Growth Opportunities Emerging as Manufacturers Shift Focus to Sustainable and Eco-friendly Products
The global consumer face mask market generated revenues of $5.60 billion in 2020. Countries mandating the use of face masks in public places and increased consumer awareness regarding the need for safety measures against the COVID-19 virus drove demand.
Asia-Pacific (APAC) leads both the unit shipment and revenue share of the consumer face mask market. Regional market growth is due to strict adherence to mandates requiring citizens to wear face masks in public places. Researchers at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health found the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in 2020 was 7.5% higher in countries that did not have a face mask mandate.
Disposable face masks accounted for 93.4% of unit shipments in 2020. In terms of revenue share, the market demonstrated a 50.3% and 49.7% split between non-disposable and disposable face masks, respectively. The high adoption of disposable face masks in 2020 is attributed to cost-effective pricing as compared to non-disposable face masks.
As the threat of COVID-19 abates and countries start lifting public face mask-wearing mandates, the consumer face mask market is likely to decline significantly (i.e., a negative 39.8% compound annual growth rate by 2025). Hence, manufacturers must rely on the healthcare and industrial face mask market to ensure a sustainable future. A focus on eco-friendly raw materials should increase during the 2021 to 2025 period. Manufacturers should also consider investing in anti-microbial and nanotechnologies as positioning face masks for the anti-pollution and anti-flu segments will likely spur product adoption in the future.