INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Acting trade secretary Cristine Roque on Wednesday said that her office is putting more focus to help develop the Philippines’ billion-peso beauty industry, vowing support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the sector under her watch.
“We have to realize that a lot of the MSMEs are also into the beauty business, especially now the beauty business is very strong,” Roque told reporters during the opening of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) five-day beauty fair in SM Megamall.
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Roque said that they aim to have targeted trade fairs going forward that feature companies engaged in the beauty business.
“By doing this, we also create avenues for MSMEs, for the business people to be able to showcase their products to a lot of mall goers,” said Roque.
She added that they see the local beauty industry as a growing market, noting in particular it’s growth in the digital space where she said has helped it grow to billions of pesos.
The DTI’s first ever beauty fair was attended by over 40 brands in the skin care, body care and the cosmetics industry.
Back in 2022, the head of the Chamber of Cosmetics Industry of the Philippines, Inc (CCIPI) estimated that their industry alone was worth around $4 billion annually.
Back then CCIPI president Jocelyn Babaan told the Inquirer that the industry has been showing signs of recovery from the pandemic after the health crisis cut an estimated 50 percent to as much as 80 percent of the sector’s gross revenues.
Citing the years 2018 and 2019, she said the $4 billion industry has been growing by around 30 percent to 40 percent before the outbreak of the pandemic.
She cited significant changes in the behaviors of consumers during the pandemic, when people stayed at home for longer times, costing them a substantial portion of their sales.