This SpecialChem post spotlights one of the notable growth areas in personal care specialties, men’s grooming products, growing at a strong rate despite the struggles of other sectors, due to four basic factors:

…the ongoing rise of middle-class sectors in fast growing nations such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China; the Internet and similar technology providing enhanced access to new consumer bases outside wealthy industrialized regions; marketers’ increasingly sophisticated appeals to men, including creating or repositioning brands that flatter the male sense of national and/or ethnic identity; and the universal appeal of naturally or organically formulated toiletries that satisfy growing consumer consciousness regarding environmentalism and potential health problems originating from chemical-laden products.

 

The projected total market?

Within five years, the global market for all male-consumed grooming products is forecast to mushroom to $85 billion, compared to $28 billion for male-specific products.

What makes it an innovation story?  Simply the fact that this segment was a scarce fraction of itself just a decade ago. 

Thanks to the wherewithal and vision of manufacturers and marketers alike, it’s now an engine for growth worldwide, thanks to plentiful new products and inventive appeals that have revolutionized men’s attitudes toward personal grooming.

The conservatively upbeat outlook for this year is tempered by the obvious slowness in other areas of the economy that affect the chemical industry, though the personal care products category has been a bright spot.  The overall business declined by 6.2% in 2009, its second drop following a 4.7% fall in 2008.

We’d like to think that made the personal care sector stand out isn’t just the power of consumer demand — though we obviously can’t begin to discount that.  Some of the credit, according to industry pundits and analysts, goes to the the very qualities we rely upon for our own success here at Coast Southwest (but which are certainly not exclusive to us): a high degree of customer engagement, leading to partnered innovation resulting in strong product offerings in these burgeoning segments. 

These product categories are intensively competitive, and demand constant development of new formulations, new ideas and new approaches.  That takes imagination, communication and collaboration, on an intense level.  Just because a given category is accelerating is no guarantee of success; indeed, that situation presents its own challenges and potential for missteps.  And just because the analytics and predictions indicate an upswing, where 2010 will really succeed or fail is “on the ground” — through the continual effort and focus of the people making the breakthroughs and connections necessary to drive that success.

Simplistic?  Maybe.  But it’s interesting how, time and again, success or failure comes back to these evergreen basics.

We’re proud to be launching this new CSW INNOVATION BLOG, where we hope to put a focus on the innovation and inventiveness of the companies and individuals who have helped our industry grow and prosper over the decades, as well as on the trends that will affect us all tomorrow.  The creativity and integrity of these people – some our own here at Coast Southwest, many of them our suppliers, others our customers, and some even our competitors – deserves to be recognized.  And that’s true now more than ever before.

It’s no secret that, along with the rest of the U.S. economy, the chemicals industry experienced a “wild ride,” as one analyst put it, in 2009.  It’s our conviction that truly successful companies and outstanding individuals, when faced with the challenges and hurdles seen over this past year, find ways to maintain their headway even when the going gets tough. 

A huge component of that is that they typically redouble their quest for innovation – whether through improved ingredients, new formulations, or more efficient ways of producing, distributing or marketing the mainstays they’ve already got in hand.  That’s certainly been our approach over the years, to be a little self-serving: we’re proof that innovation can help a business flourish even in difficult times.

That kind of innovation is the key to continuous improvement, and to the health and growth of our category and businesses.  Innovation helps secure the welfare of employees, and the satisfaction and delight of consumers.  In short, innovation builds a future for every stakeholder in our industry, and it’s going on every day, in every corner of the chemicals business. 

So Coast Southwest will use this blog to shed a special light on innovation, not only where it impacts our customers and suppliers for surfactants, silicones and personal care specialties, but also wherever innovation is making a difference for the industry in general.