Male Grooming Products – Riding High on Success

There has been a significant shift in male grooming lifestyle during the last decade. A few years back, men’s toiletries consisted mainly of deodorants, shampoos and shaving creams. But now, from New York to Sao Paolo to Mumbai, bathroom cabinets of many middle-income homes brim with skincare, body care, fragrance, sun care, hair care products, all specifically customized for men. This massive change has transformed the whole beauty and personal care industry, and the high growth of this market has attracted almost all the leading consumer goods companies to venture into the segment & capture the male customer base. The high growth has also helped quite a number of male grooming start-ups, tapping in unmet needs and the growing trends in the domain.

The growth of the male cosmetics and grooming market is primarily due to the growing urban middle-class population with rising per capita disposable incomes, growing media exposures and the increasing willingness of men to adopt a grooming regimen. Rising influence and promotional activities featuring male icons have also been greatly instrumental in providing the necessary push for the change. In addition, the very paces of development of new technologies and product innovations have presented the biggest opportunities for marketers to ride on this raging market.

The massive male grooming beauty products have found acceptance across the world. While Western Europe remains the largest market for male grooming products as of now, followed by Latin America and North America, Asia Pacific has been the top growth market and is growing at double-digit rates. The growth has been achieved primarily through brick & mortar outlets (grocery retailers, beauty, and health specialist retailers), and online e-commerce players are rising in the segment. Many retailers and department stores have already designed stores to match the shopping needs of men in this segment, starting from Kiehl’s, Macy’s & Nordstrom. A premium male grooming chain store, The Art of Shaving, has started delivering a unique grooming experience in selected outlets. In 2016, L’Oréal and Philips came together to launch a pop-up barbershop at Changi Airport, marketing their product lines in a bid to reach out to the growing male customer base.

Global Male Grooming Product Market

Male grooming products are now available under a number of product categories - facial cleansers, bronzers, moisturizers, anti-agers, eye serums, concealers, and even mud masks. A number of major brands have already developed their own product ranges for men. Some of the prominent ones are Axe, Ego and Lynx - Unilex company, Biotherm Homme and Kiehl’s - L’Oreal, Clinique for men – Clinique, Gilette - Procter & Gamble, Neutrogena men - Johnson& Johnson, and Nivea Men – Beiersdorf. There have been many startups in the space as well. Some of the more prominent are The Dollar shave club (which offers monthly subscription services and delivers high-quality shaving products); The Man Company (which offers all grooming essentials from shaving products to grooming oils) and Bevel ( which offers in-depth grooming products for all skin & hair types).

In a nutshell, the male grooming market is riding on a high, and in the coming years, it is growing to become a market to look out for. Technology, innovation, and R&D are the principal drivers that will run the male grooming market and will see some really high performing new products that will add more varied variety and option in male grooming.