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SprayApril 2017

The Japanese Pump Market Japanese Aerosol Industry Newspaper Co., Ltd. recently reported that approximately 623 million pump dispensers, including trigger sprayers, were marketed in Japan last year, which shows an estimated 3% increase over 2015. The figure is the second largest since 2010, when Japan experienced a large number of influenza cases. It seems that the Japanese pump market still has room for further growth in the future, compared with that of the aerosol products market. Although the 2016 Japanese aerosol Youmei Kobayashi, Chairman, Aerosol Industry Newspaper Co., Ltd. market grew slightly from the previous year, the market is sluggish. In comparison, the pump market has benefited from a tailwind of demand from foreign visitors. Like other developed countries, Japan has seen a huge amount of foreign visitors and their demand for “Made in Japan” products, especially cosmetics and pharmaceuticals (certainly electronics), has been contributing to the Japanese economy. Unfortunately, the demand is not for aerosol products because of the rules and restrictions pertaining to airline travel. In addition, demand has grown rapidly for export products such as “Made-in-Japan” shampoos, conditioners, skincare and cosmetics to other Asian countries. As a result, a general increase of orders makes for a tight balance of supply and demand and there is concern about delivery delays, especially by large pump marketers such as Yoshino Kogyosho and Mitani Valve. Pump manufacturer news In 2016, Nemera Pumps (formerly Rexam Pharma Pumps) announced a partnership Higuchi Inc., manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Aptar Pharmaceutical Co. closed its Japanese branch office and Taisei Kako Co. was contracted to import Aptar pumps. Presco, a small but wellestablished airless pump manufacturer, went bankrupt and its business was acquired by Nihon Kolmar Co., Ltd, a leading cosmetics original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Pump sales In 2016, about 203 million 1–3cc dispenser pumps were sold. Sales of other kinds of pumps were as follows: about 130 million trigger-pumps; about 110 million fingerpumps; 87 million one-drop lotion pumps; 12 million high viscosity dispenser (HVD)/ airless pumps; 50 million foam pumps and 32 million “other” types of pumps were marketed. Three-cc dispenser pumps were mainly used for hygiene products, such as shampoos, hair conditioners and body soaps. In the market, silicone-free shampoos or so-called “non-silicone-shampoos” continue to sell well since health care wholesaler Japan Gateway launched the very popular product. Following that launch, consumers and marketers were very keen on words such as “organic,” “natural ingredients only” or “eco-friendly.” Chinese import/ export demand has also contributed a great deal to the popularity of 3cc dispenser pumps. Furthermore, 1cc dispenser pumps, used mainly for facecleansing products, have maintained steady sales. Sales for 1–3cc dispenser pumps saw an approximate 2% increase from the previous year. The market was led by Yoshino Kogyosyo (holding 59% of market share) followed by Mitani Valve (30%). They both have multinational production sites, not only in Japan but also in Thailand, and import low-cost dispensers (mainly 3ccs) from Thailand. Finger pumps Finger pumps are used mostly in skincare and for medical purposes such as nasal/ oral sprays. In recent years, finger pumps have faced stiff competition from mini-trigger pumps. Top finger pump manufacturers include Mitani Valve (38%), followed by Yoshino Kogyosyo (36%), Tsubakimoto Kogyo (importer of WR, formerly Calmar products) (10%), Nihon Kolmar (4%) and Taisei Kako (importer of Aptar Pharma) (4%). Canyon, Life Platech and Koikekagaku (importer of Coster products) produce the remaining 8%. Trigger pumps Trigger-pump sales have grown steadily because mini-trigger pumps have expanded 24 Spray April 2017 Fumakilla’s new insect repellant using Mitani Valve’s mini-trigger sprayer. Fumakilla’s new insect repellant in a Hello Kitty design uses a mini-trigger sprayer from Mitani Valve. Products in pump dispensers increase 3% in 2016


SprayApril 2017
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