The Indian male spends an average of 20 minutes on grooming compared to 18 minutes spent by a woman, a survey says
Being beautiful is no longer the prerogative of women. That even men need a well-groomed look is not lost on fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies which are launching products to cater to the growing Indian male grooming market, currently pegged at around Rs 350-375 crore.
Consider this. The Indian male, reveals a survey conducted by Nivea, spends more time on grooming than ever before: He spends an average of 20 minutes in front of the mirror every morning as compared to 18 minutes spent by an Indian woman.
The male-grooming segment essentially comprises shaving preparations, after-shave lotions and male face-care products. Shaving preparations comprise the major portion of this sector. However, the growth driver comes from the male face-care (skin whitening) creams and lotions. And following Emami's launch of Fair & Handsome, fairness cream for men in 2005-06, the sector has seen a spate of launches from MNCs like Hindustan Unilever which launched Fair & Lovely Menz Active in 2007 and Paras Pharma's 'Get Fair'.
Now, players like Beiersdorf (makers of Nivea), too, are getting their act together by launching a spate of products like Nivea Whitening Moisturizer and, more recently, L'Oreal launched Garnier range of cosmetics for men with John Abraham saying the famous tagline 'Because you're worth it'.
"Men earlier were more prone to using products for women, and now that there are products which cater to their skin problems and needs, they are merrily shifting their purchase patterns," says Sudarshan Singh, brand manager, Nivea for Men, and points to the untapped potential, as over 30 per cent male consumers still use fairness creams marketed to women. The fairness market in India is estimated to be Rs 1,100 crore.
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"This surprising demand of male fairness cream looks like a completely new segment in the fairness cream. However, it is a shift of male users from female fairness creams to male fairness creams," says Singh.
"Fairness as a category is not segmented into male and female fairness creams. But this will happen now as the category is seeing growth at over 20 per cent per annum," says Mohan Goenka, director, Emami, while sharing that its use of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand ambassador paid off with Fair & Handsome crossing the Rs 100-crore mark in the financial year 2008-09 and is still growing at over 25 per cent.
As such, "Male face care is a Rs 90 crore category growing at over 20 per cent vis-a-vis shaving a Rs 200 crore category growing at 4 per cent per annum," says Singh who leveraged the sports platform with an association with Chennai Super Kings during IPL 2 as the official face care partner to gain considerable marketshare for its Nivea For Men range.
The well-groomed look has become a necessity for Indian men not just in metros, but is also happening across social classes and geographies. "Male grooming is no longer about the metrosexual man but it’s seen even in Tier II and Tier III cities as the concept is now of a man who values good grooming and quality products," observes Singh, who has plans to rejuvenate the category with newer product concepts and launches.
And this is just the beginning. "Men who are now following the skin regime will soon start using the anti-wrinkle creams and even botox as is seen in the more mature markets of the West and even the Middle East," says Sriram Prasad, marketing director, Yardley, which has a premium line of deodorants, soaps and talcum powders.