In the beauty and personal care product market, the physical presence of a brand has always been the most significant moment for retailers. However, in the recent years, the digital landscape has offered equally important touch points. In a crowded and highly competitive sector, standing out means expanding your brand’s digital presence in order to get closer to the consumer, moving beyond that single point of personal interaction to trace the journey the customer takes to get there.
The beauty and personal care market in India has huge opportunities of growth over the forecast period. As per Euromonitor International data, the Beauty and Personal Care market is expected to register value growth of CAGR 14 per cent in real terms over the forecast period 2015-2020. Interestingly, the market is expected to almost double itself from Rs 748 billion in 2015 to Rs1, 440 billion by 2020.
“Start-ups and online retailers should focus on product categories including firming/anti-cellulite body care, lip care, facial cleansers, facial moisturisers, lip gloss, which are still in nascent stage and expected to register strong growth over the next five years. Demand for beauty and personal care products over the forecast will be driven by a number of factors including rising aspirations of consumers and increase in penetration of products due to growth of modern retail and online retailing,” said Shreyansh Kocheri, Research Analyst at Euromonitor International.
Currently, we’re living in an environment where brands are omni-present and need to reach the customer at as many touch points as possible. Thereby, here are some ongoing market trends in diverse spaces defining growth of product driven brands, encouraging disruption of the beauty market.
1. Ayurveda
Increasing demand for natural, herbal and Ayurvedic beauty and personal care products over the review period has led to heightened competition in the market.
“Currently with over 400,000 practitioners, Vaidyas of Ayurveda providing healthcare to the Indian population, the benefits offered by Ayurveda is availed by more than 75 per cent of the 1, 000 million people in the subcontinent and more recently millions round the world,” said Geeta Ramesh, MD, Kairali Ayurvedic Group.
Competition in the natural, herbal and Ayurvedic market within beauty and personal care in India is expected to remain intense over the forecast period. Mass brands like Dabur, Emami and Patanjali are expected to continue educating consumers about the benefits of Ayurvedic products through product promotions and in-store displays. These brands are also expected to focus on expanding distribution over the forecast period in order to increase penetration and reach.
2. Kids Personal Care products
According to the data shared by Euromonitor International, baby and child specific products in personal care stood at Rs 12 billion in 2015 in retail value sales, at current prices. Furthermore, over the past five years, this category has posted a growth of 13.7 per cent in retail value sales at current prices.
“Innovation is that tool which helps in luring and convincing the consumer to invest in certain product category. Our legacy is that every Johnson’s product is specially designed with baby in mind and meets our ‘Best for Baby standards’, which is backed by the best science,” said Ganesh Bangalore, General Manager - Marketing, Consumer Business, at Johnson & Johnson India.
Rising awareness of baby and child-specific products among Indian consumers helped drive sales within this area over the review period, mainly due to the efforts of the leading players in the market such as Johnson & Johnson (India) and Dabur India in educating consumers about these products.
3. Organic products
Awareness and availability of organic products is on the rise in India. Brands like Omveda, SoulTree, Sattvik Organics and others have been creating a niche category in the beauty and personal care market. Online retailers such as thebodyshop.in, kamaayurveda.com, naturalmantra.com, organicshop.in offer a range of organic products to choose from.
“Kama Ayurveda has managed to gain immense popularity since its inception in 2002. Opening up in bigger cities like Mumbai and Delhi have a natural penchant towards organic and wellness products. They believe in a healthy virtue of living, and with us, now they can experience the whole new meaning of ‘Pure and Authentic’ remedies, closer to the home,” said Vivek Sahni, Co-founder and Director, Kama Ayurveda.
4. Multiple price points
No one is doing this better than L’Oréal. The brand offers products at high to low price points through its professional as well as consumer products categories, blending tech and beauty seamlessly.
“Hair colour used to be a hair dye market, powder dye. L'Oréal came with various brands, this and that, revolutionized the trim market and then, Godrej created the hair colour sachet. It took our sleep away in L'Oréal. It changed the market, because consumer could get the same product at a very little price point,” said Satyaki Ghosh, ?Director - Consumer Product Division at L’Oréal India.
5. Global brands trading in India
Most of the international brands have been leveraging on the growing demand for naturally positioned products. Brands such as Avon, Fair & Lovely and Oriflame among others have come out with products such as Avon Naturals Ayurvedic Whitening 3-in-1 cleanser, Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Care Face Cream and Oriflame Pure Nature Tropical Fruits Facial Kit over the past two years.
There’s no arguing that for some brands, traditional marketing will always be a part of the allocation. But the shift is real and that shift in preferences and brand growth has improved the market for product driven brands in India, encouraging new revolution in the beauty business.
