Male grooming – beyond the basics

Increasing use of commodity products is driving growth in the male grooming sector in developing markets, but the industry must innovate to attract the attention of consumers in more mature regions reports Julia Wray

Mad Men’s Don Draper may be fictional, but for someone who doesn’t exist he has exercised plenty of influence recently. Not only did the ad exec’s suave, suited look dominate men’s fashion in 2010, it also inspired a new male media stereotype: the retrosexual man, defined by L’Oréal as a guy with old-fashioned male values who incorporates personal grooming into his life with pride and confidence.

Whether this emerging demographic will finally usher in the long predicted boom in male grooming remains to be seen. Certainly the latest data from Euromonitor International shows the sector as a whole witnessed solid if not stratospheric growth between 2008 and 2009, increasing 5.1% to reach $26.6bn.

According to Euromonitor, men’s deodorants proved the most dynamic product sector, growing 7.6% to $6.6bn.

“The deodorant category performed extremely well,” notes Carrie Lennard, industry analyst, beauty & personal care at Euromonitor. “This is because our data reflects the market globally. So while there may not have been much growth in this sector in mature markets, there are men living in emerging markets buying deodorant who wouldn’t until recently have incorporated it into their daily routine.”

The most lucrative region, says Euromonitor, remained western Europe, worth approximately $8.5bn. The most dynamic region, however, was Latin America, which grew 14.6%.

“Growth in Latin America is being driven by the basics like shaving and deodorants,” Lennard tells SPC. “The hair care and skin care markets there are pretty much non-existent, which I think is an attitude thing. Machismo is still prevalent there and skin care is not seen as being masculine.”

The North American market increased just 1.1%, making it the most sluggish area in terms of expansion, while former boom region eastern Europe also experienced disappointingly low percentage growth.

“Russia was hit hard during the recession and a lot of men traded down to cheaper unisex products when it came to commodities like shampoo,” explains Lennard. “The male grooming category in Russia is quite mature and with mature markets encouraging consumers to trade up has always been the way to drive growth.”

Globally, the men’s grooming market – like the C&T market as a whole – has been subject to consolidation. As Michael Sheridan, chairman of Sheridan & Co design consultancy, explains: “Lots of businesses are losing money, so they’re asking themselves ‘where do you go to find revenue?’ And the answer is in the premium to luxury sector, as bigger margins can be made from products with a higher price point.”

A closer shave

Gillette owner Procter & Gamble, for example, acquired Art of Shaving in 2009, resulting in cross-pollination between the two brands. Art of Shaving razors are now compatible with Gillette Fusion and new Fusion ProGlide razor heads, while Gillette’s Fusion ProGlide Power technology has been incorporated into selected Art of Shaving razors, which Sheridan identifies as an example of the type of brand crossover that we can expect to see more of in the future.

Gillette has a larger share of the men’s market than any other brand, while razors and blades accounted for a hefty $10.4bn in 2009, proving that shaving is still king when it comes to male grooming.

In addition to Fusion ProGlide and battery powered alternative Fusion ProGlide Power which boast finer blades and, in the case of the Power version, a hair guiding microcomb, the brand introduced a Gillette Fusion ProSeries pre- and post-shave range.

Rival Wilkinson Sword (Energizer Holdings), brought out Wilkinson Hydro 5 and value alternative Hydro 3 (with five and three blades respectively), as well as an accompanying Hydro Shave Cream and Hydro Shave Gel. Both models feature a hydrating gel lubrication system and are billed as a complete rebuild of the razor.

“With razors there has been an increasing shift from the number of blades to more ergonomic design,” notes Lennard, who cites King of Shaves as a trailblazer of user friendly design in shaving hardware. 2010 saw King of Shaves launch the Azor M Alloy System Razor, brought out in February, and Azor M Sensitive, which joined the Azor M on store shelves in October. The Azor M has a hybrid metal alloy and polyastomer handle, while the sensitive version combines the alloy razor’s weightier handle with the softer, more flexible hinge of the Azor S.

Several launches hinted at greater diversification within men’s pre- and post-shave as brands seized the opportunity to tap niche consumers. For example, men seeking a natural alternative were offered a wider pool of products from which to choose with the introduction of Aveda Men Pure-Formance Shave Cream and Dual Action Aftershave (Estée Lauder Companies).

Meanwhile, summer saw the launch of a shaving solution for blue beards: men suffering from tough stubble. The piratical-sounding The Bluebeard’s Revenge Luxury Shaving Cream and Post Shave Balm contain an active called decelerine, claimed to reduce beard growth by 40% in 60 days.

Body & bath

The vogue for combination products permeated all sectors of men’s grooming in 2010. As Lennard suggests: “Brands are trying to market to men who don’t want to buy lots of different products and multi-functional products are successful among men because most don’t want to spend hours on their grooming regime.”

Although in the past such claims were more commonly associated with skin care, typically in the form of SPF containing moisturisers, the last 12 months have witnessed a wealth of new men’s bath and shower products claiming multiple functions.

As well as cleansing, P&G’s Old Spice Odor Blocker Deo Fresh and Odor Blocker Deo Sport body washes prevent body odour for up to 16 hours after showering.

Similarly, Radox Man (Sara Lee) features Invigorating Shower Gel & Shampoo in Mint & Tea Tree and Lemon & Tea Tree, as well as two Deep Clean Shower Scrub products designed to cleanse and exfoliate, while Unilever-owned Dove Men + Care – which rolled out globally in 2010 – features three-in-one Body and Face Wash products claiming to reduce dryness.

Within men’s deodorant, Dove’s Unilever stable-mates Axe/Lynx and Sure targeted products at consumers suffering from sensitivity and excessive perspiration with Axe/Lynx Dry + Sensitive and SureMen Maximum Protection in an aerosol format. These were accompanied by new deodorants from L’Oréal Men Expert in Full Power, Invisible Protect, Sensitive Comfort and Fresh Extreme.

Sanex extended its men’s deodorant range with Dermo Extra Cool, available in both aerosol and roll-on formats, while men after on the go refreshment could turn to start-up Wingman’s male deodorising wipes.

Also new in 2010 were men’s lines Rockface and Ventur, both products of WCP.me Ltd, a collaboration between industry insiders Neil Wilkinson, Malcolm Parkinson and John Cleugh. Rockface launched with eight skus in the UK in February, before rolling out in selected markets globally, while the more premium Ventur, which builds on the original brand’s mineral story, launched in August. Said to bridge the gap between premium and mass market skin care, the range is pitched at übersexual men.

“We identified this group before the recession, but have found that it has grown significantly since,” Rockface founder Wilkinson tells SPC. “Men in this group will try something new if they think it will benefit them and are more into function than form, so we looked at creating a brand that really delivers on the product performance side. Men aren’t fools. They may buy something on the strength of advertising, but if you want a brand that does well your products will have to perform, so that men buy them two, three or multiple times.”

Like Rockface and Ventur, Kings 1965 (a new name from the company behind King of Shaves) was designed for a category of men the brand felt to be ill served by the high street. As Kings 1965’s marketing manager Simon Vingoe explains: “We wanted the brand to fill a gap on the high street we believe exists between younger feeling teen propositions and the more mature or mass market ranges.” To appeal to this demographic, the 11-sku body, skin and hair care brand intends to update its portfolio in a similar style to men’s fashion labels, particularly with regards to fragrance.

At the premium end of the spectrum, Kyoku For Men launched Kyoku Elements, a range of body washes, scrubs and lotions in scents inspired by earth, wind, fire and water; Clarins Men focused on cleansing, moisturising and firming with Clarins Men Body, featuring a Shower Scrub, non-oily Body Moisture Spray and Clarins Men Ab Firming, a gel claimed to speed up the elimination of fat in the abdominal area; and Kiehl’s launched Kiehl’s Cross-Terrain, comprising All-In-One Refueling Wash, UV Face Protector SPF 50 and a sweat absorbing “Dry Run” Foot Cream.

Anti-ageing evolution

Boosted by the broadening demographic of male users, skin care remains the biggest growth area in mature market regions, increasing 7.4% globally to reach to $1,790.4m. According to Euromonitor’s Lennard: “Skin care products are now targeting a wider range of men of different ages, whereas previously they were largely targeted at men in their 20s.

“An area within skin care that is becoming more prominent is male anti-agers and as with women’s skin care, we’re seeing marketing that preys on men’s anxieties about ageing,” she adds.

And chief among these anxieties is unemployment, as Sheridan notes. “In some ways the recession has done the category some favours in that a lot of people have found themselves in the jobs market and it’s forcing them to scrub up,” he tells SPC.

Male consumers feeling the pressure to restore youthful good looks were spoiled for choice with the launch of several masstige and premium anti-agers. One such product was Lab Series Max LS Age-Less Face Cream, which contains hydrolysed rice extract, hydrolysed Myrtus communis leaf extract and Larix sibirica wood extract to help activate skin sirtuins, or longevity genes.

Another was Anthony Action For Men Daily Advanced Moisturiser SPF 30. Part of Anthony For Men’s premium Anthony Action For Men range, the $40 moisturiser features palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide 7 to hydrate and firm skin.

The men’s anti-ageing sub-sector was also enhanced by the adoption of performance improving packaging design, as well as trends like nutricosmetics and naturals. The anti-ageing action of Biotherm’s (L’Oréal) new Biotherm Homme Force Supreme Re-builder, for example, is due to a combination of active ingredients – caffeine, soy and kreatilane – and an applicator featuring three roller balls to deliver an anti-wrinkle facial massage.

Meanwhile, Imedeen (Ferrosan) launched man.age.ment. Described as skin care for men in a tablet, man.age.ment contains lycopene, grape seed extract, vitamin C and zinc to shield collagen and elastin proteins against oxidative damage.

Most recently, French spa brand Nickel introduced Nickel Bio Green Boost, a certified organic range based on a bamboo, linen and aloe vera complex that targets signs of fatigue.

Freshening up

While there has been much activity in premium men’s skin care, the mass market also witnessed its share of innovation – another outcome of the recession, according to Sheridan.

“There is plenty of space at the top and bottom ends of the market because, although many people have cut back, those people who still have money will want to spend it on luxury products,” he notes. “It’s the brands that position themselves in the mid market that will suffer. When a brand costs £30 and it’s sold in Boots alongside cheaper alternatives from L’Oréal and Nivea, the price point isn’t justified.”

“There’s been a definite shift to mass recently,” adds Lennard. “Male grooming originated at the premium end of the market with brands such as Clinique, but we’ve seen a definite growth in mass, which is, again, because of the recession as men are shopping less in department stores and more in drugstores and supermarkets.”

In mass market skin care, the most popular story of 2010 was for products claimed to cool or refresh. Nivea For Men (Beiersdorf) added two new products to its Nivea For Men Cool Kick range: Arctic Freeze Moisture Gel, designed to stimulate cooling sensors in the nerve endings of the skin, and 2in1 Wash & Shave Gel.

The brand also added a sixth sku to its Q10 line, Revitalising Gel Q10, a lighter alternative to its original Revitalising Moisturiser.

Meanwhile, L’Oréal Paris Men Expert launched Hydra Energetic Non-Stop Anti-Fatigue Daily Moisturising Lotion – enriched with continuous release vitamin C to fight the five visible signs of fatigue for 24 hours – and Hydra Energetic Ice Cool Eye Roll On, which has a cooling roller ball applicator to refresh tired eyes.

Finally, Soap & Glory For Men’s latest offering, ‘Fresh, Man’ Pre-Shave Extra-Gentle Face Wash, features Cool Capsule Soothe, a trademarked blend of hydrating cactus extract, antibacterial Silversonic Ion Technology and detoxifying malachite stone.

Hair care diversification

In a bid to look younger and more dynamic, men didn’t just focus on their skin, but sought solutions to other age associated issues. And a third of UK men aged 25-29 expressed concern about greying hair and hair loss, according to a 2010 L’Oréal survey.

Moreover, while the general perception may once have been that men are less likely than women to buy into luxury hair care, salon brand manufacturers now seem more assured of success, if recent launch and marketing activity is anything to go by.

“One interesting thing that we’ve seen is an increase in editorial coverage of salon products, particularly in the hair care sector. And two brands are driving this increase: Kérastase and American Crew,” comments Sean Smith, director of media monitoring company mymarketmonitor.com.

American Crew introduced Trichology Hair Recovery System, which features shampoo, ampoules and patches containing hops, rosemary and Swertia japonica to encourage thicker hair growth, while L’Oréal Paris Men Expert targeted greying consumers with Excell 5, its first brush-in hair colour for men. According to L’Oréal, the Excell 5 formula leaves just enough grey hair to create a natural, undetectable result.

Kérastase’s (L’Oréal) increased media presence in men’s titles, meanwhile, can be attributed to the summer 2010 launch of Kérastase Homme Capital Force, the brand’s first male specific range, featuring three shampoos and three treatments to combat common male hair care problems like oiliness, lack of density and dandruff.

Selling to men

When promoting men’s products, using a famous face – be it an actor’s or a sports star’s – is considered a wise move. “The worst thing to do is to put an unrecognisable male model in the context of men’s grooming,” says Sheridan. “You’d be better off using a sports personality, even if he’s the world’s ugliest rugby player, because men respond better to endorsement by role models.”

With this in mind, Bic enlisted soccer legend Eric Cantona to front its razor recycling scheme in France, while L’Oréal Paris Men Expert also hired Cantona as a brand ambassador alongside 300 actor Gerard Butler.

Meanwhile, the web offered marketing opportunities to brands unable to afford a Hollywood fee. “Online activity is where things are getting interesting,” says Smith. “Old Spice ran a viral featuring a man talking in a shower room that managed to be both comedic and masculine and it generated a really good response. Bulldog’s clips featuring [British comedian] David Mitchell were also successful.”

While a popular viral can help generate traffic to a brand’s website, Smith warns against excessive promotion when using this kind of marketing. “Virals work best when the brand doesn’t try and dictate editorial control too much and when the content is not too overtly promotional,” he says. “In both these cases [Old Spice and Bulldog] the products are not even mentioned during the clip, instead they feature at the end in a ‘brought to you in association with...’ message for brand reinforcement.”

Due to its anonymity, the internet has also proved a popular retail route among men looking to buy products traditionally associated with women, such as concealer.

However, Sheridan believes online and traditional retail should not be viewed as seperate, but complementary. “Brands cannot assume that one is a driver for another,” he says. “Some men will look for a product online and visit a store to test it one day, but will try a product in store and buy online another day.”

In store, one tactic used to sell men’s products is to segregate them from the general beauty offering. “Having a separate section in store is a really good way to sell personal care to men,” comments Lennard. “H-E-B in the US has a separate men’s grooming aisle, a kind of dedicated shop-in-shop. I think men are more comfortable looking for skin care products if they’re not standing next to a woman doing the exact same thing.”

But the troubled economy may have changed this conventionally held view. According to Sheridan: “Men who are downsizing may well default to their wives’ products. People are more considered in their purchasing now and when they have to decide what to buy, a familiar name [the brand their other half uses] will win through.”

Looking to the future, Sheridan expects men’s grooming to see further polarisation. “I think there will be a lot of action in the premium to luxury market and in mass,” he predicts. “But it will also be a strong cleansing time and those brands which don’t justify their price point will struggle.”

You’ve got male
The UK’s first male grooming subscription service, Men Are Useless, launched in 2010. Founder Paul Johnson reveals the inspiration behind the concept
“Although this is a generalisation, guys will often forget to buy shower gel when they go to the supermarket and will end up stealing products belonging to their other half or even their children the next morning.
“We do a basic box containing commodity products because men can’t not shave, shower, wash their hair or brush their teeth and we also do an upgraded box. Interestingly a lot of men have upgraded. We’ve found that 80% of men are going for The Works box and 20% for The Essentials one. We’re not aiming for men who think it’s okay to spend £20 on moisturiser, but our more expensive pack may contain face scrubs, packs or balms – stuff that many men quite fancy using but would never buy themselves.
“The idea is that our packs can fit through the letterbox, because if a man doesn’t want to go to the shops for products, he’s not going to go to the post office with a little red card to collect them. Our boxes are under 38mm thick, so the products inside have to be no thicker than 35mm.
“Our boxes include products from King of Shaves, Moosehead, Bionsen and Original Source and we’ve had lots of interest from brands we don’t currently stock. Shower gel and shave cream are in every box, but products that take longer to run out like face cream and deodorant are included every three months on rotation.”
Men Are Useless is looking to establish co-marketing agreements with brand owners. For more information visit www.menareuseless.com or tel +44 845 643 2459

Play fair, boys
Bulldog Natural Grooming became the first male grooming brand offering Fairtrade certified products when it launched Eco-System Shave Gel and Eco-System Moisturiser. Bulldog co-founder Simon Duffy explains why
“We find that men first and foremost demand performance, so we were aware that we had to make products that worked to get men to buy them and keep buying. One of the things the Fairtrade Foundation does brilliantly is building recognition and understanding among consumers and that’s where Bulldog can play a key role for Fairtrade in that we can generate interest among a new demographic – we’re covered in magazines from Men’s Health to Nuts and Zoo, publications where Fairtrade would not normally have a voice.
“We use five Fairtrade ingredients in our products. The moisturiser contains shea butter from a cooperative called Akoma in northeast Ghana and Brazil nut oil from a Peruvian cooperative called Ronap, which is affiliated with another co-op, Del Campo, based in Nicaragua. Del Campo also provides our Fairtrade sesame seed oil.
“The organic sugar used in our shave gel comes from Paraguay’s Association Agricola Organica De Altura, while the tea comes from the Greenfield Tea Estate in Sri Lanka and is used in the shave gel for its antioxidant properties.
“It may seem like a big technical challenge to formulate this type of product, but the people at Fairtrade have lots of resources to help manufacturers and it’s not an insurmountable challenge.”