Nivea is looking to make a splash in the bodycare market with a moisturiser that is applied, and rinsed off, in the shower.

Rolling out next week, Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser is used like a hair conditioner, being applied after soaping and then washed straight off. The range - which comes in normal and dry skin variants (rsp: £3.56/250ml), is based on a new formula that is instantly absorbed when activated by water, said Nivea.

The product, which leaves a layer of moisture but no “greasy feeling”, would tap into the 55% of British women who don’t moisturise because they don’t have time, said brand manager Sophie Rock. “Our pioneering skin conditioner is a real game-changer as it provides instant moisturisation and allows users to get dressed straight after showering,” she said.

Brand owner Beiersdorf expected the range, launched in Italy and the Netherlands last year, to revive the UK bodycare category, which was down 5.9% last year [SymphonyIRI 52 w/e 29 December 2012]. “In Italy, more than 89% of users are new to the category and a similar uptake is expected in the UK,” said Rock.

Nivea had identified a “significant opportunity” with the NPD, said Lou Ellerton, senior consultant at branding agency The Value Engineers. “The high uptake of women in other launch countries who weren’t already using a body moisturiser suggests the brand has found a way to remove a key barrier to usage,” she said.

On the flipside, however, the statistics implied that existing users of moisturisers were not convinced the product would perform as well as their current brand, said Ellerton.

Nivea, which gave its bodycare range a retro revamp in January in a bid to reverse falling category sales, is supporting its latest offering with a multimedia campaign.

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