The key question in the soap, bath and shower products market is how to turn a commodity into a 'must pay more for'. Value growth in the market has been hampered by a consumer preoccupation with price and a marked tendency to buy in large formats, with the same shower gel for all the family. The recent buzzword has been added-value and the industry has taken its cue from skincare – bodywashes no longer simply cleanse, but hydrate, nourish, reinvigorate, de-stress and fragrance.

Added-value works well when times are good – and this has certainly been the case in Spain, where an economic boom left people with more disposable income. However, these times are now over and it remains to be seen whether economic difficulties drive people quickly back to buying more cheaply and generically. The industry hopes that what started out as added benefits have now become the baseline – but it is likely to prove increasingly difficult to convince Spaniards that quality is worth a higher price tag.

The countries examined within the Consumer Goods Intelligence series of reports are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

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