VOW operates within the Beauty & Personal Care industry, a robust market valued at €139 billion in Europe, and approximately €3 billion in Belgium and €4 billion in the Netherlands. The largest segments within this industry are personal care and cosmetics, together accounting for 82% of total market value.

A key trend shaping this market is the rapid rise of clean and sustainable beauty. In 2024, natural cosmetics represented 13% of cosmetic product sales in Europe, with this share expected to grow at a 7.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2035 — slightly higher in Belgium at 8.1% CAGR. While precise data for sustainable personal care is lacking, VOW estimates the segment to follow similar dynamics, with an anticipated growth rate of 8.9% per year from 2022 to 2028.

Though smaller, the household cleaning segment—estimated at €192 million in Belgium and €285 million in the Netherlands in 2025—plays a strategic role in VOW's offering. Including it enables VOW to be positioned as a drugstore player rather than a premium beauty retailer, aligning with a "value for money" positioning. VOW’s own 2024 market research confirmed that this segment is currently dominated by supermarkets, indicating a clear opportunity for differentiated, sustainable offerings.

Taking Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (estimated at 6% of Belgium’s market), VOW estimates a Total Addressable Market (TAM) of approximately €7.7 billion. The Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), targeting sustainability-conscious consumers within this space, is estimated around €1.2 billion — roughly 15% of the total market.

By deploying 35 stores over the next 10 years, VOW aims to establish itself as a leading retail player in this segment, with the ambition to capture at least 2% of the SAM, representing €24 million in annual revenue potential.

The Belgian market consists of five distribution channels: supermarkets, drugstores, beauty stores, health stores, and beauty brand stores. Most retailers carry multiple brands, reflecting consumers' preference for wide assortments and one-stop shopping.

Traditional brick+mortar players: Well-established brands benefit from high awareness and extensive networks but struggle to scale sustainable product offerings, focusing instead on established A-brands. This creates opportunities as demand grows for sustainable and ethically-sourced products.

Emerging brick+mortart virtuous Players: Bio supermarkets have driven growth since the early 2000s. Yves Rocher, as a brand that's been around since 1959, has historically faced the common challenge many established beauty brands encounter: staying relevant to younger consumers while maintaining their existing customer base. Several newer virtuous beauty stores have successfully entered the market. Lush's success has overshadowed The Body Shop, and Oh My Cream has expanded from France to premium Brussels locations on rue Dansaert and avenue Louise. Except for Yves Rocher and Oh My Cream, these competitors offer limited to no organic and vegan makeup options, which will be one of VOW's primary categories.

Pure online players: Multiple pure online players have started appearing in the late 2000's. They carry a vast amount of products, some of them having developed as marketplaces offeriong more than 20.000 references, With the exception of Sebio and Kudzu, most of these players are based in Belgium's neighbouring countries. They tend to have a lower brand awareness than tradiitonal marketplaces such as Amazon and bol.com. Mademoiselle Bio has started deploying brick+mortar stores in France.

VOW's Differentiation Strategy
VOW will capture a first-mover advantage in the brick+mortar drugstore segment as one of the first retailers offering a comprehensive range of organic and vegan makeup products.