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Bath and shower products - Reinvigorating formula
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and functional innovations are helping manufacturers find growth
in a saturated market.
THE BACKGROUND
The market for bath and shower products has benefited in recent
years from British shoppers' growing desire to pamper themselves,
even if only for a few minutes in the shower each morning. This
trend toward treating bathing as therapeutic or a stress-reduction
tactic has seen even mass-market bathing brands emphasise their
luxuriant qualities and add functional, spa-treatment and aromatherapy
ingredients to their products. Bathtime, in particular, is now being
widely promoted as an indulgent treat for women, rather than an
everyday event for anyone.
The bathing products sector is under tremendous price pressure.
The multiples have been cutting prices as they attempt to build
market share in the category at the expense of the pharmacies, and
in response, the bigger pharmacy chains such as Boots and Superdrug
have been trying to maintain share with heavy discounts; buy one
get one free promotions have been particularly prevalent.
So while the sector's growth was healthy up to 2004, it is expected
to slow to about 1% in value terms to £670m this year, according
to Euromonitor.
Bodywashes, shower gels and liquid soaps have performed best. Euromonitor
says that while the value of these will continue to rise, this growth
will be balanced by the decline in more traditional products such
as bath additives and bar soap.
In 2004 volume sales of bodywash and shower gel grew by 27%, while
liquid soap rose 18% on 2003. While this volume growth has been
impressive, the pressures on price mean bodywash and shower gels
value sales are expected to grow by only 7%.
Shower gels are being bought more often for two main reasons: lower
prices and a rise in the number of households with showers - penetration
is now 85%.
Functional products
Manufacturers have further boosted this sector with new product
development that has seen added benefits such as exfoliating, firming
or moisturising become the norm. Another trend has been the use
of natural or food-based ingredients such as milk, rice and fruits
considered beneficial to the skin.
The discounting of liquid soaps has meant consumers who previously
considered them too expensive have been converted. Liquid soap dispensers,
at an average price of £4.50 a litre, now cost the equivalent
of a twin-pack of bar soap. Their convenience and added benefits
such as anti-bacterial qualities also appeal to shoppers.
But this has meant bar soap volume sales in 2004 were down 4% on
the previous year, as consumers switched format of soap rather than
use more.
PZ Cussons is the leading manufacturer in the liquid soap category,
with a 17% value share. Its leading brands are Imperial Leather
and Carex.
In 2002 it bought the Original Source brand, which had £11m
sales in 2003.
Imperial Leather has expanded from its original bar soap format
to include shower gels and creams, bubble baths (under the Bath
Moments brand) and more recently Foamburst - a shower gel that turns
into lather. Its ads play heavily on its heritage and uses the strapline
'Everyone deserves a little bit of luxury'.
Beyond the kitchen
Last year Cussons extended kitchen handwash brand Carex into bathroom
products with new fragrances and packaging. The activity was supported
by an ad campaign using the animated Squirts characters used in
previous Carex work.
Sara Lee Household & Body Care is close behind Cussons with
an estimated 16% value share, an increase of 2% on 2003. Its growth
is driven mainly by the market-leading Radox brand. The company's
portfolio also includes Sanex, Badedas and children's brand Matey.
The Radox bath range relaunched in autumn 2004 with a reshaped
bottle and amended formulations. The range consists of six herbal
baths and four Aromatic Bath Essences. The relaunch was supported
by a £4m ad campaign featuring a woman bathing after a busy
day, the events of which were performed in front of her as a musical.
In May, Radox put £5m into the relaunch of its Shower range
with a translucent pack.
Beauty focus
Unilever manages several brands in this market, of which Dove is
the best performer. The brand was introduced to the UK 12 years
ago as a beauty soap, but has extended into other areas, including
bodywashes. In 2004 it launched a firming range, which was supported
by the message that 'Real beauty comes in all shapes and sizes'.
The launch garnered huge media attention because the Ogilvy &
Mather advertising featured 'real women'. Dove sales increased 700%
in the first half of 2004.
Dove has also shifted its focus to the indulgent aspects of bathing,
launching its Calming Night Bath and Relaxing Tranquillity Bath,
which contain essential oils and active moisturisers.
Liquid growth
The future performance of this market is predicted to be one of
steady growth, with some subsectors faring better than others. By
2009 the category will be worth £693m, of which bodywash and
shower gels will be the main component at £366m, according
to Euromonitor.
Bodywash and liquid soap sales will continue to grow, but the rate
of growth will slow as sales reach saturation levels. Volume growth
will be driven by increased use and discounting.
As products continue to be developed around the concept of bathing
as a treat, the decline in bath additives will slow. The categories
performing least well will be bar soap (sales are predicted to fall
23% from 2004 to 2009) and talcum powder, which is seen as old-fashioned.
Euromonitor predicts a major rationalisation of mass-market bar
soap brands, which may see only half those on-shelf now still around
in 2009.
BATH AND SHOWER BRANDS BY MARKET SHARE (%) Brand Company 2004 2003
2002 2001 1 Radox Sara Lee 13.7 12.3 12.1 11.1 2 Imperial Leather
PZ Cussons 10.1 10.0 9.4 n/a 3 Dove Lever Faberge 8.0 7.8 7.4 6.8
4 Johnson's pH 5.5 Johnson & Johnson 5.5 5.7 6.0 6.1 5 Oil of
Olay Procter & Gamble 5.5 4.8 4.9 4.6 6 Carex PZ Cussons 5.1
4.8 4.3 n/a 7 Boots Boots 4.0 4.5 4.6 5.0 8 Avon Avon Cosmetics
3.5 3.5 4.4 4.2 9 Palmolive Colgate-Palmolive 3.5 2.9 2.8 2.7 10
Lynx Lever Faberge 3.2 3.1 2.9 2.6 11 The Body Shop Body Shop 2.9
2.9 3.5 3.7 12 Garnier Nutralia Laboratoires Garnier 1.7 1.7 1.7
1.7 13 Sanex Sara Lee 1.7 1.4 1.2 1.0 14 Simple Accantia Health
1.3 1.4 1.6 1.6 & Beauty 15 Johnson's Baby Johnson & Johnson
1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 16 Palmolive Aromatherapy Colgate-Palmolive 1.3
1.3 1.2 1.1 17 Palmolive Nourishing Colgate-Palmolive 1.2 1.0 0.8
0.7 18 Badedas Sara Lee 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.3 19 Lux Lever Faberge 0.7
0.7 0.7 0.9 20 Adidas Coty UK 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 21 Own-label n/a 10.1
10.5 10.8 12.0 22 Others n/a 14.0 16.8 16.6 30.8 Total 100 100 100
100 Source: Euromonitor ADVERTISING SPEND ON BATH AND SHOWER BRANDS
BY COMPANY Company £1 Unilever 10,589,295 2 Sara Lee Household
& Personal Care 4,656,102 3 Procter & Gamble 3,169,376 4
Colgate-Palmolive 1,985,800 5 PZ Cussons 1,634,261 6 Beiersdorf
UK 1,318,740 7 Others 2,038,972 Source: Nielsen Media Research Note:
figures are for year to 30 Sept 2005
ANALYST COMMENT - HANNA FISHER, SENIOR CONSUMER ANALYST, MINTEL
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Bubble baths and shower gels are no longer the functional commodity
products they once were. Today they offer sophisticated features
and value-added benefits. The sector has distinctly moved toward
a holistic approach to washing, with recent launches taking their
cue from broader trends and catering for the wellbeing of body,
mind and soul.
New users are few and far between, so the only realistic growth
option is increasing value through segmentation, targeting specific
consumer groups and needs. In the UK market, which is characterised
by constant price promotions, new product development is key to
maintaining and gaining share.
Segmentation addresses not only function, but also skin type, as
well as formulations, with gels being complemented by oils, creams
and mousses.
Skincare is a key feature in bath and shower products, as simple
cleansing is now taken for granted.
Straightforward shower products now sit alongside those that indulge
a desire for pampering. This reflects changing habits, as consumers
take showers as part of their grooming routine and baths to relax.
Many products have an aromatherapy proposition or offer thermal
spa-style restorative properties.
Drawing on trends in skincare, the range of fragrances on offer
has been greatly expanded and 'natural' ingredients now vary from
botanicals to shea butter, ylang-ylang, vitamins and milk proteins.
In addition to male-specific products, novelty lines aimed at children
and young teens have been another recent growth area.
There is further scope to develop products with more sophisticated
skincare properties, while spa-inspired brands will need to link
more closely to real spa treatments.
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/incentive/article/530667/sector-insight-bath-shower-products-reinvigorating-formula/
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