One might think this was the result of inflation or a one-off anomaly. However, industry data show that we are in the midst of a structural, long-term market transformation, in which not only the quantity of products in an average Polish drugstore has changed, but also their type, the way they are sold, and the availability of expert assistance during shopping.
What has changed in the Polish cosmetics market?
For most of its postmodern history, the Polish drugstore was a relatively small, single-theme place: a few shelves with creams, shampoos and deodorants, a checkout, and possibly a narrow shelf with cheap perfumes. The pharmacy was separate, somewhere around the corner, marked with a white cross and a queue for prescriptions. The perfumery was also isolated, usually in shopping centres, with an atmosphere that was slightly exclusive and slightly intimidating.
This three-way division began to break down in the mid-2010s, when the format now known in the Polish market as health & beauty began to dominate—a retail model in which a pharmacy, drugstore and perfumery operate under one roof, with one staff, one shopping basket and one loyalty system. This format is not a Polish invention; it derives from the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon drugstore, which for decades combined over-the-counter medicines, cosmetics and perfumes in one space. But it was in Poland over the past decade that it found exceptionally fertile ground.
Super-Pharm is a chain combining a pharmacy, drugstore and perfumery, and has operated in Poland since 2001. In January 2024, the first drugstore in a new pharmacy-free concept, under the new Skin&Beauty by Super-Pharm brand, opened at CH Sadyba in Warsaw. In 2026, the number of brand stores is expected to rise to 210–215, including both company-owned and agency stores.
This illustrates a broader trend: Super-Pharm, as a health & beauty format with Skin&Beauty consultations and skin analysis, is now one of the places where the transformation of the Polish drugstore can be seen most clearly. It is not merely a cosmetics sales outlet, but a place for expert consultation, diagnosing skin needs and selecting products for a specific problem.
We want to know more and more about skincare
The format revolution would have been impossible without a parallel product revolution. It changed what stands on drugstore shelves and may be the deepest of the three, because it affected the very core of the relationship between consumers and cosmetics.
Even in 2015, the Polish mass-market drugstore was dominated by mass-market products—large, recognisable brands from television advertising, in large packages, with very general claims about their properties (moisturisation, radiance, beauty). The active ingredient was listed on the packaging in small print, without a concentration, context or indication of for whom and when it was intended. Customers bought the brand, not the formula.
A decade later, the Polish drugstore looks different. The leading growth category today is dermocosmetics—preparations combining the features of classic cosmetics with a formula similar to that of a pharmaceutical product: with higher concentrations of active ingredients, without unnecessary allergens, with clinical or dermatological testing and a clearly described indication (acne-prone skin, discolouration, atopy, skin ageing). According to PMR data, the skincare segment, driven precisely by dermocosmetics, is growing at a CAGR of 5% per year in 2024–2029 and is the most dynamic category in the entire market.
What happened between 2015 and 2026 was not merely an expansion of the product range. It was genuine market education. Polish women and men in 2026 understand what retinol is and at what concentration to start using it. They know that niacinamide inhibits melanin transfer and that ceramides reinforce the skin barrier. They read ingredient lists. They check CosDNA. They watch dermatologists’ educational videos on TikTok.
The second driver of the product revolution is the normalisation of sexual wellness, with sex toys and accessories entering mainstream drugstore shelves. Pelvic floor trainers, dilators, vibrators with medical-grade CE certification and pharmaceutical lubricants were products available just five years ago exclusively from specialist online shops or physiotherapy clinics; today they stand on the regular shelves of health & beauty chains. According to a February 2026 report by Mordor Intelligence, the global sexual wellness market reached USD 43.27 billion, and 53.55% of sales already take place online. Poland is behind Western markets in this transformation, but the gap is narrowing with every step.
The third trend is the men’s beauty boom. A man as a conscious cosmetics consumer was still a niche phenomenon in Poland a decade ago. Today, PMR data clearly indicate that men dominate the perfume, hygiene and shaving-product segments, and are increasingly reaching for face creams, serums and dermocosmetics. Poland is one of the European markets with the fastest growth in the men’s beauty segment, and Polish drugstores are happy to respond with dedicated zones, dedicated ranges and dedicated promotions.
Where is the Polish drugstore headed?
The three revolutions described above, which together created the Polish drugstore of 2026, remain active forces that will shape changes in the beauty market over the next several years.
The health & beauty format will continue to consolidate: small, uniform drugstores without a pharmacy or expert component will lose their raison d’être to establishments combining at least two of the three functions. Products will continue to become more professional, the boundary between a dermocosmetic and an over-the-counter medicine will become blurred, and Polish chains will have to define increasingly clearly what constitutes expert consultation and what constitutes a medical diagnosis. Consumers will continue to educate themselves and will expect drugstores to keep pace with their knowledge rather than merely exploit it.
Poland, which grew fastest in the European Union in 2024 and which, according to forecasts, will continue growing at an additional rate of 5% over the next five years, is no longer an emerging market in the traditional sense, but an awakened one. It is a market that has skipped several stages of maturation at once and is now catching up with Western standards at a pace that should prompt their creators to observe Poland in return: because it is by no means obvious that the Polish drugstore is learning lessons from Paris or Berlin. It is increasingly likely that soon the opposite will be true.