"We see grocery as a massive opportunity for growth," says marketing manager Alison Radford of Immac, the leading depilatory brand. "Depilatory sales in grocery are at an all-time high at £7.6m and growing at 17% ­ way ahead of the total market. Our grocery share is more than 86% and growing 28% year on year." Radford says this performance is driven by increased distribution, promotion and new product development. "We've played a major role in developing the grocery market in the last two years. Since the Reckitt Benckiser merger last year, we've invested heavily in grocery with gondola end promotions and instore demonstrations in Asda and Tesco this summer, and have a new £2m TV advertising campaign. Our pre-Christmas TV campaign aims to boost sales in the party season and de-seasonalise the market." Innovations, such as Immac Silk Creme and Perfect Roll-On Wax launched this year, have contributed significantly to the grocery boom. "Silk Creme's success lies in its gentleness on the skin and its ability to rinse off easily in the shower, while Perfect Roll-On Wax is as close as you can get to salon-style waxing, removing short as well as long hairs. "We've also improved the fragrances in all our creams to effectively mask the active ingredient in them, which has been very well received," says Radford. She estimates 30% of women use Immac, "giving plenty of potential for growth", with sales being largely occasion driven. "Holidays and parties are what they buy it for, but there's also a core of purchasers who spend more on themselves who buy the brand," adds Radford. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}