Publishing: 9 April

Advertising deadline: 24 March

Submissions deadline: 17 March

Contact: Lisa Riley (lisa.riley@thegrocer.co.uk)

Dowload full synopsis here.

The Story:

Forget going au naturel; fake tans are back with a bang. The sector has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth in a buoyant year for the wider skincare sector, according to analysis for The Grocer. What’s driving this? And, after three years of decline, how come skincare has returned to value and volume growth? How can the growth be sustained?

Key themes:

Fake tan: Is the Towie effect having a rebirth? The fake tan market has grown by more than a third in the past year according to our data. So what’s driven this and which players are cashing in? Is the growth down to the lousy summer we has last year, celebrity endorsement or something else?

Own label: Which retailer offerings are driving own label’s value growth, as volumes fall And is the rise in average price here a reflection of the development of more premium own label offerings? Is the fall in branded prices a result of the launch of more premium own label?

Retail channels: This feature needs to pay close attention to how different retailers are performing in this market, and why. For example, the discounters, chemists and convenience (independents) are doing relatively well; the big four are struggling. Why? How have their ranges changed?

Innovation: This will be key to this feature. We will be investigating how new product development has shaped the category over the past year and what is in store for shoppers in 2016. We will be profiling four of the most interesting launches in a separate innovation panel.

Promotions: This feature will explore how the promotional strategies of retailers and brands have changed over the past year. Attention will be paid to the promotional strategies of retailers and how this has affected average prices over the past year.

Advertising and marketing: This feature will also investigate how the marketing and advertising strategies of the category’s biggest brands have evolved over the past year and how they will develop in the coming year to sustain growth or return brands to growth.

Key questions the feature is likely to address:

  • What consumer trends have impacted the category over the past year?
  • How have promotional strategies (both in terms of price and marketing) evolved?
  • How have individual retailers’ strategies impacted the market?
  • How has merchandising changed in the market?
  • What impact has own-label had on branded players?
  • What’s next for the category?

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