Sunscreen 2025 Retail Buyer’s Guide
With consumer awareness and education regarding the ecological effects of sunscreen as well as its health properties alike, the market is reaching an interesting stage. To find out what this might mean for the upcoming year, keep on reading our Retail Buyer’s Guide on Sunscreen by Anna Langer.
Sunscreen is an interesting sector at the moment with a lot of movement in the market, offering promising opportunities for brands and shops alike. Himaya, a pioneer in the natural eco-sunscreen market for over 20 years, has observed a surge of new entrants this year. “These often bypass R&D and product testing, leveraging low costs and greenwashing tactics to boost sales. This undermines consumer trust and threatens the long-term viability of the niche market. By introducing non-sunscreen products into their ranges, they further confuse customers, eroding the integrity of true sunscreen companies. However, this stage of market evolution is typical for the industry, and the next phase will likely see only genuine brands with quality products prevail,” muses Founder, Stuart Knowles. He adds that “the demand in specialty shops has increased, accompanied by a rise in the number of brands these shops offer. As with any growth, this brings competition and market dilution, ultimately benefiting customers by providing them with more choices and fostering competitive pricing issues.”
It’s on Zinc also feels that “2024 was a difficult year in the market. Many smaller stores in Germany have removed sun protection from their ranges. High-quality, natural and skin-caring sun protection needs to be explained, but it has a lot of potential. Overall, we are very satisfied with the demand despite the difficult situation.” And even though they see a “significant rise” in demand for natural and organic sun care products EQ Love also reports 2024 as a “challenging year from a commercial standpoint, as the market experienced significant fluctuations due to external factors.” Yet they also feel that “there is a clear perception of increased awareness regarding the importance of using sunscreen from a skin health perspective, along with greater concern about the harmful effects of UV radiation.” Palm and Pine Skincare Founder, Sarah Muir agrees: “We saw an uptick in demand and interest in sunscreen specifically for outdoor use as consumers become more aware of the need to protect their skin when doing sport.” SportStick attributes this to “increased education around skin cancer awareness paired with how and when to use sunscreen.” They also find that biodegradable products like their own have gained traction as outdoor enthusiasts and athletes, both amateur and professional, prioritise natural ingredients that are healthy for coral reefs, marine life, fauna and flora.
Island Tribe note that especially the demand for SPF 50 is increasing in their customers. Suntribe chime in: “2024 was the best year for Suntribe so far, and we really felt the winds of change blowing! All of a sudden it seems like it’s more than just us who are concerned about toxic-free living and we saw more appreciation for our sunscreens than ever before.”
Maurice Chater, SunZapper’s European Distributor explains “sustainability is a big factor, people are increasingly aware of the damage sunscreen can do to the natural environment. The health aspect also plays an important role, people with sensitive skin are making a shift from chemical to mineral sunscreens as awareness increases.”
Sun Bum adds that “Sunscreen is not just for holidays anymore, it’s something we all need year-round to protect us from the harmful rays of the sun. Daily year-round sunscreen use is becoming the norm. Making sure you have what you need to keep your skin protected has become a priority of both consumers and brands alike.” This results in increased demand for sunscreen for specific niches, find Palm and Pine: “No longer is it a one-size-fits-all, consumers are looking for UV protection that fits into their lives and routines. For us it’s designing products that suit the demands of the outdoor sports lover – removing strong perfumes, chemicals that sting their eyes when sweating, taking the needs of the end user and building it into the product experience.”
PRODUCT NEWS
When it comes to products, you can look forward to a couple of new additions, like the Mineral Sunscreen Spray SPF 50 from Swox, that is specifically developed for babies and kids with an extra-gentle, fragrance-free formula. Island Tribe offers more children’s packaging and Sunzapper also adds something for the kids as part of their premium range of ”Extreme” zinc sticks which come in ten different colours. “These contain a higher zinc content and therefore provide even better performance when in the water! The zinc sticks form a nice segment for both watersports and families: Athletes use it for performance in the water, parents like the colourful sticks for their children”, says Maurice. It’s On Zinc also add two more colours, lilac and red and Suntribe treat you to a new range of SPF Lip Balms: “We’re releasing one advanced tinted SPF 30 lip balm, which combines amazing sun protection, hydration and a cosmetically lovely look. No whitening effect at all, and no weird ingredients as far as the eye can see. Then we’re complementing that with a high protection lip balm for sports, no weird ingredients and SPF 50,” says Chairman, Karl Roos.
Newcomers Sunda offer two formulations with different tints according to skin colours, both certified by Ecocert bio cosmos organic: “A transparent SPF30 using zinc oxide and Thanaka (four skin colors) and covering SPF50+ (white, beige, pink and white) using zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and Thanaka coupled with bio-oil. Our best seller is beige SPF30 transparent sticks and blue and white SPF50+ Sticks.” Himaya introduce small 10ml aluminum tins as an “emergency” sunscreen supply, next to a transparent rub-in zinc stick packaged in eco-friendly cardboard and are excited about the launch of their Signature Suncare collection into Europe hitting Stores June 1st, 2025: “It’s been a long time coming, working through EU compliance, testing and formulating to get the best high performance, 100% zinc-based product we could create. These highly anticipated SKUs have been the number one requested products by our customers since launching the brand in Europe” says Jamie Shohat, Director of International Business.
FORMULA UPDATES / INGREDIENTS
Sunzapper highlight their “Extreme Sports Mesh Sunscreen”with an incredibly thin and lightweight formula, EQ Love continue to emphasize the use of premium ingredients to ensure optimal protection and to preserve the natural environment, and SeventyOne Percent continue their smart molecule formula, ROKA SMART UV®, that is activated by natural light and adapts to your UVA protection needs for 8 hours.
Swox updated their formula according to the latest scientific and environmental research and introduces a line of skin care and after sun products with hemp seed oil and organic aloe vera to complement its range of sunscreens. After three years of development and testing, Himaya also launches a new formulation with a combination of oils, that offers an innovative way to evenly disperse their zinc products on the skin, offering superior protection while significantly reducing whitening and eliminating congealing of zinc in the skin. They continue to incorporate alpine flower extracts and seaweed to protect and moisturise the skin against the elements, nourishing the skin and supporting its regenerative processes to counteract the harsh conditions experienced in mountain environments or the ocean. EQs products are enriched with antioxidants (Vitamin E, Omega 6 & 9) help combat free radicals, reducing signs of premature aging such as wrinkles, fine lines, and sunspots and their Cryo Relaxing Gel is designed to reduce muscle discomfort and inflammation, making it a perfect recovery product after surfing, hiking, or intense workouts.
It’s On zinc products also have additional skin caring and wound healing properties, and the Sun Bum range, next to“smelling like summer”, also contain Vitamin E, and they also offer lip balm, after sun lotion and spray, and hair care products that carry the same scent story as their original sunscreens and are very popular with repeat Sun Bum customers. Island Tribe name coconut oil as a key ingredient, Palm and Pine commit to using only plant-based ingredients and are one of the world’s only vegan zinc brands using sunflower wax instead of beeswax. EQ Love pair Organic Shea Butter, Organic Aloe Vera and Vegetable Oils with their Non-Nano Zinc Oxid mineral filter. “Zinc oxide is a natural sun blocker that stays on your skin for hours when in the water and is a prominent ingredient in our range. It won’t burn your eyes and is great for people with sensitive skin conditions. Safe to use on children over 6 months old”, explains Sunzapper and It’s on Zinc highlight Lanolin and Kaolin as making a real difference when it comes to skin caring properties. Sunda focuses on natural products with biologic oils, zinc oxide, thanaka, titanium dioxide, beewax, natural color pigment with a creamy texture for sports.
PACKAGING
Since reef-friendly formulation with natural, non-toxic ingredients have thankfully already become a standard, the next step to a more sustainable industry is packaging. An issue which some brands have been tackling for a while already but it’s definitely become a broader spread concern now. Again Himaya have been at it for years and have now developed a GMP to support shops participating in their refill station concept, ensuring they comply with the latest EU, CE, and ISO standards for packaging and refilling: “Our entire range, from 500ml to 10ml, is now refillable as part of our commitment to eliminating packaging waste entirely. Additionally, we are upgrading secondary packaging, required by the EU, from box-style to resealable paper bags with a dual-purpose design,” says Stuart.
EQ have some Multi-Use & Refillable Option, It’s On Zinc designed refillable wooden displays to pair with their reuse project for empty cans, resulting in consequent avoidance of plastic: “It’s On comes in a metal screw can with paper labels. To encourage the re-use of the cans, we even give our customers a discount on their next purchase if they actually re-use the cans. For shipment the cans are wrapped in corrugated cardboard and to avoid trash we offer refillable wooden displays for our products,” says “Mitch”, Dr. Michael Raback, Marketing & Sales. Swox adds that “in our product category sustainability doesn’t end with recycled or recyclable packaging, which we of course use. We even exhaust this strategy into the smallest parts, such as using new and more sustainable stone paper labels on our lotions for example.” They also source locally in Europe, in order to avoid long supply chains. SeventyOne adhere to the “3Rs: Reduce (remove overpacks and reduce thickness of plastic, Recycle (chose monomaterial to help recyclability) and Reuse (minimum 50% recycled plastic). Sportstick highlights that their entire product, from the sunscreen to the packaging is biodegradable, showing their commitment to sustainability and the protection of the environment.
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