Aging-adverse boomers drive sales in skin, oral and hair care segments

Drug Store News, April 28, 2003 by Molly Prior

When industry analysts and manufacturers sit down to talk about consumer trends that will continue to shape the strongest opportunities in personal care and beauty for chain drug stores, the conversation without fail centers on baby boomers.

"Baby boomers grew up with a different ethos that did not accept aging," said George Rosenbaum, chairman of Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, a market research firm in Chicago.

This aging-adverse population of adults 50 years and older is credited with powering sales in a host of categories. What's even more promising for retailers is that boomers' quest for a wallet- and time-friendly fountain of youth has attracted the attention of younger consumers, as well. In addition to taking notice of their parents' desire to maintain youth, young adults have heard the message from manufacturers and consumer press that staving off the tell-tale signs of aging requires following a preventive regimen as early as the 20s.

Boomers' focus on personal care, which increasingly is intertwined with their interest in health care, will keep cash registers ringing in the next several years as more consumers hit their 50s, said Ed Kuehnle, North American president of Information Resources Inc.

Their willingness to throw their dollars behind products that promise to improve their looks is largely why three personal care categories in particular represent significant opportunities for drug stores: skin care, oral care and hair care.

Skin care

Hands down, skin care ranks as the No. 1 opportunity to grow sales within the personal care aisle. In the last several years, the industry has seen more sophisticated skin care ingredients move into the mass market. This onslaught of new skin care technology--ushered in with such launches as Neutrogena Visibly Firm with active copper line and Olay Total Effects-was enough to persuade consumers to pay near-department-store prices, in effect, shattering the price ceiling of skin care.

Amid the launches from the big name brands in beauty care, Woodridge Labs' Vita-K Solution products have carved out a substantial niche that continues to widen for the line, which is built around anti-age and skin restoration. And the products fall in line with the rising 'price points in the category, with four of the items, Vita-K Solution for spider veins, for scars and bruises, for stretch marks and for dark circles under the eyes, all retailing in the $12 to $15 range.

A key reason Woodridge has been able to expand its distribution at retail and its presence on the shelf for Vita-K is the role it has played helping HBA retailers trade mass customers up to a higher-priced product.

Now, new launches, such as Olay Regenerist, which relies on Amino-Peptide Complex, the pentapeptide technology to repair skin cells, can retail comfortably at a suggested price of $18.99.

Another interesting twist in skin care is ingredients that take advantage of cell repair that occurs during sleep. Research conducted at Nivea's parent company, Beiersdorf, shows there is a slight elevation in skin temperature at night, which may enhance the absorption of topical products and active ingredients. Nivea Renewal Night Cream, which launches this season, aims to reduce moisture loss during sleep and replenish it to promote younger looking skin and to ward off premature aging.

Rosenbaum foresees the movement of traditional, department store skin care brands to the drug store.

But some drug stores are flattering department stores through imitation. To date both Brooks Pharmacy and CVS have cleared room near the pharmacy section for more upscale skin care boutiques filled with French brands and staffed with full-time skin care technicians.

Oral care

Personal care manufacturers' experimentation with new delivery systems has been perhaps most evident in the oral care category.

Certainly, whitening, which already is a $300 million category, according to IRI, will continue to pick up steam with new launches, such as Colgate's Simply White Night and Crest Night Effects. Procter & Gamble projects the segment will grow to a $600 million segment by 2006. P&G's Crest Whitestrips grabbed the No. 1 position on to 10 list of new non-food brands of 2001 to 2002 with $130 million in sales during that period.

Rembrandt has been innovative on the new delivery front, as well, with the introduction earlier this year of the Whitening Wand, positioned more as a quick whitening/bad breath fix between brushings. The No. 3 player in the category, Rembrandt generated almost $10 million in drug stores last year between Dazzling White and Rembrandt Plus.

Rite Aid got the private label cycle of at-home whitening off and running with the March launch of Brush-On Whitening by Wisdom Oral Care.

Along the same lines of new technologies to address age-old oral hygiene issues, new products for treating bad breath are another driving force in oral care. Products, such as TheraBreath and Listerine PocketPaks, have been a breath of fresh air, breathing new life into mouthwash and giving rise to a whole new segment of the business.