The boom in fitness, health and wellness is contributing to the growth of the luxury male grooming market in the UK, according to the NPD Group Inc., a global information company.
The prestige male grooming market was worth £449.5m in the 2015, which grew by 2.6% on the previous years’ total of £438.2m. The market for premium grooming products (which includes skincare, body care and fragrance) continues to report strong growth and saw men’s skincare outperform women’s skincare in 2015.
Men’s skincare accounts for 6.6% of the overall male grooming market, rising slightly from 2014 where it represented 6.3% of the overall market. The star performer in the male grooming market, men’s skincare reported sales of £29.5m in 2015, a rise of 6.9% from 2014 where total skincare sales for men were £27.6m.
Driving growth in the prestige beauty sector, men’s skincare outperformed women’s skincare in 2015 which reported a rise of just 2.3%, growing from £485.3m in 2014 to £496.5 in 2015. Whilst the market for women’s skincare is more established, men’s grooming presents the greatest opportunity for brands as Teresa Fisher, Senior Account Manager, U.K. Beauty for The NPD Group explains: “Male grooming continues to report growth across all sectors of the market and we predict that this will continue to rise. Men are upgrading their grooming regimes by switching to prestige brands as they are prepared to spend more money on quality skincare brands. However, it still remains a relatively untapped market that is still in its infancy and therefore presents huge opportunities for brands that want to target a male audience.”
Celebrity fitness sells
The current trend for uber-fit celebrities who dominate mainstream media, Instagram and men’s fitness magazines has created a new vision of masculinity that young men are attempting to emulate.
Led by film stars like Jake Gyllenhaal in South Paw or Channing Tatum in Magic Mike to home grown talent such as Tom Hardy in Mad Max or the super-slick Daniel Craig as James Bond, men want a great physique and good grooming naturally follows. As Fisher explains: “From the gym to the bathroom, male grooming products are part of the essential package of looking good and feeling good, hence why we continue to see strong increase in body cleansing products and treatment shaves. Fragrance has been a strong performer in this sector and now men’s skincare is an essential part of the grooming ritual.”
Big brands are referencing this trend for fitness led grooming through advertising campaigns in print, online and on television. Fit, healthy, toned and tanned models set the mood for many fragrance and skincare campaigns. As Fisher explains: “Toned, shirtless models have boosted the adverts for Davidoff Cool Water, Viktor & Rolf Spice Bomb and Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, whilst David Gandy featured heavily in the campaign for Dolce & Gabbana Light and Blue. Most recently the launch of Paco Rabanne Invictus saw model Nick Youngquest emblazoned on billboards and on screen demonstrating how big brands are tapping into the trend for fitness led grooming.”
Hey big spender
In the prestige male grooming market, men are increasingly prepared to invest in quality products with a high price point. The average price of a prestige male grooming product in 2015 was £33.07 and the average price of a male skincare product was £20.70. Whilst the men’s anti-ageing skincare category saw a rise of 14% in 2015 compared with 2014, treatment shave sales rose 20% in 2015 vs 2014 and men’s body cleanser increased 15.3% over the same period.
Best selling categories in men’s grooming (excluding fragrance) 2015
Facial Moisturiser
Treatment shave
Body Cleanser
All other face
Anti-ageing
Best selling men’s fragrances 2015 (in alphabetical order)
Boss Hugo Boss
Chanel Bleu de Chanel
Dior Savage
Paco Rabanne 1 Million
Paco Rabanne Invictus
Teresa Fisher, Senior Account Manager, U.K. Beauty for The NPD Group, concluded: “The growth of the male grooming market can be directly linked to the boom in fitness, health and wellness. They begin by improving their physique and then continue to enhance their traditional grooming rituals. In addition to shaving or beard maintenance, they are adding high-tech skincare and additional anti-ageing products to smooth, refine and tone the skin. This represents a huge opportunity for both brands and retailer to ensure they are targeting male customers with the right product and retails shopping environment.”
