

Do you think herbal products are good for your health? France, ****, in Odoxa

When it comes to health benefits, over **% of French people believe that phytotherapy products (***) have health benefits, with **% fully convinced.

How do alternative therapies compensate for the difficulties of the French healthcare system? France, ****, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, %, % Source: ****

A majority of respondents ...

2.3 The Do It Yourself trend

DIY trend:

DIY, or Do It Yourself, is a trend that has been taking hold for some time, and one that was able to take root with the confinement, since it gave the French time to discover this activity. Cosmetics are one of the trendiest categories, enjoying great success, as noted by Monoprix's Beauty Director: "Since the confinement, our sales of DIY cosmetics have seen double-digit growth. By the end of October, they were up **% on the same period last year. ". Aroma-Zone, a specialist in DIY cosmetics, many of which are made with essential oils, gained ***,*** customers during the containment[***].

Breakdown of women who have already designed cosmetics themselves France, ****, % Source: ****

The graph above reveals that **% of women have already designed their own cosmetics, while **% would never have taken this step. This breakdown highlights a notable trend towards "homemade" cosmetics, reflecting a growing interest in personalized, natural and potentially more environmentally-friendly products.

However, the majority of women still prefer commercially available cosmetics, perhaps due to convenience, confidence in the quality of commercial products, or lack of time or skills to create their own.

The main reasons for making your own products France, ****, % (***) Source: ****

French people's main motivation for making their own ...

3.1 Production and processing of essential oils

Essential oils come from the production of aromatic plants, which can be used in three ways: in aromatic solutions (***).

Essential oils market value chain : Production - Processing - Consumption

Source: ****

The essential oil manufacturing market in France is highly fragmented and artisanal. This fragmentation of the market is explained by the diversity of products needed to produce essential oils, as well as by the production conditions, which require a certain amount of artisanal know-how.

3.2 French production of essential oils

NAF code **.**Z "Manufacture of essential oils"

Essential oils belong to NAF code **.**Z "Manufacture of essential oils".

In ****, France counted more than *** aroma and essential oil manufacturing companies, employing an average of nearly *,*** people[***]. The essential oil manufacturing market in France varies greatly from region to region.

Number of essential oil manufacturing establishments in France France, ****-****, in number of establishments Source: ****

Looking at the data on the map, we can see that the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region has the highest number of establishments linked to this activity, with a total of **. Next comes the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region with ** establishments, followed by Occitanie with **. These three regions account for **% of all flavor and essential oil manufacturing establishments. The Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Île-de-France regions also have a significant number of establishments, albeit fewer than the first three regions mentioned. On the other hand, certain regions such as Corsica, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté have a relatively low number of establishments, with only * to * establishments in each region.

This distribution may be the result of a variety of factors, such as the availability of raw materials, the region's industrial history, local economic policies and so on.

The data show ...

3.3 Distribution dominated by specialized channels

In this section, we focus exclusively on the distribution of essential oils to the general public, i.e. sales to the end consumer through various distribution channels. The main distribution channel is pharmacies and parapharmacies, followed by the internet and organic stores , according to the essential oils market report for **** produced by the Consortium HE and the Syndicat PPAM de France.

A survey of *** responses from the French population gave the following results concerning possible places of purchase for essential oils:

Possible places of purchase for essential oils France, ****, in Source: ****

Focus on trends in pharmacies, drugstores and organic stores:

Trends in sales of essential oils in pharmacies, parapharmacy and organic stores France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Sales of essential oils are much higher in pharmacies and par apharmacy outlets, with sales of *** million euros, representing **% of total sales of essential oils. Sales in organic stores will decline between **** and ****, while sales in pharmacies and parapharmacy outlets will fall in **** and then rise again in ****.

Sales of the main essential oils sold in pharmacies and parapharmacies France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

3.4 A market marked by a plurality of players

Drugstore and parapharmacies players:

There is a wide variety of companies in the essential oils sector, and the pharmacy and parapharmacies distribution channel is no exception. In the sale of pure essential oils, there are some predominant players:

Breakdown of branded sales of essential oils in pharmacies and parapharmacies France, ****, in Source: ****

Sales are fairly concentrated around the top * brands: Puressentiel, Pranarom and Phytosun aroms , which account for **% of sales in parapharmacies and pharmacies.

Online parapharmacies are launching more and more new products on their websites, expanding their ranges and creating click & collect services (***). A merger between Belgian site Pharmasimple and France's Enova Santé is also set to see the light of day, boosting the sector's competitive intensity. At the end of ****, the two pharmaceutical giants GSK and Pfizer merged their OTC and parapharmacy businesses[***]. The joint venture is mainly owned by GSK. Organic store brands :

Breakdown France, ****, % [Source: France Agrimer Source: France Agrimer Sales in organic stores are also well concentrated around three brands: Herbes et traditions, Florame and Dr Valnet, which together account for **% of sales.

Aroma-zone, online sales a success:

Aroma-zone is a Digital Native Vertical Brand (***), i.e. it began its activity solely as an online retailer. ...

4.1 The different essential oils and their uses

Properties of essential oils:

The chemotype, or chemotype, is an identity card that differentiates essential oils extracted from the same plant species. Each chemotype identifies the characteristics and powers of each essence. It's an essential concept for defining the impact and virtues of an essential oil. It's a kind of chemical sub-category of essential oil within the same plant species. The European Union formalized its adoption in **** with the ratification of the REACH regulation (***).

Various factors are likely to influence the chemotype of an essential oil and its chemical composition, such as location, climate, soil composition, altitude, sunshine, harvesting period, etc. [***]. This is why it's possible to find different essential oils from the same plant: like lavender, with its essential oils of lavande fine de Provence, lavande fine Altitude and lavande vraie, or mint, with its essential oils of menthe poivrée, menthe poivrée de Provence, menthe des champs and menthe verte. Each of these essential oils has different properties.

Here are some examples of essential oils chosen according to their use:

Source: ****

Here are * tables summarizing the different uses of the * essential oils most commonly sold in pharmacies and parapharmacies:

Source: ****

Essential oil sales by bottle:

Manufacturers of aromatherapy ...

4.2 Prices vary widely from one essential oil to another

The expert website Ooreka has analyzed the average price of essential oils on the market:

Source: ****

We are interested in the average prices of the most popular essential oils sold in pharmacies, in order to highlight the wide disparities. Prices vary widely from one EO to another, depending on the concentration of essential oil in the plant, the fragility of the plant, the complexity of the extraction process.. . Rapidly changing consumer demand trends can also cause prices to vary from one year to the next. As essential oil production is a slow, meticulous process, supply cannot adapt to rapid variations in demand. As a result of scarcity, the price of some products rises significantly.

4.4 Aromatherapy training courses

There is a growing demand for aromatherapy training, whether for personal use or for professional retraining in areas such as reflexology, kinesiology, aromatherapy consulting... There are many different professions associated with aromatherapy and essential oils.

Training costs:Training can be taken face-to-face, online or by reading.The price will depend on the depth of the training:- For health professionals, there is a DU in aromatherapy, which costs €*,***, or continuing education. - For individuals, there are numerous organizations: in France, there are some **,*** training organizations. For example, an e-learning course costs between €** and €** per hour.- For information, books are available for as little as €**. Sign ofquality:To offer quality continuing professional training, the organization must be registered with the DIRRECTE (***). In France, however, no diploma or professional skill is officially recognized by the state, and only doctors can be official aromatherapists.

Source: ****

In ****, a coaching and aromatherapy franchise called Yiango opened stores offering a combination of advice, targeted food supplements and essential oils. After an interview with advisors and therapists, customers leave with a kit costing around ** euros, containing * products dosed for ** days of treatment. Treatments are targeted at weight loss, stress, hormonal balance, joints, sleep and digestion[***].

5.1 General regulations and by use

An essential oil is defined as a "volatile odorant substance produced by certain plants and extractable in liquid form" obtained by distillation. As such, it contains no fatty substances.

All essential oils must have a specific function. Distributors are obliged to be transparent, and to inform consumers about directions for use and precautions. It is therefore the purpose stated by the manufacturer that determines the applicable regulations.[***]

So you can't choose an essential oil without knowing how to use it. According to the same source, essential oils can be dangerous because they contain active chemical elements. The European Union has therefore classified those recognized as hazardous substances, and requires clear labelling to promote transparency for consumers.

Furthermore, it is strictly forbidden to use an essential oil as a medicine: "any claim suggesting that an over-the-counter essential oil could prevent or treat a pathology is prohibited".

Therapeutic" claims (***) are reserved for pharmaceutical specialties.

The regulations applicable to essential oils depend on their intended use, and some have even been classified as dangerous substances, see here.

Active substances in medicines: - According to the French Public Health Code, herbal medicines do not require marketing authorization. They are subject to registration with the Agence ...

5.2 Oils reserved for sale in pharmacies

Essential oils dispensed only in pharmacies must comply with national or European pharmaceutical quality standards . These standards specify the exact names of the essential oils.

These fifteen essential oils are identified as having a negative benefit/risk ratio. They are only available in the pharmaceutical circuit because of their neurotoxic, irritant, phototoxic or carcinogenic properties:

"Grande absinthe (***) Petite absinthe (***) Common wormwood (***) White wormwood (***) Artemisia arborescens (***) Eastern white cedar (***) korean cedar (***), also known as "leaf cedar" Hyssop (***) Sage (***) Tansy (***) Sassafras (***) Sabine (***) Rue (***) Worm-eating goosefoot (***) Mustard (***)".

Source: ****

5.3 Essential oils are subject to REACH and CLP regulations

According to the European Chemicals Agency (***) regulations, and are considered as substances. In application of article *.* of the REACH regulation and article *.* of the CLP regulation, a substance is : "a chemical element and its compounds, in the natural state or obtained by a manufacturing process, including any additive necessary to preserve its stability and any impurity resulting from the process used, but excluding any solvent which can be separated without affecting the stability of the substance or changing its composition".

The REACH regulation came into force in ****, with the aim of securing the production and use of chemical substances in the EU. The aim is to list, assess and monitor chemical substances manufactured, imported and sold on the European market. It is therefore necessary for essential oil producers who manufacture more than one tonne per year to register their essential oils on the European Chemicals Agency (***) website.

The CLP Regulation stipulates that a supplier must assign a classification and label to a substance or mixture before placing it on the market, if the substance is considered to be hazardous or if the mixture contains one or more hazardous substances above a certain threshold. It is entirely up to the European marketer ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Puressentiel France
• Pranarôm (Inula Groupe)
• Mane
• Robertet
• H. Reynaud et Fils
• Dr Valnet Cosbionat
• Florame
• Aroma Zone
• Helpac - Distillerie De Saint Hilaire
• LABORATOIRES OMEGA PHARMA - Phytosun arôms
• Naturactive (Pierre Fabre)
• DRT
• Biolandes
• IFF International Flavours and Fragrances
• Firmenich
• Symrise
• Givaudan
• Herbarom Groupe
• Alban Muller
• La Distillerie Bleu Provence
• Herbes et Traditions
• Le Comptoir Aroma
• Florihana
• Bioflore
• Biofloral
• François Nature