Openly discussing and addressing women’s intimate needs is increasingly common in Europe and the UK. This year, for example, Wimbledon relaxed its all white dress code and England Women’s football team changed the colour of its shorts to address anxiety concerns for players who are menstruating. Combined with a wider ‘care everywhere’ trend, this openness has led to more feminine intimate care products to hit the EU and UK markets.
However, ‘femcare’ sellers are still encountering obstacles when selling online. From advertising restrictions to marketplace regulations, here’s three tips for selling feminine imitate care online.
Regulatory barriers: adhering to the rules
From menstruation and menopause to pregnancy and puberty, feminine intimate care products are as diverse and complex as women’s biological needs across their lifetimes - but so are the regulations dictating how these products are sold.
Take cosmetic compliance for example. In the EU, feminine care products are classified as cosmetics if they are applied to external parts of the body (i.e. external genital organs) and fall under the EU Cosmetics Regulation. This dictates what ingredients can be used (i.e. there are restrictions on toxic substances and some colouring agents), which manufacturing processes must be observed and what information is required on labels to name just a few. It also lays out advertising principles about what claims brands can make on packaging and publicity campaigns.
As the EU has a single market, all feminine intimate care products must abide by the same regulations whether you’re selling in one or all 27 member countries. Since January 2021, though, the UK has its own cosmetics regulations. Therefore, if you want to sell in Europe’s three largest cosmetics markets - Germany, France and the UK - you need to adhere to all the regulatory nuances before trying to sell your products.
Consumer barriers: marketing products according to trends
Health & beauty consumers are not homogenous, but there are some common trends - i.e. greater customisation, more premiumisation and increased diversity - that unite many feminine intimate care buyers. In particular, due to the nature of intimate care, consumers are looking for products that use natural ingredients and evidence-based health benefits.
In the EU and UK, that means consumers will favour products with aloe vera, argan oil and almond butter over products with parabens, propylene and phytic acid, and also look for brands with sustainable packaging and green delivery options. What’s more, EU and UK consumers are less likely to buy products without scientific evidence, with a 2023 Mintel report finding that 75% of Spanish beauty consumers want more scientific proof about health products’ claims. Feminine intimate care brands therefore need to study consumer preferences before trying to sell their products online in European markets.
Marketplace barriers: optimising listings to overcome restrictions
After manufacturing your products in line with European regulations and devising marketing campaigns that relate to consumer preferences, brands still encounter issues selling on online marketplaces themselves due to the adult nature of many femcare products.
Getting your head around all the different marketplace rules is a heavy burden for most femcare brands, but working with a marketplace specialist like eManaged can help. For example:
- Overcoming 18+ restrictions. FFS (fuss-free shaving) struggled to sell its products on Amazon as their razors violated the marketplace’s 18+ product restrictions and delivery rules. eManaged stepped in and resolved the issue leading to 100% month-on-month sales growth and a 230% increase in store sales in one month alone.
- Selling internationally. With the growing emergence of feminine intimate care, WooWoo wanted to increase awareness of its brand and available products. eManaged devised an international marketplace strategy, setting up WooWoo on multiple European Amazon sites and eBay UK, which led to average sales growth of 500% YoY across all channels (including 1,900% YoY EU sales increases on four Amazon markets).
Get the right advice
“eManaged has gone above and beyond in setting up and running our highly successful Amazon channel. I think they must have a direct line to Mr Bezos.” -- Lucy Anderson, Founder, Woowoo
Not quite a direct line, but we do know a thing or two about selling feminine intimate care on marketplaces. If you need support selling your femcare products, get in touch.
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