Malaysia’s beauty contact lens is rapidly gaining grounds among the young and trendy, especially those living in the urban areas, according to the latest retail audit report by GfK.

Cosmetic lens is increasingly popular with today’s fashionable crowd as such lenses have become an important fashion accessory these days, according to Gfk.

Retail sales of beauty contact lenses continues on its rise, raking in a high of US$19.9 million in the most recent twelve months ending April 2013—a staggering growth of 31 percent versus a year ago, the report reveals.

Malaysia’s modernizing population is propelling the development of its contact lens market which has surged in overall worth by 15.6 percent over the same period a year ago. The total revenue of $18.5 million garnered in the first quarter this year boasts the highest of all the quarters reported to date.

“As the country matures economically and financially, consumers here are becoming increasingly discerning of modern eye care options and at the same time, are more exposed to the latest fashion trends around the world, including the latest optical accessories such as coloured contact lenses and iris enhancers,” noted Selinna Chin, Managing Director for GfK in Malaysia.

Coloured lens and iris enhancers or ‘limbal rings’ are the two types of lenses that make up the beauty contact lens segment. The increasing adoption and usage of such lenses in Malaysia have been growing the market share of this particular category, bringing its revenue contribution towards overall contact lens sales from 26 percent to 30 percent in the most recent year. Within the beauty segment itself, iris enhancers registered a value growth of 51 percent and accounted for 57 percent of this segment.

Another developing segment which has reported robust three-fold growth is daily astigmatism contact lens. This lens types has been gradually rising in consumer usage since 2012 and commanded 19 percent of total toric lenses sales or USD2.3 million in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, consumer demand for Silicon Hydrogel lenses remains strong, with a registered annual growth of 19 percent; fuelled by increased sales for the monthly and biweekly segments by 25 and 26 percent in value respectively.

“With beauty lenses in the forefront driving growth of the local contact lens market , it is essential for optical manufacturers to keep track of the latest fashion influence that is impacting the youths of today as these trends have become important factors in shaping the consumption habits of what was once a traditional medical industry,” said Chin.

“The future is appearing bright for Malaysia’s contact lens market, which we anticipate to continue growing at a double digit pace in 2013,” she concluded.