A recent report, “Multicultural Beauty and Grooming Products: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities,” by global consulting and research firm Kline & Company, may shed light on L’Oréal’s recent purchase of Carol’s Daughter. According to the data collected, the multicultural beauty products market continues to outpace the growth of the overall market for cosmetics and toiletries, posting a 3.7% increase in 2014.

 Kline says rapidly growing ethnic populations have given way to intensified competition,  and catch multicultural beauty marketers breaking boundaries between general and multicultural beauty. On one end, there are brands such as Carol’s Daughter that are positioning away from being an exclusive ethnic brand to now also target a broader audience, regardless of ethnicity.

“This widening approach helps move multicultural brands beyond the ethnic section of the beauty aisle to sit side-by-side nationally advertised brands,” says Donna Barson, senior associate at Kline’s Consumer Products practice. “However, this audience expansion needs to be done without alienating long-time consumers who might feel deserted if they feel like their brand no longer speaks exclusively to them.”

Concurrently, mainstream brands continue to develop tactics to capture a growing percentage of the ethnic personal care market.

During the forecast period through 2019, Kline predicts the ethnic beauty market will continue to face intense competition from general cosmetic and toiletry brands, and the fine line between mainstream and multicultural markets will continue to blur. However, competition will give an incentive for a surge of innovative, quality products entering the market.