Vegan perfumery manufacturers predicted rising costs

The introduction of GOST standards for vegan perfumes should reduce the number of false statements on packaging and make the market more transparent for buyers. On May 12, Vitaly Suprunenko, senior lecturer at the Department of Commerce and Trade at Synergy University, and Ekaterina Catalina, Candidate of Economics, told Izvestia about how the new standard will affect producers, prices and demand.

According to Suprunenko, the main effect of the new GOST is not related to the creation of a new market segment, but to the legalization of an existing niche and the fight against unfair eco-labeling. The standard should eliminate the situation in which the "vegan" label is used without confirming the composition and origin of the components.

"Compliance with the standard will be a guarantee for the consumer that the statement about the herbal composition is documented," the expert noted.

Suprunenko stressed that the introduction of GOST will lead to higher costs for manufacturers wishing to officially label products as vegan. Additional costs will be associated with laboratory checks, supplier control, cleaning of equipment and replacement of individual ingredients of animal origin with plant or synthetic analogues.

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According to his estimates, the cost of certified products may increase by 20-30%. At the same time, the mass market is unlikely to fully switch to vegan standards, as a significant part of buyers still focus primarily on price.

Catalina believes that the new GOST will primarily change consumers' attitudes towards the vegan label itself. Nowadays, such a designation is often used as a marketing tool, but uniform criteria will make such statements more understandable and verifiable.

The expert noted that for many companies, the transition to vegan status will not require a complete reworking of formulas, since synthetic and herbal components are already widely used in modern perfumery. The main task will be to confirm the origin of the raw materials and correct documentation.

According to Katalina, interest in ethical and transparent products in Russia is gradually growing not only among vegans, but also among buyers focused on the safety of the composition, the rejection of animal testing and brand values.

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The document will strengthen quality control from raw materials to bottles.

"In this sense, GOST can work not only for vegans. It will be useful for an urban audience, buyers of marketplaces, niche perfumes, local brands and those who choose a product not only by fragrance, but also by brand values," she said.

At the same time, experts agree that vegan perfumes will remain a niche segment in the coming years. According to Suprunenko's forecast, by 2028 the share of certified vegan perfumes may reach about 10-12% of the market, mainly in the middle and premium price segments.

On the same day, Rosstandart adopted the first GOST for vegan perfume, which provides for the absence of animal ingredients in the composition. In order for a perfume to be recognized as vegan, the manufacturer must confirm the absence of animal ingredients in its composition. The standard provides examples of such ingredients, including dairy products such as lactose, casein, and whey, as well as bee products such as honey, propolis, and beeswax.