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| Issue 30 |  |
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| Category | Titel | Author | ||
| Market Report | Growing sophistication within bodycare | Imogen Matthews |
Bodycare has long been regarded as the poor relation of facial skincare. Most people cover up their bodies for many months of the year, taking the view that what cannot be seen does not need attention. For years, bodycare has consisted of cheap, basic lotions or creams, such as Nivea, which are effective moisturisers, but make no further claims. The market is now changing and bodycare is fast catching up with facial skincare in terms of advanced formulations and ingredient breakthroughs.
Compared to facial skin, the skin on the rest of the body contains seven times fewer sebaceous glands. The sebum, along with the hydrophilic film, provide a natural moisturising agent, forming a barrier against external aggressors to protect the skin's elasticity and firmness. The skin on the body is therefore particularly prone to drying out and loses its firmness over time, which is further aggravated by hard water, sun exposure and even stress. While most women use a facial moisturiser every day, covering up with clothes makes it tempting to pay less attention to the body. Keeping skin in good condition, however, requires daily moisturising, whether it is the face or body.
| Table 1 | |
| Usage of body lotion/milk, by European country | |
| Base: Women aged 11-74 | |
| 12
months ending June 2001 |
% |
| All Europe | 21 |
| Germany | 37 |
| France | 23 |
| Great Britain | 15 |
| Spain | 12 |
| Italy | 10 |
| Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres, ETCD |
Since the late 1990s, skincare manufacturers have been turning their attention to bodycare and producing scientifically advanced formulations which claim to smooth, firm, condition and delay the onset of ageing.Initially, much of this new product development was concentrated in the premium sector, but there are signs that the mass market companies are catching up. Beiersdorf has successfully extended its Nivea range into active bodycare and L'Oréal has also taken Plénitude into this new territory.
Plénitude Body Expertise Nutrilift from L'Oréal Paris is an anti-drying and firming body moisturiser range, available for normal and dry skin. The normal skin variant contains ceramides to replenish the skin's lost natural lipids and provides 24 hour hydration to prevent the skin from drying out. Nutrilift for dry skin is formulated with Xeralipids, lipid replenishers which combine ceramides with essential fatty acids. Xeralipids work to combat hydration, helping to reinforce the skin's natural hydrolipidic layer. The two products also contain Par-Elastyl™, an active ingredient that has been shown to help inhibit the breakdown of collagen and elastin fibres which determine the skin's firmness. Par-Elastyl™ is a key ingredient used in Plénitude Revitalift, the UK's leading anti-wrinkle and firming cream.
L'Oréal's marketing division Laboratoires Garnier has also branched out into bodycare with the launch of Body Cocoon and Body Tonic, two daily body moisturiser ranges. Garnier Body Cocoon body moisturisers were developed for women with normal to dry skin, a condition affecting 71% of women, according to Garnier. The ingredients include a blend of micro fruit oils {patent pending} which is rich in lipids that can be found naturally between the cells in the stratum corneum. Dehydration of the skin surface, or dryness, occurs when the water content of this layer drops below 10%, often provoked by a depletion in the lipids present. The tiny oil droplets in the formulation are absorbed quickly into the skin and remain there, reinforcing the skin's barrier function.
Garnier Body Tonic is a range of body firming products which combine proven firming technology with natural ingredients which not only tone but revitalise the senses. Certain fruit essences have been used in the formulation and tested in vitro to establish their performance criteria. Grapefruit extract contains anti-oxidant properties to help protect the skin's resilience. Kiwi extract has been shown to inhibit the enzymes responsible for the degradation of the skin's elasticity and green apple extract has been shown to have a stimulating effect on cellular renewal. Caffeine is also included as it is a well known stimulator and energiser, capable of boosting cellular activity.
Claire Briney, analyst for Euromonitor, believes that the mass players are increasingly becoming a force to be reckoned with in bodycare. She says: "Perception of premium products as being higher quality and offering better results than mass alternatives is being undermined by the increasing sophistication of mass product formulations. Premium brands no longer seem to be the only ones to represent the cutting edge of technology in bodycare and must keep ahead of the game."
Leaning on the success of an established facial care line is a tried and tested formula among the premium companies. Estée Lauder, for example, launched Resilience Lift Body Lotion in November 2001, which follows in the footsteps of Resilience Lift Creme and Lotion. It combined in one product a single technology addressing three primary causes of skin ageing in mature women, which are chronological, environmental and hormonal. Addressing the problems of loss of skin tone Resilience Lift contains a special blend of bio-botanical complex, pentapetide, apple, white birch and green tea extracts which work to strengthen the dermis by encouraging collagen production and helping prevent the premature breakdown of collagen by free radicals. The product also uses optical technology {phytosphyngosine, "soft focus" polymer} to reflect light away from minor imperfections to make skin appear luminous and more uniform in tone.
Consumers not only want results-oriented products but want them to perform several functions at one time. Up until a few years ago, this simply was not possible as the technology did not exist for different ingredients to work in harmony. Today, scientific advances have meant that products offer genuine value added benefits, such as Lancaster's Sun Active Body Refiner SPF8, the first sun/body treatment that offers sun protection and refining properties in one product. It works through the action of the sun on the skin which enables the refining actions of the product to fight more effectively against the appearance of cellulite and the 'orange peel effect' of the skin. In addition, pineapple extract helps to exfoliate the skin which helps absorption of refining agents.
Christian Dior's Body Model is a new generation active body treatment claiming a three in one contouring action. Described as the first cosmetic 'home -trainer' it has a tensing effect, leaving the skin feeling tightened. In addition it has a sculpting action for firmer skin and a contouring action, which claims to reshape the body in one month. The secret in this product lies in the plasticizing texture of the gel provided by two flexible polymers inspired by the textile industry. On application, the gel stretches over the body and stays in place.
Bio-technology is at the heart of La Prairie's Cellular Lipo-Sculpting Systeme which does not claim instant results, but the more realistic claim of a visible difference within 30 days of use. The formulation uses lipo-sculpting technology that activates 'lipolysis', the breakdown of fat, accelerates cellular metabolism and micro-circulation, aids in the elimination of trapped fluids that cause puffiness and bloating and provides toning and lifting actions. More than 20 ingredients and eight lipo-sculpting complexes are used including bio-engineered organic elements, vitamins and rare plant extracts.
| Table 2 | |
| Bodycare
brand shares for premium brands in Western Europe, % retail value |
|
| Total bodycare market size: $1.75bn | % |
| Clarins | 3,3 |
| Biotherm (L'Oreal) | 1,6 |
| Lancôme | 0,8 |
| Collistar | 0,8 |
| RoC | 0,7 |
| Christian Dior | 0,5 |
| La Roche-Posay (L'Oreal) | 0,4 |
| Clinique | 0,3 |
| Source: Euromonitor |
La Prairie has also adapted its skin caviar technology for face into a luxurious body cream, which retails at $300. Caviar, a rich source of natural compounds essential to the maintenance of skin tissue, has been shown to demonstrate an excellent firming action. This multi-functional body treatment, which contains an array of marine substances and plant extracts, sloughs off dull skin, has a lifting and firming effect and restores the skin's barrier functions and protection against free radical damage and the degradation of collagen.
In 2002, La Prairie is launching three new bodycare products, based on up to date technology, including a buffing oil which buffs the skin, stimulates the circulation and has a deep hydrating action.
The future for bodycare products looks bright, particularly when taken into context of usage patterns amongst European consumers. According to Taylor Nelson Sofres ETCD information, only one out of five women regularly use a body lotion or milk. Penetration in Germany is significantly higher at 37% than in any of the other big European countries. By contrast, in Italy, only one in ten women say they regularly use body lotions and milks. Now that new product activity is accelerating in the mass bodycare market, it seems likely that bodycare will become a regular part of many more consumers' grooming routine.
Author
Imogen Matthews
Imogen Matthews is a business journalist and market research consultant and is a regular contributor to the trade magazines Esprit, International Cosmetique News and Beauty Business News. Her knowledge of the cosmetics, toiletries and fragrance industries is unsurpassed. In addition, she specialises in providing quality market research and PR consultancy to clients within the beauty industry. She can be contacted on imatquarry@aol.com. Website: www.imogenmatthews.co.uk.
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