Turn Back The Clock

By offering a range of products that appeal to diverse consumer preferences, retailers will be able to ensure the growth wave for store brand anti-aging skincare products continues.

Wrinkle-loathing consumers refuse to let a little thing like a down economy stand between them and eternal youth. Although a new report from global market researcher Mintel International says anti-aging skincare products grew at an "anemic" pace in 2010 (an estimated 2.9 percent across food, drug and mass merchandisers [FDMx], excluding Walmart), it appears that cashed-strapped U.S. consumers simply have been trading down to less-expensive products, including store brands.

The report, "Anti-Aging Skincare — US — February 2011," notes that dollar sales of private label anti-aging products grew 31.3 percent during the 52 weeks ending Nov. 28, 2010, citing data from Chicago-based SymphonyIRI Group. Still, store brands command only 5 percent of the anti-aging skincare product market within the FDMx channels.

Focus on the face

Facial anti-aging products "far and away outsell body anti-aging products in the FDMx market," Mintel notes. Beyond a desire to "save face," however, consumers are all over the map in terms of buying behavior within the category.

Preference varies according to geographical region, for one thing, notes Cindy Anderson, director of the Private Label division of Fort Worth, Texas-based CBI Laboratories, a supplier of a wide variety of anti-aging and other skincare products.

"With our North American climate, aging skin suffers from city pollution, sun exposure [or] little moisture in the air," she says. "Products that help reverse that damage while plumping and firming the skin are most sought after."

Gender counts, too. Anderson says men tend to gravitate toward multi-functioning products that clean and moisturize — or treat a variety of areas on the body. Women, on the other hand, "tend to appreciate luxury in their skincare" and look for products geared toward a specific purpose. And it helps if those products also "look attractive on their bathroom counter."

Although women remain the core customers in the category, they are not necessarily spending only on themselves.

"Women are also shopping these products for their male mates to keep them younger-looking and full of vitality," says Harold Baum, managing director of Dyna-Tabs LLC, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based supplier of natural facial masks, facial wipes and dietary supplements. "And as male attitudes, behaviors and fashion trends continue to evolve, so do the items men carry in their shaving kits."

A consumer's age, too, obviously plays a role in the category. In a survey for its report, Mintel found that respondents aged 35-44 were the most likely to be concerned about fine lines/ wrinkles. But the company says marketers still should encourage younger consumers to begin a moisturizing/anti-aging routine to help increase the consumer base for skincare.

Retailers not only will need to appeal to the varying demographics, but also stay abreast of trends and technology advances. One trend to bear in mind, Baum believes, is that toward natural formulations.

"Noninvasive natural products allow consumers to be proactive about their appearance," he says. "Consumers from all walks of life are reading ingredient lists looking for safe, effective and eco-friendly products that will keep Father Time at bay."

Anderson agrees that natural products are of high interest.

"The demand for natural or organic products still continues to grow," she says, "as consumers appreciate products that perform well with botanicals as the key ingredients."

Considering that most respondents to the Mintel survey called diet/lifestyle and sunscreen critical factors in addressing aging skin, a market exists for more holistic anti-aging skincare solutions.

Anderson goes as far as saying that an SPF should be a must in any anti-aging skincare product.

"Very few brands available in mass market today have a daily facial moisturizer that includes SPF," she adds.

And Baum notes that his company's products contain multivitamins that diffuse directly into the blood stream for a supplement boost. It also manufactures oral edible strips that help consumers maintain and repair skin, even "on the go."

Retailers also have a "tremendous opportunity" right now to tap into new technology and develop their own lines of premium anti-aging skincare products — sold at a value price —Anderson believes.

"These could incorporate the use of wrinkle-reducing 'peptides' or other new innovative technology," she says.

The packaging for such products, however, should be consistent with the premium promise, Anderson maintains.

"Store brand packaging for anti-aging skincare should evoke luxury and quality without being cost-prohibitive," she says, prestige skincare brands use very expensive packaging to dress up mediocre formulas."

'Store brand packaging for anti-aging skincare should evoke luxury and quality without being cost-prohibitive'

— Cindy Anderson, director of the Private Label division, CBI Laboratories