Lynx Peace range

Lynx Peace range is being supported by a £9m media push

Unilever is aiming to freshen up sales of its Lynx portfolio with a new range of male grooming products.

Lynx Peace, rolling out now, comprises a body spray, deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, a hair styling gel and cream (rsp: £2.53 to £4.29). Featuring an on-pack peace symbol, the range is being supported with a £9m media push including TV, digital, print, radio and sampling.

“Lynx Peace will be our main focus for 2014,” said brand manager Mark Aschmann. “Its mixed citrus, pepper and ginger scent will appeal to guys seeking a unique and edgy youthful fragrance.”

Unilever, which pumped £12.6m into the launch of the Lynx Apollo range in October last year, will be hoping Lynx Peace reinvigorates overall brand sales, which have fallen 2.4% to £167m [IRI 52 w/e 7 September 2013].

The decline has been driven by a slump in sales of Lynx deodorants, which have fallen 12.5% by value and 8.7% by volume - far further than the total deodorant sector. Lynx body spray and shower products also failed to deliver growth.

Unilever said the weak performance was partly down to high sales of Lynx gifting products last year, which meant men hadn’t needed to buy Lynx early in 2013.

“Gifting has always been a big part of Lynx and in 2012 we overdelivered by about a million units, which affected volume sales in Q1 this year,” said Aschmann.

Design agency BrandOpus suggested Lynx had become over-reliant on innovation. “This has led to an ever-more complex portfolio of products that the consumer has difficulty navigating,” said CEO Nir Wegrzyn. “Between ‘sprays for her’ and ‘man washers’, Lynx had eroded its original message,” he added.