Anti-Aging Cream Goes Young

|Anti-ageing cream goes young | |2 Jun 2008, 0155 hrs IST, Amit Sharma,  TNN | | | | | | |  Print   | | | | |  EMail   | | | | |  Discuss | | | | |  Share | | | | |  Save | | | | |  Comment | | | | |Text:[pic] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |NEW DELHI: When consumer products major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) recently relaunched its Pond’s anti-aging skin cream range, it was not | | | | |only   | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |launching a ‘new-improved’ version of the product but also responding to a larger change in the core target consumers of anti-aging | | | | |products — from the middle-aged 35-40-years-old women to 20-something girls, yes, but even men too! | | | | | | | | | |Says Oriflame India national sales manager Shilpa Ajwani: â€Å"Today, we have customers in the 20-years-plus age group who start preventive | | | | |skin care through anti-aging creams and while women are still the larger consumer base, there is faster growth in demand for anti-aging | | | | |products by men too. This is unlike the scenario sometime back when classically 40-years-plus women were our target customers. †Ã‚   | | | | | | | | | |The company launches about six anti-aging products a month, which now account for over a quarter of its sales in India. | | | | | | | | | |Cosmetics are conventionally bundled into three categories — skin lightning, moisturising and anti-aging. Market research firm ACNielsen | | | | |puts the anti-aging cosmetic market in India at over Rs 60 crore. Though just over 2% of the country’s Rs 3,000-crore skin care market, | | | | |the anti-aging segment is the fastest growing at 93% year-on-year. | | | | | | | | |Anti-aging cosmetics include products as diverse as anti-aging lipsticks and eye balms, facial creams, hair lotions and  foot  creams. | | | | |Consumers pay Rs 500-6,000 for such products from brands like Mary Kay, Revlon, Schwarzkopf, Procter & Gamble, HUL, et al. | | | | | | | | | |Schwarzkopf Professional country head Mu rali Sundar confirms anti-aging products’ age defying trend: â€Å"With time, usage of anti-aging | | | | |products has got little to do with a person’s age. Rising consumer awareness means that people in their late twenties have started buying | | | | |our anti-aging hair care products. While the bulk of our customers are still women, men are fast waking up to hair-care. †Ã‚   | | | | | | | | | |While busy lifestyles and concomitant stress hasten skin aging, rising incomes and awareness are facilitating fast consumer adoption of | | | | |anti-aging products. But that’s not all, for there is also another important factor at play here. Consumers today opt to prevent and | | | | |correct rather than repair at a later stage. Marketers are quick to spot this trend and are responding appropriately. | | | | | | | | |Says HUL skin care category head Venkat Shridhar: â€Å"Today, sales of bulk of our anti-aging creams come from 28-30-years-old women. Personal| | | | |care spends have increased a lot in the past 3-4 years. Easy access to parlours, supermarkets and greater exposure to media have led | | | | |people to spend more on hygiene and  beauty. Hence, all our communication also highlights prevention as the way out to delay aging. †Ã‚   | | | | | | | | | |Agrees Mary Kay India senior marketing manager Nirupama Rao: â€Å"Anti-aging products have ceased to be prescriptive in nature. Today, they | | | | |are used for preventive purposes. Consumers realise that they help in delaying the damage caused due to aging. †Ã‚   | | | | | | | | | |Though the current penetration of anti-aging products is low, marketers see huge potential in the category and are prioritising for its | | | | |growth. Says Devendra Shinde, marketing head, Kaya Skin Clinic, Marico’s 56-store strong skin-care division: â€Å"Our age control Botox and | | | | |Fillers treatments have grown up to four times in the last year. | | | | |Currently, age control packages account for 15% of our revenues and are expected to grow even more robustly.    | | | | | | | | | |â€Å"We are witnessing a 30% year-on-year growth in the anti-aging segment. The age of consumers of anti-aging cosmetics is coming down | | | | |rapidly and there is increased penetration of these products in India. This segment is expected to contribute substantially to our | | | | |growth,† says Revlon India marketing director Deepak Bhandari. The company markets it s anti-aging products under the Revlon Reveal brand, | | | | |priced Rs 350-750. | | | |