After 3 years of intensive research and development across 8 African countries, leading personal care products manufacturer PZ Cussons is angling for a portion of Kenya’s fast-growing multi-billion-shilling male self-care market with its new Sport and Fresh Burst men’s range from the flagship Imperial Leather brand.
Estimating the size of the market at Kshs 6 billion and growing, PZ Cussons Managing Director Sekar Ramamoorthy explained that the firm expected this segment to grow at an annual rate of 5 percent, doubling over the next ten years.
In order to dig deeper into the segment, the firm has tapped into its innovation pipeline to bring to life a new range that delivers an unmatched cooling sensation and freshness that lasts for 25 hours for men between the ages of 18 to 35.
Remarkably, male consumers are joining the self-care segment at a faster rate than female consumers, with an addition of at least 1,000,000 new consumers annually, as the company discovered in its research in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Ghana.
“The Imperial Leather Sport and Fresh Burst are targeted at African men of these ages who are seen as a mixture of the millennials and generation z and have embraced selfcare exponentially as belief in the need to invest in themselves expands. Heightened selfcare consciousness is due to the influence of popular culture, access to copious amounts of information and research, online reviews and their friends’ recommendations,”
he noted
The result, he said, is that the male concept and appreciation of personal wellbeing is registering high growth which Imperial Leather will continue to dig deeper into as it further diversifies its product meeting men’s needs. According to Ramamoorthy, the men’s grooming products market was valued at USD 55.22 billion in 2020 globally and is expected to double by the year 2031.
While the market for men’s grooming products has been moderately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, social facilities and offices were closed, there has been a rise in do-it-yourself (DIY) grooming.
“Men are choosing to have their grooming activities at their own convenience due to concerns about close physical contact,”
he observed. While many people believe that all skin is the same, men’s and women’s skin are very much different. Men’s skin, he explained, is naturally tougher which necessities distinct solutions.
Ramamoorthy noted that the segment will continue to be attractive as product development shifts to contextualization. With its knowledge of the local market and its nuances, he said that PZ Cussons will focus on meeting the needs of Kenyan male consumers at their level of authenticity and social proof, since all the soaps, lotions, and shower gels are manufactured locally.
The firm has invested in a program to educate men about what it means to self-care for themselves. Ramamoorthy explained that this effort effectively complements the multisensory approach of the new Imperial Leather men’s range, with its tantalizing fragrances.