While nearly all consumers use bathroom products in some form or another the market is far from being saturated, says Julia Wray
According to the poet Sylvia Plath, “there must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them”. In today’s time-poor and increasingly cash-poor climate, however, consumers seem to be eschewing the luxury of a bath for the cheaper convenience of a shower. Euromonitor figures show that out of 2007’s $25bn global market for bath and shower products bath additives accounted for just $3bn, a small increase of 0.3% on 2006. In contrast, the body wash/shower gel product sector was worth more than $8bn, increasing 13.3% year on year.
Liquid soap, which increased by over 10% to nearly $3bn, proved to be another fast grower in 2007, buoyed by strong sales in Western Europe. But on a global scale hand soap found its way into more of our bathrooms and kitchens; it was worth nearly $10bn making it the biggest product sector within the bath and shower category. And despite being sparse on the launch front, bathroom stalwart talcum powder enjoyed healthy sales, increasing 4.3%. This was due largely to the popularity of talcum powder in the Asia Pacific region, where the market was worth $568.8m.
THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS
Bathroom products are often described as essential, which suggests a certain degree of saturation. But, while the bath additives market may be showing some signs of slowing down, other bathroom product sectors continued to grow.
“Within shower gels, penetration has grown consistently year on year since 2003 and currently stands at 76%,” says Mintel’s senior beauty and personal care analyst, Alexandra Richmond. “This still has scope to grow in 2009 as it has not yet reached saturation.” And savvy companies from a variety of different backgrounds are taking advantage of this. Stateside, P&G owned Gillette, better known for its shaving hardware and products, launched Gillette Fusion 2-in-1 body washes featuring Gillette Gentle Clean Shampoo & Body Wash, Gillette Oil Control Face & Body Wash and Gillette Dry Skin Hydrator & Body Wash. Gillette also launched a corresponding line for women, Pure Divine.
Fellow shaving specialist KMI, the company behind King of Shaves, also forayed into the bath and shower sector with Patently Obvious, a range comprising hand wash, hand foamer and shower gel in four fragrances: Raspberry & Pomegranate, Kumquat & Mandarin, Lavender and Mint & Lime. The products are natural and based around a formula that provides antibacterial action without drying the skin discovered during R&D for King of Shaves. “We were looking for natural antibacterial ingredients to replace Triclosan for our King of Shaves Antibacterial range,” Patently Obvious creator Andy Hill tells SPC. “During this process we came across several raw materials, one of which, derived from oranges, looked interesting as it was very effective against bacteria, but gentle on the skin.”
Green household products manufacturer Ecover, also marketed at environmentally aware consumers on a budget, extended its personal care portfolio with a second range of products containing Ecocert certified organic ingredients. The range, which includes hand soap and shower gel, retails in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Greece and France. In addition, Wellments, acquired by Ecover in 2005, launched a Sandalwood range including shower gel, bath foam and body scrub. “We see Ecover as a concept, a lifestyle and not only as a washing and cleaning products brand. We believe that personal care products fit perfectly in the brand,” says Evelyn Eugène, brand manager of Wellments Ecover, who is keen to differentiate between the two labels. “With Ecover we focus on daily care while Wellments is more a pampering, indulgent brand,” she explains.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
A key trend in bath and shower has been for products that wouldn’t look or smell out of place in the kitchen. Sara Lee’s Radox celebrated its centenary in 2008 by launching Shower Smoothies in the UK and South Africa. Soul Soother contains blackcurrant and cranberry and Natural Balance blends yoghurt with honey and almond, while the herb garden-inspired Energy Therapy features lemongrass.
Meanwhile Unilever released a fruity addition to its Dove Go Fresh line of body washes, hand washes and bar soaps with Dove Go Fresh Burst Body Wash containing nectarine and white ginger.
Two own label brand launches also tapped into the trend. Retail giant Tesco enhanced its Treacle Moon brand with two new flavours – My Coconut Island and Those Lemonade Days featuring a bath and shower gel, hand wash and body scrub – while August 2008 saw UK-based C&T chain Superdrug add two new fragrances to its Naturals bath and body care collection, Cranberry & Pomegranate and Olive & Bergamot.
Lush’s appropriately named Yummy, Yummy, Yummy shower gel followed the food theme too with an edible sounding blend of almond oil and strawberry. But Yummy, Yummy, Yummy and Rub, Rub, Rub (a shower gel containing 60% sea salt) were also notable for being the first of Lush’s shower gels to come in 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic bottles. The company had recently focused its attention on shower jellies, which require less packaging.
SOMETHING EXTRA
Many bath and shower products introduced to the market in 2008 offered more than just cleansing properties. Some offered innovative new concepts. Lush, for example, also launched Emotibombs, a line of bath bombs designed for use in the shower. This could be a shrewd move as Richmond believes that thrifty consumers are likely to “switch from baths to showers in a bid to cut their water bills”. Unilever’s Axe/Lynx brand meanwhile continued to surprise consumers with unusual fragrance concepts. Its new body wash, Instinct, was inspired by the smell of leather. Instinct contains notes of cardamom and atlas cedarwood designedto replicate the spicy smell of rare leathers.
Other products boasted additional benefits, something that Richmond expects to see more of in the future. “The trend for anti-ageing has really driven innovation in many beauty categories and consumers are likely to continue to demand added benefits from their bath and shower products that make life easier for them,” she states. “Anti-cellulite, firming, anti-sagging and perhaps even tanning benefits are likely to remain on the consumer wish list as they look for products that work harder for them.”
Several recent bathroom product launches claimed to impart moisturising effects. Unilever expanded its Dove Supreme Cream Oil portfolio with a bubble bath, bar soap and hand soap, while Imperial Leather launched Skinbliss, a line of shower lotions featuring MoistureLock technology. Palmolive also introduced a new range, Palmolive Skin Essentials Pure Cashmere, aimed at the 34% of UK residents who fail to moisturise regularly. According to Lara Smrtnik, brand manager, Palmolive, the shower cream releases a moisturiser that stays on skin for up to 24 hours, imparting softer skin in just five days with daily use.
The premium sector saw The Estée Lauder Company’s Origins add a bath bar, featuring philodendron bark and soybean oil, and an oil-rich body cleanser to its Precipitation line for dry skin. Italian brand Collistar meanwhile developed a scrub said not just to exfoliate, but also to moisturise, drain, slim, nourish and energise the body. Talasso-Scrub Anti-Water, the sister product of Collistar’s Talasso-Scrub, contains sea salts, cane sugar, spices and essential oils to reduce water retention. “The consumer is looking for products that give a maximum of benefits and can act on as many fronts as possible,” a Collistar representative tells SPC. “Of course there are also consumers who like to find the made to measure answer for specific requirements – for example products for the bust, abdomen etc – but the trend is without doubt oriented towards multifunctional products.”
IN THE MOOD
Last year’s standout trend within the premium sector, however, was for bathroom products that claimed to alter the user’s mood by imparting relaxing or energising effects. Aromatherapy Distillations, a range of body and home care products from Crabtree & Evelyn, features 39 skus containing rare essential oils and unusual oil blends grouped into three sensory benefits: relaxing, revitalising and purifying. Bathroom products featured in the range include Skin Softening Milk Bath, Clarifying Body Scrub and Seven Seas Bath Salts.
“Consumers want an experience,” says Stephanie Corking, training and development manager EMEA, Crabtree & Evelyn. “Aromatherapy Distillations has the benefit of not just cleansing and caring for the body, it also gives the consumer mood enhancing oils to care for the senses.”
Molton Brown makes an even more ambitious claim for its new Body Therapies, which features four separate sub-ranges said to target specific physical complaints associated with modern living. The sub-ranges include Purify, which cleanses, softens and tones; Nurture, which replenishes and hydrates sensitised skin; Unwind, said to relax the body; and Sleep, developed to relax the mind.
According to Mintel, this trend seems unlikely to disappear any time soon. Richmond states: “given the current economic woes that may leave many people feeling stressed, anxious or nervous, it would make good sense to launch more soap, bath and shower products with the added benefits of ingredients that help de-stress, relax or inspire people to help carry them through the tough times.”
Such benefits form the basis of the products created by NEOM Luxury Organics, which also brought aromatherapy into the bath and shower sector, extending its range of candles and body oils with a bath oil line. Fragrances include Tranquillity, with English lavender; Refresh, containing lemon and basil; Restore, featuring jasmine and ginger; Real Luxury with Brazilian rosewood, and Complete Bliss with Moroccan blush rose. “The range was built on utilising the incredibly powerful benefits of aromatherapy, but in a really modern way,” explains NEOM founder, Nicola Elliott. “Before I trained as an aromatherapist I loved the idea of mixing a bath that could really help me de-stress. But if you don’t know what you’re doing it can just smell awful and actually have the reverse effect.”
BUDGET BATHING?
The economic slump that blighted 2008 looks set to continue into 2009 and while the bath and shower product sector is more recession-proof than some it may not be entirely immune. “To an extent, soap, bath and shower products will be protected from the economic downturn owing to the fact that they are essential items,” says Richmond. “However, as with other essential items such as bread, clothes and washing detergents Mintel expects to see some degree of trading down to cheaper products and own label brands.”
All this is good news for budget brands like Anatomicals, who recently launched a range of bath and shower products all costing £1.97, and for those positioning themselves as affordable luxury such as Baylis & Harding, whose latest range, Pastelle, is modelled on premium brands but carries a smaller price tag. Indeed, mainstream brands are increasingly tapping into premium trends. According to Palmolive’s Smrtnik, 2009 may witness mass market brands offering consumers luxury for less. “The market is seeing a lot of premium brand trends being brought to mainstream brands and products, as consumers desire new and exciting things,” she comments. “This can be in the form of packaging formats, fragrance or skin benefits.”
If consumers do choose to trade down it could mean that premium brands suffer a drop in sales with natural and organic products being singled out as particularly vulnerable. “There is room for growth with natural and organic products,” Richmond predicts. “But prospects look a bit gloomier for organic beauty products in 2009 given the drop in demand for organic food amongst consumers who are switching to cheaper non-organic alternatives.”
However, Elliott remains optimistic. “I’m sure people will be far more picky about what they buy across the board, and rightly so, but we aren’t just being bought because we are organic,” she says, adding that her consumers are evenly split between those who buy NEOM bath oils because they are organic, because they are effective, because they like the look and feel of the products or because they like the scent. “We’d never class ourselves as a value brand, but we’ve identified a new modern consumer with NEOM who expects so much more from her beauty. I think women are definitely buying less rubbish and focusing on a few great beauty products and I think that’s only going to be good news for us.”
Swiss Luxury brand La Prairie launched Art of the Bath, which includes Cellular Bath Foam, Cellular Body Oil and four natural oils – lemon grapefruit, lavender, eucalyptus, and patchouli – that can be used to create a scent combinations, at the close of 2008. But with a price tag of t400 it too must believe that premium and super premium customers will continue to invest in quality.
One thing however is assured. People will be paying more attention than ever to what they can get for their money in 2009, whether it be from a value or premium product. So manufacturers must continue to create standout bath and shower products offering consumers that little bit extra.