UK Hair care market stagnant, but niches thrive

Haircare product sales totalled £965m in 2004, some 7 per cent higher than in 1999, with shampoos representing a third of the market and conditioners and colourants taking just under a fifth of the market share each.

As has been seen in the German hair care market, which has also been suffering from stagnation, manufacturers are continuing to maintain market value by ever more specific segmentation.

This has led to a variety of new products on the market, seemingly catering to more and more specific hair and scalp problems.

To tackle the problems, styling products, shampoos, conditioners and colourants are all being formulated with an increasing range of active ingredients that, for example, claim to turn frizzy hair straight, rejuvenate tired looking hair follicles, volumise or simply moisturise.

Likewise there is also a division as to how these products are marketed. Some on the strength of science, drawing attention to advanced research and development that has bought about functionality never before incorporated into hair care products before.

Other marketers prefer to play on the natural aspects of a hair care product's formulation, tapping in to the growing consumer trend for either natural- or organic-based ingredients as part of the growing trend towards health and wellness.

The Research and Markets report refers to this kind of market division as 'hypersegementation', a trend that falls in line with a multitude of current social and cultural trends towards individualism that is being reflected in cosmetic and toiletry products across the board.

Industry experts also believe that this 'hypersegmentation' will be driven by megabrands such as Timotei, Head & Shoulders and Sunsilk.

What were once brands that merely represented shampoo and conditioners, are now being marketed to include products that aim to treat a far wider variety of hair care 'issues'.

A good example of this is provided by Proctor & Gamble's Pantene brand. Known more for conditioner and shampoo products, its latest launch is a styling product that concentrates on the ever-popular problem - frizz.

The Pantene Pro-V Style Anti-Frizz is a definition cream for curly hair that also has an anti-frizz agent.

Likewise Unilever's Sunsilk brand has recently been extended in Europe to include a Winter Intensive conditioner. As well as focusing on the increasing demand for natural ingredients by including ginseng and amber extract, it also targets a very specific hair condition common during the winter period - static hair.

The trend towards further segmentation in the UK and European hair care market is likely to continue as the only means of gaining increased market share in this mature and highly saturated market. As a result it is likely to be the hair care formulators who are kept busy.