Productive effect of men’s grooming sector on wellness industry

Men’s grooming has been a topic which might not grab too many eyeballs, as grooming has always been associated with women. As compared to women, Men have always been looked at species who are not interested in the concept of grooming to an extent at which women are, but this has turned out to be wrong. Researchers have proved that men tend to spend more on their grooming as compared to women. Shocking? Yes, it is, as this has always been stereotyped and the idea of men grooming is looked upon as something completely different and so new. Times have been changing and men have understood that they are also entitled to grooming themselves well and enjoy all the benefits women have been enjoying till now.

Men’s grooming sector is a dynamic market. So much so that the growth rate has been astonishing and has proven many stereotypes wrong. This market has seen the growth and is expected to grow more and more in the coming times as men will use all opportunities of looking good like women have been doing. The competition is going to be very high.

The ever growing market size
Earlier, the traditional men paid little attention to the looks and grooming as a topic was never picked. A metrosexual man, a term coined by Mark Simpson, referring to a person with a good salary to dispose of and who is living and working in the city, seems the most suitable customer for this industry. In 1985, only 25% of the men bought goods, which were meant for their grooming, but this completely improved by 1998 when 52% of the men shopped for themselves and bought goods. In 2004, 69% of men showed their interest in the grooming sector and were fully aware of their personal needs.

According to a survey in the United Kingdom, 1000 men aged between 18 and 64 use every product which comes under the grooming sector in order to look good. Younger men tend to spend more per month than their older counterparts, with 18 to 34-year-olds spending GBP14.60, compared to GBP10.50 for 55 to 64-year-olds.

The Indian Market of men’s grooming
The Indian market of men’s grooming is also not small. Indian men also look after themselves and have been making good use of the products being made available to them Whether these are fairness creams, talc, shaving creams, perfumes, new clothing brands or whatsoever. Indian men make a larger part of the perfumes category than their counterparts in the US. Men in the US have only 32% of the market as compared to women who make 68% in this category. The Indian fragrance market is small as it is worth $250 million, while the global fragrance market is $30 billion.

Consistent growth of varieties in this sector
Since metrosexual men are all up and ready to groom themselves and can spend a not so decent amount of money on their looks, thanks to their high pay packages, companies in this industry are getting a bigger area every day to expand in. Products like shaving creams, deodorants, after shave lotions and other skin care products are the basic needs and certain companies are doing really well in these areas. Brazil has the fastest growing market in shaving products category and has been showing consistent double digit growth since 2008. On the other hand, 2011 saw 60% total men’s skincare products sales coming from the Asia Pacific region.

Countries like Japan, South Korea and China are more accustomed to the growing trend of men’s grooming and have been labelled as the hotspots for male skincare. Latin America has been the largest producer of male grooming products and has even seen success. It is followed by the Asia-Pacific region, which is seeing constant growth and development in the men’s grooming sector. Though Asia is believed to be an under-served country in this market, it is catching up fast and is tend to grow big in the years to come.

Experts speak
What's better than hearing from the horses mouth, sharing their observation regarding the transformation within the men's grooming space: 

Dr Hema Pant, Head Medical Advisor, Kaya Skin Clinic, New Delhi says, "In our skin clinic, I have seen a change, especially in past five years as number of male clients has gone up 30-35 percent and young guys opting for laser hair reductions and skin brightening have increased. Earlier it was just for acne or acne scar treatments in the male category".

Ritesh Mastipuram , Founder and MD O2 Spa says, "We at O2 Spa are seeing Men grooming as an upcoming trend as well. More than 54% of men take services now from what 46% % men used to avail until last year. While the pop culture has led to an increase in the demand in urban areas, semi-urban are willing to avail services equally. The major age group that comes to O2 Spa is between 25 and 45 while older customers also take up the services now. With 90 plus O2 outlets across 20 cities in India, we have 700 male customers walk in every day from tier 1 and tier 2 cities. With this it surely indicates that ‘Me Time’ has become a priority now in most men’s calendar".

Effect on the Indian Wellness market
According to the 2012 wellness report by PWC, the wellness industry had grown to 590 billion INR in 2011 and it was a growth of over 20% from the previous year. Products still have a majority of 50-60% in the market. Even though men’s grooming sector has been climbing up at a fast rate, it still comprises of 8 to 10% of the overall male cosmetic market. The sales are basically urban led which shows 75 to 80% sales only by the urban consumers.

India has seen growth in this sector mostly from Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and several other cities. The other cities have to grow regarding this sector and the overall growth of men’s grooming sector will lead to a great impact on the wellness industry which is already doing well.