Personal care - hygiene 2024: deodorants get posh to drive growth

This was the year in which men’s deodorant grew up. It began with Unilever’s January unveiling of Fine Fragrance Collection for Lynx – a brand long associated with teenaged boys. The five-strong range of grown-up body sprays had been “created in partnership with the world’s leading perfumers to make premium fragrances more accessible”, the supplier said at the time. (See Top Launch, below.)

In October, Old Spice took a similarly mature approach. It teamed up with London rapper Chip to position itself “as the British coming-of-age deodorant”. The activity centred on the grime track Big Man Ting – which brand owner P&G called “the ultimate message to boys who still smell like they’re stuck in school”.

That same month, deodorant was part of the picture when US male grooming player Dr Squatch kicked off its first UK campaign. ‘Britain, We Stink’, featuring comedian Red Richardson, aimed “to encourage men to upgrade their grooming routine”, said the brand at the time.

It’s too early to know how impactful Dr Squatch’s push has been, or whether Old Spice’s ad has recouped any of the brand’s 11.3% value loss.

For Lynx, though, its fancy launch has been a surefire hit, says Unilever. “The impact of Lynx Fine Fragrance to date has been nothing short of remarkable,” says Monique Rossi, general manager for deodorants. “It’s proven to be one of the most successful innovations we have launched in recent times, amassing £8.8m.”

That’s the bulk of the brand’s overall value gain of £9.7m. Units have grown a modest 2.2% – but that’s well ahead of branded deodorants’ performance. Overall, brands have declined 0.8%.

That was driven by some of the market’s biggest players, says Tatiana Meyendorf, NIQ senior analytics executive. “Key established brands like Sure, Dove and Nivea saw declines in unit sales due to lower demand, coming from new brands’ pressure and natural brands’ expansion.”

Among those newer and natural brands, it’s Wild and Fussy that stand out. The refillable challengers have recorded a combined gain of £10.4m and shifted 1. 7 million more packs.

Their expansion has included branded bays and shelf trays for Wild in 744 Tesco stores. They rolled out in February, offering deodorants, body wash and haircare products.

Growing demand for natural lines

That Wild has expanded beyond its deodorant heartland is canny, given natural and sustainable products are in demand across the personal hygiene space.

Take Smol. The plastic-free household brand has just marked its first full year in personal care. “Customers have been really supportive” of the brand’s extension into categories such as body soap, hand soap and deodorant, says chief marketing officer Hilary Strong. “People want to make sustainable, cruelty-free and vegan choices over products that still perform really well and don’t change their personal care habits too greatly.”

Thomas Laird, MD of Salt of the Earth, offers a similar sentiment. The brand’s refillable, natural deodorants have enjoyed a “tremendous year”, he says. “The natural personal care market is expanding rapidly.”

It’s also paying dividends for the burgeoning Eco Warrior. The brand – part of the Little Soap Co stable – has grown distribution and grown sales. “The eco trend continues, as well as the need for transparency and clean products – areas where we have always excelled,” says Emma Heathcote-James, Little Soap Co founder & CEO.

As such, Eco Warrior has grown volumes 24.8% in the hand bar soap market alone. It also makes natural lines for showering, shaving and skincare.

Skincare was front of mind for Unilever in May, when it launched Dove Advanced Care Body Wash. The result of more than nine years’ R&D, the 10 variants include Gentle Scrub, Pampering, Hypoallergenic and Hydrating.

The shower lineup “harnesses the power of new MicroMoisture technology, which provides consumers with 24-hour lotion-soft skin and actively works to renew the skin’s moisture from within”, says Chris Barron, Unilever general manager for personal care.

“Research shows that dry skin is the leading skin concern in the UK , with over 90% of Brits experiencing it and 85% believing it’s down to their shower routine.”

For Dove’s sister brand Radox, however, focus has been on improving people’s mood rather than their skin. With volumes having fallen 6.9% – way faster than overall shower brands’ 1.2% decline – it launched the £7m ‘Feel Radox Ready’ push in August.

Says Barron: “This marked our biggest-ever TV media campaign and highlighted our mood-boosting shower gel range, which empowers consumers to start the day feeling their best.”

And that’s a very grown-up approach to personal hygiene.

Read more: Personal hygiene 2023: Bathroom brands face plastic fight