The gold rush in men’s grooming

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

In recent years, the men’s grooming industry has witnessed a slew of dedicated brands entering the market. From Harry Styles’ Pleasing and Swedish men’s cosmetics brand Obayaty to Dwayne Johnson’s Papatui, Jake Paul’s W and Travis Barker’s CBD-centric Barker Wellness, the men’s grooming sector is rapidly expanding.

Yet, with the only perceivable difference between many men’s and women’s products being the packaging, the question is: do men really need so many specialised grooming brands? “Men’s grooming products use exactly the same ingredients as those used in women’s products,” says cosmetic scientist Valerie George. “Products geared towards men may have different textures or scents, but they are otherwise similar.” 

To understand the root of men’s grooming brands, we should rewind to the late ’90s and early 2000s, when gendered marketing was at its peak. David Beckham and Brad Pitt were the poster boys of the “metrosexual” movement, making it suddenly cool for men to care about their appearance. Followed by the likes of the actor Chace Crawford and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, they helped spawn a new generation of image-conscious men who felt free to spend money on skincare — so long as they didn’t commit the cardinal sin of using the same products as their girlfriends.

Brands with hard-edged names like Bulldog, War Paint and Lab Series quickly filled the gap, enticing male consumers with moodily packaged moisturisers, eye creams and concealers marketed directly to them. But that marketing tactic has started to fall out of favour.

Darren Stoddart, a teacher from Cheshire, usually avoids male-focused grooming products “because they’re often just not as good as those marketed to a broader audience”. He adds: “The marketing departments for grooming brands assume that all men want products in blue or black bottles with overpowering scents, and that every man has an oily T-zone or dandruff — none of which applies to me or, in fact, many men I know.”

The industry is now shifting away from such a binary approach “thanks to more nuanced conversations about gender”, says grooming and fragrance expert Nick Carvell. “There is nothing inherently ‘masculine’ about the scent of a lemon [a common note in male-oriented fragrances] in the same way as there is nothing inherently ‘feminine’ about the scent of a rose. These are gender stereotypes we’ve built up over centuries.”

The most notable development in men’s grooming, observes Carvell, is a move towards gender-neutral, ingredient-based products. The shift is seen across the wider beauty industry, which has welcomed companies such as Haeckels, Malin+Goetz and Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace.

One brand leading the charge is Horace. Co-founded in 2015 by French entrepreneur Marc Briant-Terlet, the label’s offering of “fuss-free products” at reasonable prices has resonated with shoppers, helping it to capture 21 per cent of the French male skincare market in 2023, according to Briant-Terlet.

Horace’s products come in brown apothecary bottles with clear, function-focused descriptions such as “reduces wrinkles and dark spots” or “restores radiance to dull skin”. This simplicity has appealed to men, who are more loyal than female shoppers, Briant-Terlet believes. While women enjoy discovering and trying new products, men are more likely to keep using something that works and is good value for money, he says.

Male colour cosmetics is one segment ripe for further growth, but a degree of subtlety is key. Obayaty’s primers, concealers and bronzers are packaged in sleek, minimal cases. Its eye booster cream, which addresses fatigue and dark circles, is a bestseller, says co-founder Lars-Johan Strand. “Men want products that don’t feel like make-up or look too obvious.”

Science-backed claims and evidence of efficacy are also key. “In today’s grooming industry, relying on data, studies and medical professionals is effective in building trust,” says Andrew McDougall, director of beauty and personal care at research agency Mintel, which in recent research found that 66 per cent of men agree with the statement that beauty brands should provide more scientific evidence to validate the claims they make.

To those still eyeing a slice of the men’s grooming pie, Alexander Johnston, general manager of upscale Marylebone pharmacy John Bell & Croyden, has some advice. “Gone are the days when you could slap a car picture on a bottle and call it a ‘men’s product’,” he says. “The modern male shopper is educated, results-driven and increasingly selective. New brands should keep that in mind.”

Sign up for Fashion Matters, your weekly newsletter with the latest stories in style. Follow @financialtimesfashion on Instagram and subscribe to our podcast Life and Art wherever you listen