Men Skincare Market
Men Skincare market is becoming an emerging disruptor in the beauty industry, as companies target to expand the half a trillion-dollar market.
Men are the new frontier in the beauty & skincare industry: anti-aging creams or even facial sheet masks are the best hit in Major Cosmetic stores in the mall. More than 37% of American dads (and the percentage goes up to those with two children) say they care about preventing the signs of aging, compared to 23% of men without kids, according to a study released this week that surveyed about 1,000 male personal-care product adult users in the U.S.
While some 95% of men in the survey say they use deodorants and 87% say they use body cleansing products, 70% of men say they use sunscreen/sun protection items while nearly two-thirds say they use facial skincare. Among those between 18 and 44, facial skincare users actually jump to as much as 84%.
Giant fashion brands like COACH or Lululemon have been expanding their product lineup to appeal to the desires of style-conscious men. The male focus for personal-care products has also evolved beyond traditional grooming products, such as razors and deodorants, to anti-aging skincare and even makeup.
In recent years, the notion that men can’t or shouldn’t be using skin-care products or caring more in general about all aspects of their appearance has been receding and with the category currently valued at $122 million. The success of digitally native brands catered directly to men such as Harry’s and popular subscription service Dollar Shave Club* brand created in reveals that “the average men’s grooming routine isn’t about just shaving, but can be aided by using skin-care products.
A few weeks ago, the Edgewell Conglomerate (owners of Schick and Wilkinson razor brand), acquired Harry’s for $1.37 billion as it tries to expand beyond razors to new products like body wash and deodorant. Dollar Shave Club was acquired by consumer products giant Unilever in 2016.
*Dollar Shave Club was created in 2011 in Venice, California, by two friends and is based on delivering razors and other personal grooming products to customers by mail. It delivers razor blades on a monthly basis and offers additional grooming products for home delivery.
Even high-end designers like Chanel have jumped on the trend, launching its first made-for-men skincare and cosmetics line known as “Boy De Chanel” last September.
Men are interested in preventing the signs of aging
If you search for “men anti-aging cream” on Amazon, more than 1,000 results will appear under the beauty and personal care category, spanning products from mass-market and drugstore labels (L’Óreal “Men Expert” and Neutrogena Men) to department store brands like Estée Lauder-owned Clinique for Men sells an anti-age moisturizer for $54. In fact, while the stubble/beard trend has hurt industrywide U.S. shaving product sales, the largest men’s grooming category, demand for men’s skincare items has seen healthy growth. Sales of men’s shaving products were $2.8 billion last year, declining an average of 1.1% a year between 2012 and 2017. In contrast, the annual average growth for men’s skincare products during the same time period was 7.2%, with sales reaching $345 million in 2017, according to Euromonitor data.
Last year alone, men’s skincare product sales jumped an even faster 11%, outpacing growth in all other men’s grooming categories including bath and shower, deodorant, and hair care. In total, men spent a total of $6.9 billion in the U.S. on grooming products last year, Euromonitor data shows.
Men ages 35-44, and especially dads, will drive the overall grooming market demand as they are more invested in the category and less price-sensitive than other groups. Nearly 45% in that age group say they “pay attention to” the personal care products they buy, compared to less than half for the entire male adult group surveyed, according to Mintel.
Larger. brands such as L’Óreal, and Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena, Unilever’s Dove, have responded to the market potential for men’s skincare. Retailers aren’t blind to the demand either. For instance, beauty retailers have a separate tab for men’s products, including “anti-wrinkle” serum and other skincare. In April, Target picked men’s skincare brand Oars & Alps among 10 beauty startup labels it would mentor and grow under its startup accelerator program. Target reportedly mentions growth in customer interest in smaller niche brands including those for men.
Products are not coming fast enough: Only 4% of men’s personal care products unveiled in the U.S. last year included anti-aging claims. The gap between the number of men interested in preventing the signs of aging and the number of products with these benefits indicates a significant opportunity.
Men, the new generation of beauty consumers
This includes tutorials from U.K. make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury and Rihanna’s Fenty brand, which have both put out instructions for guys who want to use make-up subtly for a more groomed appearance.
According to Coresight Research, the Asia Pacific market is now one of the fastest-growing regions for men’s grooming and cosmetic product use. Jason Chen, general manager for Chinese online retail site Tmall, told Coresight that across China “supply is not able to meet the demand for male make-up products.”
Nearly 40% of adults aged 18-22 have shown interest in gender-neutral beauty products. More than 56% of U.S. male respondents in the survey, admitted to using some sort of facial cosmetics like foundation, concealer or BB cream at least once in 2018. But beauty is no longer what you’re putting out as ‘ideal beauty.’ Beauty can be anything and anyone. In 2016, shortly after COTY acquired CoverGirl, the brand made history with the launch of its first-ever “CoverBoy” People misconstrues that a man using beauty and skincare products is not masculine, but the truth is that men are becoming conscious beyond looking younger and are interested in looking healthier. People are still intimidated by the aspect of it, but the market is growing faster than ever imagined.
Women still dominate the core skincare market but a greater proportion of Millennial men are using and buying skincare products than ever before. Makeup tutorials and product reviews for men have attracted nearly 5 million viewers to YouTube regularly.
Now over 2.1 million Millennial women (69% of Millennial women) and just over 1 million Millennial men (34% of Millennial men) both use skincare products and also buy some type of skincare product in an average of six months.
The importance of attracting younger consumers to your brand when they haven’t yet settled on a favorite. Millennial consumers are vital for skincare brands looking to grow their market share. Nearly a third of Millennial women are choosing non-major brands for their facial moisturizer and facial cleansing – rates that are significantly higher than the overall market and also their male counterparts of the same age.”
Using VR in Hospital Treatments
Improving the quality of life of hospitalized children
“Due to the distressing nature of treatments such as a lumbar puncture, where a needle is used to withdraw spinal fluid and sometimes administer medication, our patients often receive the procedure under general anesthetic. Virtual Reality can be used in place of general anesthesia to help tolerate pain, and in fact, it is having a profound impact on the quality of life of our hospitalized children. We are seeing children who used to require general anesthesia, now able to be fully awake with minimal medications.” Joe Albietz, MD, Medical Director at Child Life, Children’s Hospital Colorado
Digital Approach of Mental health during COVID-19
Since the pandemic started, social interactions have been limited, with authorities setting the maximum number of people in a group, in some cases imposing curfews. This all means that young individuals are subject to an increased risk of anxiety, social withdrawal, loneliness. Support groups and face-to-face services have been canceled, and many patients experienced relapses in mental conditions due to disruptions in school routines, which may serve as coping mechanisms. Children and adolescents have engaged with digital technologies so in many ways virtual reality therapy could be integrated to treat current mental health-related issues mentioned above.
Immersive VR to support mental health treatment
Virtual Reality therapy to treat anxiety, phobias, depression, stress, PTSD, and several mental health-related traumas. VR exposure therapy provides the opportunity for mental health professionals to not only reproduce real-life scenarios but also to adapt and control these environments to suit patients’ needs. This technology approach allows mental health professionals to evaluate, identify, and apply intervention protocols on patients’ fears and anxieties, in some cases showing quicker improvements, increasing the commitment to the therapy.
Watch the Stories
Programs that aim to integrate VR with traditional therapy techniques, improve the quality of hospitalized children and help with trauma.
Wellness, the new luxury
Refreshing the concept of luxury
In China, a country renowned for its efficiency and high-performance workers, Gen Zers have embraced a more relaxed philosophy as a form of protest against a system they now feel is rigged for the rich and powerful. This ‘burnt out’ generation of discouraged millennials worldwide has been rebelling against unbalanced wages, intense work schedules, and a lack of job security, even before the pandemic, and after isolation and distress in result, people are looking to adjust their lifestyle to a more balanced, healthier experiences.
Many consumers have learned that comfort is more important than being fashionable. Wellness and self-care have suddenly become more of a priority than ever. Global brands should soon expect the traditional luxury fatigue. Although is a challenge, is not necessarily a bad thing, but is an opportunity to creatively refresh their portfolio and products offer, introduce new points of view that satisfy both needs. Wellness and aspirations.
Wellness and self-care have suddenly become more of a priority than ever and have the potential to revolutionize the luxury industry. Luxury brands can inspire this newfound awareness to create healthier and smarter lives.
Reducing the gap between traditional luxury through health and wellness
While consumers integrate wellness into every aspect of their daily lives, so there’s a new perfection that brands could change in their narrative. Outdated vertical luxury definitions fail to understand the convergence and multidimensional nature of wellness. Across sectors such as beauty, fashion, travel, and fitness, wellness is the world’s fastest-growing market segment. And affluent consumers are willing to pay a premium for perceived wellness solutions. Driven by Millennials, social media and online DTC retail, wellness brands can more easily grow globally.
Wellness has become a priority for most luxury consumers. A better understanding of the consequences of our lifestyle choices, and digital health trackers are contributing to inspiring modern affluent consumers to live healthier lives. Luxury brands need to integrate elements of wellness both in their offerings and marketing to capture increasingly health-conscious shoppers. An effective approach to wellness seizes opportunities to bolster a sustainable, healthy way of living whether through partnerships, cross-category expansions, and innovations, or new business models.
Affluent consumers demand natural and organic products. Fashion shoppers are drawn towards high-end athletic/leisure outfits both comfortable and stylish. Bars and restaurants are being replaced by gyms and fitness studios becoming new social hubs for affluent new generations.
The deep desire for health and wellness is radically reshaping what luxury brands need to offer to their consumers and how they communicate the value of their goods and services. Leading brands will be the ones whose efforts make positive contributions and empower consumers in their journey to wellbeing. Wellness is profoundly transforming the luxury industry. Brands creative, narrative and storytelling will benefit to incorporate elements of health and wellness that will resonate with the newfound awareness and new market.
Deepest renewal. La Mer’s iconic Miracle Broth™ reveals a bright, well-rested look.
Looking for a way to elevate your daily workouts or a way to turn heads at the gym? Louis Vuitton has just released the perfect accessory.
Inspire wellness through a new approach to luxury
On the domestic front, the retail industry has also experienced challenges since the onset of the pandemic. From margin pressure and shift to online shopping, affecting the footfall of domestic stores, malls, etc. Again, I believe all of this is a unique opportunity to create better digital experiences and cost-effective approaches, from creative to product development. The right digital initiative can help us measure effectiveness, traffic and better connect and engage with key stakeholders, inside company units, partners and audiences.
Through digital channels, with an aligned 360 vision across platforms, relevant narrative, brand commitment, proactive, small initiatives and MVPs that allow us to know better our audience and consumers, creating a customer experience that is engaging, personal, healthy, and valuable. Luxury brands are starting to catch up with the market trends into wellness awareness inspiring us to live healthier and smarter lives. A new luxury mindset, where the true luxury is reflected in wellness, comfort, and work-life balance. Accordingly, brands should be prepared for this new mindset that the YOLO economy has ushered in. In fact, today’s YOLO economy has the potential to revolutionize the luxury industry. COVID-19 was the catalyst, but this change was a long time coming.