With everyone tapping into the face mask business, the opportunity potential is very high

Wearing a face mask is becoming a new culture in Europe. Credit: praszkiewicz / Shutterstock.

In the Far East, wearing a face mask has been a common practice, particularly during the cold season when general flu cases increase or hay fever season. One of the things that the Covid-19 pandemic has made is a new business opportunity with the rise of the face mask on a global scale.

Now lockdown measures are gradually easing, some countries have made wearing masks compulsory in public places. Beyond, traditional face mask manufacturers, celebrity fashion brands and totally unrelated business industries have been tapping into a new face mask war.

Mass market

When consumers are gradually going back to public places, many of them need or wish to buy face masks. In Europe, for example, wearing a face mask is a new culture and understandably, the market is massive to reach these new face mask consumers. Also, many face masks are disposable, thus consumers continuously purchase these.

To reduce waste, some consumers opt for reusable fabric masks. However, to keep up the hygiene level, they need multiple masks for their washing cycle. Washing can damage these masks so the product life span is expected to be relatively short. Thus, face masks are likely to have a constant demand.

Individual needs

Face masks are also quite personal, requiring a certain size to fit. Because it is on the face, some consumers seek a certain texture or design to meet their unique needs. Thus, one-fits-all does not quite work for face masks, which creates more opportunities for innovations.

The fashion industry has already started to produce unique face masks to match other clothes or distinctive designs. On 16 May, celebrity star Kim Kardashian West’s non-media face masks under SKIMS brand were sold out within one hour.

Opportunity for many businesses

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for face masks is significantly high, which is demonstrating anyone can join the face mask movement. Japan’s burger quick-service restaurant chain DOMDOM Burger started selling its fabric face masks with company logo at their stores. It received favourable responses and sold out across its outlets. Now the company is aiming to make the face masks available online.

The case of DOMCOM Burger is especially interesting. It also indicates further marketing opportunity via face masks. Selling branded face masks will not only contribute to the sales but also can help build brand loyalty, as well as being effective advertising as the face mask purchasers display the brand logo just wearing the face mask.

According to GlobalData Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tracker Consumer Survey – Week 8, 80% of consumers from 11 countries surveyed say that they are extremely or quite concerned about the global outbreak of Covid-19*. The level of consumers’ concern level is continuously high, which will create a high demand for the products, such as face masks or personal hygiene products that alleviate their anxiety level. Therefore, the face mask is certainly a new trend to watch from various industry angles for the post-Covid-19 era.

Latest reports from

• TrendSights: Sterilized Society 2018 – Responding to consumers’ fears about disease, infection, and hygiene

Or to search over 50,000 other reports please visit

GlobalData Report Store

GlobalData is this website’s parent business intelligence company.