Convenience is an underlying trend in most beauty and personal care categories. In hair care, consumers are looking for products that are easy to use and can help them save time. The recent success of products that have been around for a long time like dry shampoos and the development of practical mousse colourants is proof of the enduring popularity of the convenience trend in hair care. But, as hair care continues its alignment with beauty, manufacturers will have to focus their message on the glamorous side of the business.
Saving time with dry shampoos
Global Growth of Propellants in Hair Care
Source: Euromonitor International
The recent success of dry shampoos can be explained by a change in their positioning. They are not marketed as cleaning products any more, but as refreshers, allowing customers to save time while perfuming and styling their hair.
Propellants will not benefit to any great extent from the rise of dry shampoos, however, as metal aerosols cans will only account for less than 0.05% of global shampoo packaging by 2018. Indeed, as styling agents will account for more than 70% of propellants absolute growth in hair care, shampoo will remain a niche market for propellants manufacturers.
Segmentation hits dry shampoos
Segmentation is also a part of the recent success of dry shampoos. Over the years, Batiste, a UK dry shampoo brand, extended its portfolio, and it has paid off, with the brand hitting a 9% brand share in 2013, up from 0.2% in 2008. Product manufacturers can bet on added benefits such as heavy fragrances, conditioning, styling ingredients and colours.
This niche market is therefore expected to offer opportunities for conditioning ingredients, emollients and proteins that can be easily formulated in sprays.
The dry craze extends to conditioners
Manufacturers are taking advantage of the recent success of conditioners and dry shampoos by expanding product ranges even further, to dry conditioners. At the same time, they will look to respond to the main reservations expressed by consumers, who say dry shampoos make the hair look dull.
To counteract the dulling action of starch, dry conditioners will provide shining and conditioning through oils. Dry conditioners will therefore be another user of emollients, even though it will remain niche as most of the brands commercialising dry conditioners are in premium salon hair care.