Increasing political stability and security in Colombia in recent years, coupled with double-digit growth in prestige beauty, is making the country a sounder investment for brands. Although little reliable data on the beauty sector is available—Segmenta plans to begin tracking the market this year—industry players agree that Colombia is poised for years of buoyant growth, and are investing accordingly.

“We have low inflation, unemployment is going down, poverty is going down and we have low interest rates, so the macro-economy is ok,” commented Jaime Mauricio Concha, Executive Director of the cosmetics and personal-care chamber of Colombian national business association ANDI. “Some 10 years ago we had a per capita income of $2,000 per year; now, it is nearly $10,000. Foreign investment was around $2 billion yearly; now, that is nearly $16 billion,” he continued.

More women are entering the workforce and greater security means that it is safer for Colombians to travel around the country, boosting the development of prestige retail and in turn, sales of high-end beauty products.

The prestige market is estimated to have grown at between 8% and 11% in 2013. “The consumer is starting to move to prestige and buy make-up and skin care from [this category],” said Segmenta Latam retail manager Daniel Morimoto. “We have also seen fragrance growing fast.”

Fragrance still represents the majority of the prestige market at around 62%, according to estimates, while skin care represents 23% of business and make-up 15%. And while market players are keen to develop beyond fragrance, sanitary registration for skin care and cosmetics mean that fewer have invested in these segments, given the small market size.

To read BW Confidential’s full report on Colombia’s beauty market click here.