Rising interest in grooming among Indian men creates opportunities for personal care companies

Minu Srivastava, a consumer research analyst at Mintel, said that Indian men were becoming increasingly image-conscious.

“Men’s grooming, while still in a rather early stage, has been under the spotlight in India, particularly as Indian men grow increasingly image-conscious and are starting to take care of how they look.”​

Male interest in grooming rising

The latest research on India’s male grooming market revealed that 37% of Indian men considered appearance important and 73% of them shop for personal care products.

The statistics rise to 43% and 79% respectively when the demographic is narrowed down to those in the 18 to 34 age group.

The research also found that 45% of men enjoy spending time on their own personal grooming routines.

The average Indian man spends 42 minutes on grooming every day. However, those living in the metro areas were reported to spend around an hour on grooming.

Around 57% of them said they enjoyed trying new grooming products. However, Srivastava highlighted that the number of available products in the market can overwhelm men.

Creating products tailored for men

This presents opportunities for personal care companies to create products tailored to them, said Srivastava.

“Companies and brands in the Indian men’s grooming market should review the motivations and lifestyle patterns of various groups and customise offerings to fit in,” ​said Srivastava.

For instance, men living in more urban areas are likely to need more convenient, time-saving and multi-functional personal care products.

According to the research, the biggest beauty concerns Indian men include body odour, grey hair, acne, excessive sweating and thinning hair.

The research also found that products addressing these concerns appealed to 56% of men.

“With various appearance-related concerns among Indian males, the time is ripe for men’s grooming to evolve and expand beyond the basics like deodorants, shaving and depilatories,” ​said Srivastava.

She added: “Players in the men’s grooming market can start looking at catering to various appearance-related concerns and create a bundled product portfolio offering covering body, hair and skin, with products or solutions that address these top concerns in order to appeal to today’s male consumer.”​

According to her, some of the most popular brands among Indian men are Nivea, Garnier and Axe.

“They have been around for a while with products which include face wash, creams, and deodorant, among others, with visibility across various retail channel. Fair and Handsome also launched a specific fairness cream for men as they were presumably using Fair and Lovely cream, which was primarily targeted at women.”​

Additionally, she said start-ups such as Ustraa, Beardo, and Bombay Shaving Company are now launching products specially designed for Indian men.

Engaging consumers through digital channels

According to Mintel, 22% of male consumers aged 18 to 34 follow an influencer, making the social media channel a good way for brands engage consumers.

“To keep male consumers updated on grooming products and trends, companies and brands can look at various forms of strategies. For instance, digital channels, including social media influencers, are something that companies can tap into to engage today’s Indian men.”​

Another potential channel for brands to reach out to their consumers, said Srivastava.

“Salons are another channel that companies and brands can pay attention to; visibility, usage, and availability of grooming products at salons can help in educating Indian men about the products and drive at-home use.”​