Veet enters the male grooming segment

Veet, the depilatory brand for women, has forayed into male grooming category in India with a new hair removal product for men. Currently, Veet has 50 per cent market share in the hair depilatory segment.

Globally, the brand has a strong presence in both the female and male depilatory segments.

Hair removal products are gaining significant popularity among men, which, in turn, is expected to drive the market in the next few years. According to a report by ASSOCHAM, India’s male grooming industry is set to grow at an annual growth rate of about 45 per cent.

The global hair removal products market size was valued at USD 2.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5 per cent from 2019 to 2025, as per media reports.

When interacting with afaqs!, Pankaj Duhan, chief marketing officer, RB Health South Asia, said, “The male grooming sector is growing at 5,000 crore per se, it’s a very big segment and growing well, clocking a growth of about 14 per cent compared to last year. We are aiming that the men’s category will grow substantially faster than the women’s segment.”

We asked Duhan why the brand entered late with a male hair removal product, when other companies are already quite prominent in the space, he replied, “We are not late, for us this is the right time. You see lot of offerings in the market, but nobody has taken up the charge to grow the male hair depilatory segment per se. As a brand, we need to create a habit in the market for the usage of Veet among men.”

The brand has roped in Kartik Aaryan as the brand ambassador and has launched a campaign titled, #FindYourSexy.

Duhan explained the reasons behind roping Kartik Aryaan, “The key differentiation to choose him compared to anybody else is that the endorser needs to be relevant and true with the objectives of the brand.”

“When we get a popular face,” Duhan continued, “they should embody the values and benefits of our brand, only then would we go ahead with such a partnership. Hence, the celebrity gives the brand mass scale awareness, but ultimately the brand’s idea and proposition will make it succeed.”

The brand’s TG is the generation between in the ages of 18-30 years. “In the initial days, the appeal is going to be limited by the extent of distribution the product has. As the distribution grows, the product will first come to metro cities and then to tier cities,” shared Duhan.

Duhan revealed, “North and West India have been strong market for Veet. South India has started emerging better. Though in rural areas we have a smaller pocket size, it has picked up fast.”

In the past, Veet has been highly active on television when it collaborated with Katrina Kaif and Shraddha Kapoor. Earlier this year, the company brought Sara Ali Khan onboard as the new face of the brand.

On being asked whether TV gives better reach compare to digital and other mediums? He answered, “For marketers, TV is on priority because it measures the reach number. Other mediums are not robust like TV. The dilemma among the marketers is where to put the money.”

“At Veet, we always look at where the customers are, the measurability part comes later. Yes, we’re present on TV, but our TG is more on digital medium. We have witnessed multifold increase in digital media spends as compared to TV,” he signed off.