NEW YORK—Men’s grooming is one of the few product markets equipped to maintain positive growth during the recession, according to leading market research publisher Packaged Facts in its latest study, Men's Grooming Products: A Global Analysis.
The report identifies four factors driving the market: the ongoing rise of middle-class sectors in fast-growing nations such as Brazil, Russia, India and China; the Internet and similar technology providing enhanced access to new consumer bases outside wealthy industrialized regions; marketers’ increasingly sophisticated appeals to men, including creating or repositioning brands that flatter the male sense of national and/or ethnic identity; and the universal appeal of naturally or organically formulated toiletries that satisfy growing consumer consciousness regarding environmentalism and potential health problems originating from chemical-laden products.
By the close of 2009, Packaged Facts projects that the global retail value of all grooming products used by men—including bath products, deodorant, hair care, shaving products and skincare products—will exceed $61 billion, with grooming products positioned specifically to men accounting for a third of the total. Within five years, the global market for all male-consumed grooming products is forecast to mushroom to $85 billion, compared to $28 billion for male-specific products.
“It has only been in the 2000s that the men’s grooming market has become a steadily strong performer, in large part because marketers have finally assembled the essential keys to marketing to men, typically through humorous advertising that emphasizes the multi-functionality of products that work fast and efficiently,” said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “But men are becoming more adventurous in their personal care regimens. Not only are many of the world’s men trying premium male-specific hair gels or skin creams for the fist time, but some are also trying a greater range of grooming products, including unisex items.”