The market of cosmetics and personal care products last year reached 600 million euros, having a growth potential of as much as 60% in the next four years, according to the Euromonitor data.

With an annual growth pace of 15-20%, the market is only 20% covered by domestically manufactured products. Multinationals, including Avon, Oriflame, Sarantis, Beiersdorf or P&G dominated the market in 2006 again, while only a handful of domestic producers managed to cope with the tight competition.

Lacking funds for advertising and innovation, the sector is becoming quite unfavourable for the producers whose annual production does not get beyond 140 million euros, according to National Statistics Office (INS) data. This happens as the leading multinational among the top cosmetics sellers, Avon, posted turnover worth 100 million euros in 2005.

Therefore, domestic producers are turning to foreign markets, the more so as EU integration is bringing further growth opportunities in this direction.

Thus, according to INS data, in the first eleven months of 2006, the Romanian production of cosmetics amounted to 135 million euros, of which 23% went to export.

Domestic producers have registered constant values in terms of exports until recently, and when there were increases in exported volumes, they did not get beyond 10%. Producers believe things are going to change starting January 1st.

"The year 2007, through Romania's EU integration, will certainly bring bigger opportunities of collaboration with partners from EU members," says Andreea Sas, marketing manager with Gerocossen.

So far, though, the European Union has not proved to be such a "friendly" market for domestic producers. In 2005, the EU absorbed 8% of overall exports of Romanian cosmetics, with most of the exports reaching Moldova and Bulgaria. In the first 11 months of last year,