Focus On Male Grooming: 8 April

By Matt Chittock matt.chittocknew@googlemail.com 

Publishing: 8 April 2023
Advertising deadline: 24 March 2023
Submissions deadline: 21 March 2023

Male attachment to hygiene has often been fleeting. For example, only half of men use shampoo every week. A combination of sustained lockdown habits and rising living costs have only encouraged such minimalism. It’s therefore strange that last year pricier branded products fared better than the cheaper own label options taking off in other grocery categories. So what’s behind this surprising enthusiasm for more premium products? How can brands maintain it given the discretionary nature of many male grooming products? And what are retailers doing to ensure that more men don’t drop out of the category in these straitened times?

Premium products: Pricier brands grew their share of male grooming over cheaper alternatives last year, defying general grocery trends. How did they do this?

Value add: What factors are male grooming brands highlighting to maintain sales of their products?

Shoppers habits: Men became beardier and took less care over their hygiene over lockdowns, and the trend appears to have endured. How can the category adapt as shoppers reduce their engagement?

Channels: Waitrose emerged the unlikely winner in value growth for male grooming in 2022, according to Kantar. Aldi and Lidl also succeeded. What’s behind these shifts?

Innovations: We will profile 4 new products or ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each