Sun care segment branching out with multifunction and anti-ageing
Brands are making an effort to boost sun care sales, following a lacklustre 2013 for the category across Europe, where only the UK posted sales growth (at 2.9%, to reach $395.4 million) according to Euromonitor International.
Tapping into the key category trends, brands are now looking to revitalize the segment with innovation across the supply chain, from new product types to novel marketing campaigns.
Anti-ageing and multifunctionality
21% of women in the UK and in Spain use a moisturizer with added SPF on a daily basis, with these numbers set to rise thanks to the increasing dominance of alphabet creams.
There’s room for brands to push this further in neighbouring countries though, with the figures of consumers using such products every day much lower across the rest of Europe – 9% in Germany, and just 5% in traditionally beauty-conscious France according to the latest research from Kantar Worldpanel.
”Each new innovation offers multi-skin benefits that go beyond UVA/UVB protection, which is important to today's shopper,” confirms Carla Luca, senior brand manager of sun care brand Banana Boat.
Targeted groups
Brands are also moving to meet emerging consumer demands in the sun care category, and tailoring products to meet the specific demands of individual consumer groups.
“Make sun care more fun for kids,” advised beauty industry trends forecaster Antoinette van den Berg recently, and many brands are doing just that: Nivea recently released a magazine pull out bracelet for children, which, when linked up to a phone, alerts parents when a child wanders too far on the beach.
Sun care manufacturers are also moving outside the box when it comes to targeting men, with Banana Boat having just launched a full line of sunscreen for men, among other ranges which target ‘busy families’ and ‘outdoor enthusiasts’ variously.
“With competition running high in sun care, consumer segmentation has become increasingly important,” notes Euromonitor’s Nicole Tyrimou of the trend.
“There are now different products available specifically for babies rather than children, for athletes, for extreme sportsmen and for skiers.”
Awareness campaigns on the importance of sun care products have also come to the fore, with Neutrogena’s new ‘cloudscreen’ offering somewhere between a marketing ploy and an educational tool.
