Male grooming industry has come a long way over the last decade. From being a non-entity to a multi-billion-dollar market, male grooming is gaining worldwide acceptance and modern men are engaging in one or other forms of grooming regimes. Men and grooming were considered contrary in the past but with the rise of the metrosexual men, words such as body care, skin care and hair care are new additions to the dictionary of men.

Shift in Grooming Market

Changing landscape of grooming market is well noticeable under the hood of FMCG giants as well. Emami was the first company in India to launch fairness cream, ‘Fair & Handsome’ for men in 2005. Since then, male grooming market has been growing at an unprecedent rate and the launch of men centric grooming products by Marico, Emami, Loreal and Nivea validates that.

According to TechSci Research report “India Men’s Grooming Products Market By Product Type (Fragrance, Shaving, Skincare, Haircare and Moustache & Beard Grooming), By Sales Channel (Supermarket/ Hypermarket, Grocery/Retail Store, Online, etc.), Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012 – 2022” India men’s grooming products market stood at $ 1.4 billion in 2016, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 15%, in value terms,  to reach $ 3.3 billion by 2022. Rising number of consumers facing early ageing problems, increasing disposable income and expanding young working population are aiding India men’s grooming products market. Moreover, rapid urbanization and increasing adoption of western culture along with changing lifestyle and awareness regarding the consumption of grooming products to counter ageing problems, are some of the other factors expected to propel demand for men’s grooming products in India over the next five years.

Traditionally, grooming services for men were mostly limited to haircut and shaving, but metrosexual men are now demanding a far wider range of products and services. Increasing trend of pogonophiles and religious association of beards with various religions is contributing to the increasing demand for beard related offerings such as trimmers, beard wax, beard oil, among others. Undeniably, shavers and trimmers is one of the prominent segments in the male grooming market, but successful launches of body hair grooming products like Body Razor by Gillette, 6-in-1-all-over-body grooming kit by Panasonic and Bodygroom trimmer by Philips indicate a new form of manscaping and present an opportunity in this unexplored market i.e. body hair removal or body hair grooming.

Male Grooming in India Moves Beyond Shaving Creams and Trimmers

Recently, Veet, a brand created by Reckitt Benckinser (RB) with focus on female hair removal products, forayed into India male grooming market with the launch of Veet hair removal cream for men.

Earlier, body hair removal among men was limited to athletes, wrestlers, among others, but there has been a dramatic shift in the beauty and overall grooming perception of male grooming products over the last few years. Shaving body hair is considered a taboo among a large section of male consumers, however, introduction of male body shaver by Philips as an experiment in August 2019 and entry of other companies like Syska and Havells in male grooming is successfully changing the consumer mindset. In fact, body hair removal segment of the male grooming market is predicted to grow at double-digit CAGR over the next five years.

Until now, Veet, the local arm of FMCG major, has introduced two variants of depilatory cream in the market i.e. Veet Men for Sensitive Skin and Veet Men for Normal Skin with pack sizes of 25, 50 and 100 gm. The male specific variant of Veet is created by inheriting the hair removal expertise and 80 years old experience the company holds in the grooming industry. The cream is specifically formulated for coarse body hair and thick skin of men. The above-mentioned variants cater to men looking for smooth skin results in as little as four minutes. One of the major reasons which places Veet in the spotlight is its ability to remove unwanted hairs in a quick and effective manner with no stubble or razor rash. To hydrate the skin, the depilatory cream is formulated with ginseng extract, which leaves the skin hydrated for up to 24 hours.

Other Options of Hair Removal for Men in India:

• Shaving: This method is the most traditional and preferred method for hair removal among men as razors can be used across body parts including legs, chest and arm pits. However, hair removed through shaving can grow up in three days and the process can also cause cuts or burns. Based on the budget, disposable and electric shavers are available in the market.

• Waxing: It is touted as the long-lasting hair removal procedure as hair do not grow back up to four weeks after use. When compared with shaving, it is a painful solution for hair removal, but it keeps the body smooth for a longer time as it removes hair from roots. Waxing can be done to remove hair from hands, chest and legs. Total/full body waxing kits are readily available in the market.

• Laser Hair Removal: Unlike hair removal through electrolysis, laser hair removal is another depilation process for larger areas. It is one of the longest lasting process, in which laser is used for destroying the hair follicle. It is an expensive procedure and takes several months for complete removal of hair.

•  Epilator: Epilator can be another option for hair removal at home. Generally, epilators are battery operated and provide long lasting results; however, due to high pain it is not preferred for hair removal.

Unlike shavers or trimmers which work by cutting off hair from the skin surface, depilatory creams work by weakening the hair by dissolving the protein structure and softening the hair at skin level. 

Following are the reasons for the growing popularity of depilatory products among men in India:

• Traditional male grooming market which comprises of razors, face wash, cream and gel, is moving towards saturation in the country and FMCG bandwagons are targeting specific grooming needs of men and launching products in other categories which are seeing an uptick in demand. Launch of depilatory cream called Master Stroke by the FMCG player, Vi-John Group in 2018 and Veet Men by RB in 2019 are among the moves by these market players to foray into new categories in male grooming market and furnish millennials with more options in the hair removal segment.

According to another TechSci Research report “India Personal Grooming Market By Product Type (Hair Dryer, Hair Straightener, etc.), By End User (Individual Customer & Institutional Customer), By Distribution Channel (Online Retail, Institutional Sales, etc.), Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024” India personal grooming market is anticipated to grow at a robust CAGR during the forecast period on account of rising urbanization, increasing disposable income of middle-class population, changing preferences of Indian consumers for professional products and growth of professional beauty & wellness market. Moreover, innovations in products offerings, enhanced shopping experience on e-commerce websites, increasing demand for professional products among consumers and innovative branding & marketing and promotional strategies are further expected to propel demand for personal grooming products in India over the next five years.

• Investments by the brands and advertisements featuring celebrities, actors, and sportsmen, etc., are paving way for higher adoption of new forms of grooming products in India. Social media is another aspect that is stimulating the need for instant transformation among the selfie generation, triggering the usage of male grooming products. Moreover, drastic increase in the number of beauty bloggers is building awareness among men, which is further leading to conscious consumerism. Bringing Kartik Aryaan as the brand ambassador for Veet Men and the related #FindYourSexy are among the latest instances of advertisement strategies catch consumer eye-balls.

• Changing demographics and lifestyles is another major factor that is influencing the grooming market. Majority of the population in the country is young and aged between 25-54 years and consumer goods companies are betting on them. With plethora of options to choose from and increasing disposable income in addition to rising consciousness among men to look good, future for male grooming products look bright in India.

·    Also, men have started spending more time and money in salons and spas for hair color, waxing, facial, pedicure and other grooming procedures. Increasing interest of men in personal hygiene products is compelling brands to shift focus from unisex products to gender specific offerings.

Conclusion 

When compared with female grooming market, male grooming is still a niche/smaller market; however, the gap is anticipated to narrow over the coming years due to dropping taboos, shifting preferences and effect of various advertisement strategies specifically targeting male grooming market.

Moreover, with the entry of major brands in male grooming market, Indian market offers a huge opportunity as a growing number of Indian men are getting more conscious and are increasingly indulging in self-care than ever before.