The market for skincare products is growing rapidly. By 2025, the global market will be worth an estimated USD 189.3 billion. In the US alone, total sales of facial skincare products were estimated at USD 62.3 billion in 2018, with total revenue for all skincare products at around USD 17.78 billion. Consumers are clearly keen to buy skincare products. In the U.S. and many other markets, claims attached the to use of skincare products must be substantiated before the product can be offered onto the market.
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. Earlier this year, SGS acquired Thomas J. Stephens & Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized clinical research organization headquartered in Texas and with a facility in Phoenix serving the cosmetic and personal care industry as a leading provider of safety & efficacy testing and contract research services.
“This acquisition expands SGS’s Consumer & Retail service portfolio in the clinical testing sector for cosmetic and personal care products in the USA,” says Frankie Ng, CEO of SGS. “The combination of Stephens and SGS Harrison Research Laboratories in New Jersey gives SGS a leading position in this field in the USA.” SGS has more than 94,000 employees across 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world, which includes SGS Stephens.
When it comes to safety and compliance, manufacturers need to be certain in which category their product falls. For instance, the standards applied to personal care items, such as adult diapers and personal hygiene wipes, are very different from those that apply to medical devices. Even within product categories, it can be a challenge to work out which standards apply. For example, in one of the fastest growing segments in the healthcare industry – wheelchairs and walking aids – what standard is enforced depends on the market and the attributes of the product.
SGS Stephens uses its expertise in testing the claims made surrounding skincare products — including the current hot commodity of hand sanitizers — to help cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers access U.S. markets.
