Bulldog Skin Care For Men, for everyone? Brand's unisex move with new shower range
The new product range uses gentle, naturally derived fragrances from essential oils and bottles made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, explains the brand.
The launch taps into three big trends in beauty and personal care: gender fluid consumer identities, natural ingredients, and sustainable packaging.
The range is launching exclusively in UK retailer Sainsbury's and on the Bulldog online store this month.
Bulldog told Cosmetics Design: “Whilst we are still a men’s brand, we don’t believe that shower gel needs to be gendered.
“For example, if you share a bathroom with the opposite sex, there’s no reason why they can’t use our shower gels. Depending on whether you prefer zest fragrances, spicy or minty, each variant is pretty neutral, so it’s all down to taste.”
Unisex: gender fluid beauty
Valued at US$17.5 billion in 2015, male toiletries, which includes men’s bath and shower, deodorant, skin and hair care products, is the subcategory leading the broader male grooming category.
According to the latest TGI data from Kantar Media, a third (33%) of UK men say they use face creams and lotions on their skin. Indeed, 4% of men claim to use these more than once a day, 11% once a day, 10% once a week or several times a week, and 7% less than once a week.
But with Chanel having launched its first makeup range of colour cosmetics for men in Korea last summer, and The Clean Beauty Collective (formerly Fusion Brands) having launched a range designed to offer ‘androgynous fragrances’ via its Clean Reserve brand, perhaps there is potential for other subcategories to take on a greater market share, as gender neutrality becomes an ever greater trend, particularly among younger consumers.
Still one for the guys
Bulldog’s new shower gel launch seems to tap into this rising shift in male grooming, while the brand asserts that it is first and foremost a male grooming brand.
“Showering is a key part of a man’s daily regime, but until now, men have had to compromise when it comes to the product they use in the bathroom,” Bulldog says. It calls the product launch “a shower gel for men that care about their impact on the world”.
