According to a report by Bonafide research, the men’s grooming market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 11 percent during the forecast period with more than Rs 31,000 crore market size.

In totality, men’s grooming can be segmented into various categories including men’s shaving products, beard care, skincare, hair care, and fragrance market. It is thus the rise of a new form of male grooming that has given rise to the development of businesses and products to cater to the said segment. 

With men’s grooming slowly and gradually making its way into the market and capturing a considerable part of the business, many brands including Zlade, Ustraa, Bombay Shaving Company, The Man Company, as well as The Body Shop, are paving their way to help the segment grow along with their businesses. 

Scope of the Industry

The market, for a very long time, was monopolized by one brand in the shaving subsector. Over the last half a decade, this is gradually started changing, with new players entering the fray. Also, with increasing awareness around men’s grooming, personal hygiene, and lifestyle in general, there is massive scope for body hair removal, intimate care, and personal care products in India for men. 

Moreover, the market opportunity is to reimagine hair removal and management through breakthrough or innovative products for both men and women in the segment. “With a total addressable market size of Rs 35,000 crore, Bombay Shaving Company today account for 20 percent of all 'shaving' related searches online,” said Gaurav Anand, SVP and Head of Business, Bombay Shaving Company.

Meanwhile, the founders of Zlade began with honestly priced shaving essentials and soon diversified their offerings to cater to a broader audience base. As a brand that has the first-mover advantage in the intimate grooming and intimate hygiene market, Zlade is well-positioned to make a big splash in this space.  

The growing number of gyms and salons in every city indicates that men now want to invest in looking good too. “We see men seeking out products for them across segments and towns. It is no longer a big city phenomenon. Right from fragrances to hair and skin care products, we are witnessing a significant uplift. Ustraa customers are now in over 1200 towns and cities across India. We have over 1 crore customers and are growing year-on-year,” added Rajat Tuli, Co-Founder, Ustraa.

Options Galore

While Bombay Shaving Company offers shaving and hair removal appliances, skincare, beard, hair, bath, regimens, and perfumes at price points starting from Rs 99 to 3000+, Zlade currently offers superior hair removal tools like shaving razors and full-body trimmers. 

“Our secondary focus area (intimate hygiene) is addressed by products like intimate cologne gels, intimate wash, and supplementary personal care and grooming essentials. In the near future, our efforts will be concentrated on becoming the leader in all forms of hair removal for both men and women,” asserted Suraj Chaudhari, Co-Founder, Zlade.

On the other hand, Ustraa has four core categories which include fragrance, skincare, hair care, and beard care, having over 85 SKUs from colognes, deodorants, and perfumes to hair care that is further diversified into hair growth creams, vitalizes, and serums, along with beard care products that range from beard growth oil to serums, waxes and trimmers and finally the face and skin care category that offers face wash, scrubs,  de-tan creams, etc. “We will continue to innovate and add newer products in our core categories. We have an in-house lab that is constantly creating and innovating and helping products improve,” added Tuli.

Evolution of Newer Categories

Amidst the lockdown, there has been a significant increase in the demand and sales of grooming products ranging from beard oils and electronic trimmers and clippers thus, indicating a scope of the emergence of newer categories. 

“With the changing lifestyle, we will definitely witness the emergence of new men’s grooming categories or product creations. For instance, cycling, hiking, and biking are becoming popular among men of all age groups. If it reaches a critical mass then it will result in the development of products specifically designed and created to meet the needs of cyclists, hikers, and bikers,” stated Tuli.

To this, Gaurav Anand noted, “Incremental innovations in ‘form, function and feel’ will definitely lead to newer categories emerging. We may even see categories emerge based on grooming occasions or other parts of the body that have traditionally been overlooked.”

Technology and Men’s Grooming

Bombay Shaving Company is combining grooming and content seamlessly having recently launched the BSC App which already has over 25,000 organic downloads. 

“We have always championed experiential grooming and customization at scale, which continues to be one of our distinguishing features,” said Anand. 

Similarly, technology permeates every aspect of Ustraa’s business, from online applications and websites to provide its sales team with specialized and customized software on their smartphones for improved tracking and monitoring of sales. 

“We do everything to stay abreast with technology. An ERP compliments our entire customer relationship management. For the retention and distribution engines on our website and app, we have developed our own technology. We have also built our own technology for the retention and distribution engines on our website and app. Technology has helped us overcome the distribution challenges that we faced while competing with traditional FMCG giants,” commented Tuli.

With its core focus being hair removal, Zlade ensures that all its products are backed by the perfect blend of engineering, technology, and innovation. “Our trimmers, in particular, feature the SafeEdge technology and soft ceramic blades that enable a safe trimming experience, especially on sensitive body parts like the groin and armpits. Our latest collaboration with a global razor blade manufacturer BIC adds another feather to our cap with our upcoming portfolio of world-class shaving razors,” stated Mihir Vaidya, Co-Founder, Zlade. 

Future Plans

With the said segment currently booming at a rapid pace, it is a no-brainer that each of the men’s grooming brands is aiming to grow with varied plans in their pipeline. 

For instance, Bombay Shaving Company has planned to scale operations to Rs 500 crore top line with omnichannel presence in the next two years, deploying funds towards expanding its portfolio of personal care and hair removal products. 

Along with launching new products, BSC will continue to aggressively expand its offline distribution, build an international presence, invest in brand building, and hire talent across positions. BSC also intends to acquire brands in adjacent categories and content platforms and is in advanced talks to raise a further Rs 300 crore funds for this. The investment will further bolster the brand’s ambition to deliver 10X growth in the next 5 years.

Similarly, Zlade is well-positioned to rapidly scale up in the coming years. With the growing industry, the brand envisions creating a long-term sustainable business model and becoming the leader in all forms of hair removal for both men and women within the next five years, while Ustraa aims to reach Rs 500 crore in the next 5 years.