Packaged Facts estimated that the global retail value of all grooming products (bath/shower, deodorant, hair care, shaving and skincare) reached more than $61 billion in 2009, reflecting a total growth of more than 37%—about $16.6 billion—between the 2004-2009 (“Men’s Grooming Products: A Global Report“).

 

China is tops when it comes to sales of men’s grooming product consumers, with the U.S. and Brazil coming in second and third, respectively. Naturally, shaving products comprise the biggest chunk of sales, followed by bath products, hair care, deodorant, and finally, skincare.

 

And while most men typically resort to using whatever products of their girlfriends’ or wives’ that are already in their shower or on the vanity, Packaged Facts revealed that the sales performance of male-specific products alone strengthened between 2004 and 2009, citing an “adventurous” increase in men’s personal care regimens.

 

“Most men want grooming products that are convenient and functional—that is, products that work fast and efficiently,” commented report author, Tim Dowd, senior analyst. He pointed to an uptick in multifunctional products that combine shampoo, conditioner and body wash attributes as products.

 

Growing Demand for Natural

 

Men are also increasingly interested in products touting natural formulation qualities. “Natural does appeal to men,” Mr. Dowd said. “Price point carries a cache of luxury and the positioning of natural grooming products is close to what you see in the prestige category.”

 

Aveda, long respected for its commitment to natural hair care, will this month launch Aveda Men Pure-Formance Shave Cream and Aveda Men Pure-Formance Dual-Action Aftershave. The high-performance skin and shave products are 97%-99% naturally derived and packed with plant-powered ingredients to keep men’s skin looking smooth and healthy while reducing razor-burn and other shave-related irritations.

 

The Packaged Facts report spotlighted the forward-looking situation for products with a natural and/or organic slant and said they would most likely be buoyed by an increased consumer concern about “harmful effects of toxins upon both the human body and the environment, about global warming, and about responsible trade with developing countries.” Only a small percentage of these types of products are male-specific, though, with the bulk being gender neutral or unisex.

 

So the question begs to be asked: Do men really care about those issues? “The fact that the worldwide men’s grooming market is flourishing at the same time as the natural personal care market virtually guarantees some overlap,” explained Mr. Dowd. “The expanding assortment of natural, organic and semi-natural male-specific products is another indication that men are responding to marketers’ progressive positionings.”

 

Furthermore, in February 2009, Packaged Facts conducted its own survey of more than 2600 consumers on the subject of their use of natural personal care products. “We found that men accounted for 43% of those willing to pay more for natural/organic formulations—despite the fact that they also accounted for just 37% of those who said such formulations are more effective than conventional ones, and for just 36% of those who said they are safer,” said Mr. Dowd. “This disparity reflects the typically ambivalent attitudes of natural/organic HBC consumers, who keep on purchasing these products, even as they hope that marketers will improve product safety and efficacy. The natural/organic HBC market runs on the faith of U.S. men and women who are forward-thinking; such core audiences are likely characteristic of the natural/organic HBC markets in many countries.”

 

Interestingly, the men’s grooming products category has sustained itself through the recession. A fact witnessed by the success of a variety of premium men’s product companies such as Anthony Logistics for Men, Jack Black and The Art of Shaving—all dedicated to elevating the art of men’s grooming, not just for shaving but also in the area of skin care.

 

A popular British skin and shaving care line for men recently landed on U.S. shores and it brought with it an unusually interesting backstory. Kyoku for Men was developed by Asim Akhtar (who’s father, incidentally, invented hair relaxer and StriVectin). Dissatisfied by men’s product offerings, he set out to create a range of products for men that not only offered the same high standards, but also the branding and quality that hallmarked female-oriented brands. 

 

During his extensive travels to source natural ingredients for the line, Mr. Akhtar stumbled across a small Japanese village outside of Tokyo named Yuzuri Hara (“village of long life”) wherein 10%  of the population was over 80 years old. Not only did the villagers exhibit a collective lack of diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s but they also had impeccable skin.

 

Further research revealed that the men in the village had nearly five times the amount of hyaluronic acid—the protein involved in collagen production—than the average western man. Not only did the men share a similar diet of eating starchy root vegetables, they also exfoliated their skin with adzuki beans. Mr. Akhtar synthesized his newfound ingredient inspirations with what the company terms Kyoku Micro-Particle Technology, a “dependable delivery mechanisim in which the effectiveness of each ingredient would be fully actualized at the cellular level” and created first a Razor Repair Balm to eliminate razor burn. What followed was a complete collection of 11 products addressing the unique skin care needs of men. The products are currently sold online in the U.S.

 

Last July the National Marketing Institute estimated U.S. male spending power to be more than $1 trillion and, according to Mr. Dowd, men don’t mind spending money on branded products. “At least one U.S study has found that men’s purchasing of grooming products skews more to brands, and less to private label; as opposed to women’s use of beauty products, which skews a bit less strongly to brands—perhaps because women tend to spend more money on a wider range of beauty needs, and may be concerned about how to stretch their beauty dollars,” he said. “Men, on the other hand, know the HBC aisle less well, and may have an ad impressed on their brains to guide them to the brand they want. Men are often open to paying more to get themselves out of a store quickly.”

 

Looking ahead, Packaged Facts projected that retail sales of all grooming products used by men will increase by almost 39% between 2009-2014, amounting to sales in the realm of $23.6 million and an approximate market value of $84.9 billion. “This progress is quite good,” remarked Mr. Dowd, “in light of the huge dollar base, it could be viewed as excellent.”

Ingestible Supplement for Hair Preservation

 

To complement its range of Bosley Professional Strength topical hair care products, Bosley recently launched two Healthy Hair Vitality Supplements, one specially formulated for women and the other uniquely formulated for men.

 

The salon-only products are part of the company’s comprehensive hair preservation regimen to help maintain thicker, fuller looking hair.

 

“What we put inside our bodies is just as important as what we do on the outside, which is why we are adding ingestible supplements to our hair preservation regimen,” said Eric McLemore Bosley Professional Strength president. “Our new Healthy Hair Vitality Supplement will help nourish and promote healthy hair from within.”

 

The Men’s Formula supplement “vitalizes fine or thinning hair, weak hairlines or areas of low hair density” using a formula consisting of saw palmetto (said to help lower DHT levels), iodine (said to possibly help nourish hair and follicles), vitamin E (for improved blood circulation to the scalp) and vitamin B6 (said to possibly inhibit DHT and may help avoid hair loss, eczema, psoriasis and dandruff).