Industry News: What potential opportunities are revealed behind the rise of middle-aged and elderly personal care segments such as hairdressing and skin care?

With changes in consumption concepts, senior citizens are gradually showing a diversified lifestyle that pleases them. The 'new elderly' represented by those born in the 60s and 70s have shown strong purchasing power in personal care consumption. 

Corresponding to demand, the personal care consumption expenditure of senior citizens has continued to grow in recent years. The '2023 Kuaishou Beauty Daily Chemical Data Report' shows that the number of Kuaishou personal care consumers in 2022 will be 70 million+. Among consumer users, women and users aged 31-40 account for the highest proportion, and users aged 50+ account for 22.5%. Become the second largest consumer group of personal care.

As middle-aged and elderly consumers have increasingly strong demand for personal care, the supply side is facing opportunities for innovation. The personal care track for middle-aged and elderly people has moved from the 'marketing first half' to the 'research and development second half'. In view of the unique skin care pain points of middle-aged and elderly people, such as dryness, itching, and odor, many brands have provided personalized and precise solutions with product directional research and development as the core.

PART 01

Way of life that please themselves :

Seniors upgrade their personal care consumption

As one of the rigid consumption sectors in daily life, the personal care market has maintained steady growth in recent years, and the revenue of the personal care market in 2022 will exceed 100 billion. However, as the dividends from user base growth recede, the basic market in the personal care category has become saturated. In this context, the dressy silver-haired people who have more time and spending power to pursue a better life after retirement are becoming the biggest opportunity group that companies need to seize when seeking growth in the red ocean market of personal care:

'2022 Massive Engine Daily Chemical Industry White Paper' shows that in the first half of 2022, silver-haired people have become the fastest-growing core consumer group in the daily chemical industry, with a year-on-year growth rate of 35%. Among the five personal care subcategories of hair care, body care, oral care, women's care, and adult care, the consumption of silver-haired people is concentrated in hair care, body care, and adult care.

Among them, adult care is an urgent need for disabled and semi-disabled elderly people. Body care and hair care are more of a quality consumption for the silver-haired people to manage their image and upgrade their life consumption.

The '2023 Tmall Personal Care Trend Upgrade Research Report' shows that the silver-haired generation has medium spending power and is concerned about elderly body care and external image. From the perspective of category preferences, the most popular categories of personal care products for silver haired individuals are beauty and body care, with TGI indices of 122 and 98, respectively.

PART 02

Body care for seniors:

3 directions and 1 opportunity

Age-related skin barrier damage is plaguing middle-aged and elderly people, who are in urgent need of shower gels, body lotions and other care products that can specifically address the above pain points. The increasingly strong demand has stimulated market vitality. Currently, body care has become the first choice for enterprises to enter the middle-aged and elderly personal care market:

In December 2021, Liby Group officially launched Banyue Fusheng, a personal care brand for silver-haired people. In 2022, its brand manager Li Xuanyu once said that the launch of Banyue Fusheng was based on the advance layout of Liby’s big health strategy.

Three directions: Research and Development (R&D), Channels, and Additional Functions

At this stage, there are endless body care products on the market tailored for young women and infants and young children, but the supply of care products for middle-aged and elderly people is still relatively scarce.

As energetic elderly people actively try new lifestyles and their consumption habits change day by day, the development potential of the middle-aged and elderly body care market continues to show. Based on the market practices of the above-mentioned companies, the three keys to laying out the body care track for middle-aged and elderly people are summarized.

As consumers are increasingly willing to pay to please themselves, the competition among personal care brands is shifting from ingredients and efficacy to added value, and the importance of fragrance has become increasingly prominent.

Scent can stimulate the purchasing interest of middle-aged and elderly consumers and influence their shopping decisions.

Channel layout: Online + Offline, Two-pronged Approach

As the penetration rate of the Internet among older people increases, more and more middle-aged and elderly consumers learn to shop online and fall in love with online shopping. At the same time, consumer goods and services for the elderly have the characteristics of 'separation of purchase and use'. Many young people will honor their parents by purchasing goods for their parents and elders. Therefore, most brands choose to deploy both traditional offline channels such as pharmacies and supermarkets and online channels such as e-commerce platforms to reach middle-aged and elderly consumers in different scenarios. Bonnie Care, a skin care brand that cares for mature skin, has entered the Shanghai Qiniyou smart pharmacy chain platform online and opened offline store pharmacies, including Good Pharmacy and Jiuzhoutong Pharmacy.

However, the current shower gel and body lotion products for middle-aged and elderly people on the market are generally on the high side and lack cost-effective products.

This is related to the current brand positioning of the middle-aged and elderly body care track. These personal care brands generally target energetic elderly consumers with medium to high consumption levels. Coupled with cost factors such as R&D and marketing, the final product prices are on the high side.

However, at this stage, most middle-aged and elderly consumers are still price-sensitive. Creating cost-effective body care products for them may be a direction that companies can try.

PART 03

Live forever, beautiful forever

Silver Hair Opportunities in the Beauty and Hair Care Track

Alibaba’s consumer insights data show that the hair care consumption preference of the silver-haired group is products that cover gray hair (hair dye). Kantar data shows that compared to other age groups, seniors pay more attention to hair care and styling. In the personal care category, hair care products account for 24% of the spending of seniors, and have a double-digit growth of 10%, which is higher than the overall growth rate.

Domestic hair dye brands for middle-aged and elderly people are on the rise

According to the list of hair dye creams for covering gray hair in middle-aged and elderly people on JD.com, among the top ten best-selling products, a total of four products from international brands Schwarzkopf and Weitong are on the list, and six products from domestic brands Tong Ren Tang, Wen Ya, and Han Jinliang are on the list.

On the one hand, overseas brands have occupied an important market share by virtue of their long-term detailed insights into consumer needs and targeted product localization strategies. We have observed that on Xiaohongshu, when young people discuss buying hair dye products for the elderly, Schwarzkopf and Japan’s Miyuan are mentioned the most. Tmall data also shows that the favorite brand of hair dye and care for silver-haired people is Schwarzkopf. JD.com’s Schwarzkopf Yiran plant hair dye for middle-aged and elderly people 'Mocha Dark Red Brown' sold more than 5,000 units on the 30th.

On the other hand, there are already a number of domestic brands and small and medium-sized brands in China that have established their own brand characteristics and are seizing the market.

Dr. Qi: Seize the Dividends of Short Video Channels

Dr. Qi uses Douyin as the main platform for brand layout, with brand founder Liu Zhi as the main subject, emphasizing 'using new technology to make safe hair dye for parents all over the world.' Currently, the Douyin account 'Dr. Qi Flagship Store' has 1.5 million fans.

Dr. Qi builds trust with middle-aged and elderly consumers through content operation. Its account content mainly focuses on popular science related to hair dyeing and hair washing, such as 'Is chestnut brown hair dyeing suitable for people over 50 years old?' and 'Dyeing hair at home, which color makes you look younger.'

According to product display data, 476,000 Dr. Qi plant-based hair dyeing combs, 401,000 hair care essence oils, and 165,000 color-protecting shampoos have been sold. Dr. Qi is not an exception. There are many small and medium-sized brands that are seizing the channel dividend and reaching middle-aged and elderly consumers.

This year, 618 Zhihuashi focused on the Douyin channel, and the sales of a single live broadcast reached 15 million. Among them, seniors aged 50 and above are the main sales force of Chivas, accounting for 35%, and the sales TGI exceeds 260.

The stage of having categories but no brands is the best time to build a super brand. At this stage, brands using unique concepts to impress consumers are not only conducive to seizing market share, but also winning the minds of middle-aged and elderly consumers, which is conducive to long-term development.

Demand upgrade: From simple 'dye black to cover white hair' to beautiful hair color

Taking stock of the top-selling hair dye products for middle-aged and elderly people on various e-commerce platforms, hair dye products in colors such as mocha dark red brown, citrine brown, and brown black are the most popular.

The hair dyeing needs of the silver-haired people are no longer satisfied with the basic covering of gray hair. They are carefully selected, hoping to make themselves more energetic, fashionable, natural and younger through hair dyeing. In the comment area of hair dye products, consumers have a lot of discussions about which color looks more youthful. For example, '3.88 Mocha Dark Red Brown or 4.57 Coconut Style Pure Brown looks better if you are 63 years old.'

The new elderly, represented by those born in the 1960s and 1970s, are entering retirement, and they have stronger willingness and consumption demand to please themselves. Therefore, when brands create hair dye products for middle-aged and elderly people, they should focus on providing diverse and rich color choices.

Potential Track: Hair Care Consumption of Silver-haired People

Another opportunity brought about by middle-aged and elderly consumers’ pursuit of healthy hair dyeing is the hot sales of hair dyeing and hair care products. In fact, middle-aged and elderly people generally dye their hair frequently and are 'long-term hair dyers', who are more likely to damage their hair through repeated hair dyeing.

As a result, brands have launched the multi-functional brand of 'dyeing and protecting in one'.

On the one hand, the ingredients in hair dyes added with plant extracts have the effect of nourishing hair, such as Platycladus orientalis leaf antibacterial, Polygonum multiflorum anti-hair loss, ginger improves hair quality, etc.

On the other hand, some brands create combination products of 'hair dye + hair dye essence'.

Another trend worthy of attention is the rising tide of accepting and caring for gray hair in overseas consumer markets. A 2022 study by L'Oréal and Radius showed that 44% of women aged 55 to 74 are coming to terms with their gray hair. There is an emerging demand among middle-aged and elderly consumers to care for their gray hair. Brands have seized this opportunity to launch targeted products for gray hair care. For example, L’Oréal Paris has launched shampoo and conditioner specifically for gray hair.

As seniors improve their self-pleasure and healthy consumption concepts, their demand for personal care products has shifted from popular to professional and personalized, and they are more willing to pay for high-quality products. This also brings new opportunities and challenges to brands. Companies need to continuously improve product quality and actively explore new channels and consumption scenarios to meet the increasingly personalized personal care needs of middle-aged and elderly consumers.The 2024 PCE Guangzhou International Personal Care Products Expo actively responds to the development demands of the industry and will be held at the Guangzhou Nanfeng International Convention and Exhibition Center from March 5-7, 2024. Some well-known exhibitors include: Vinda China, Yunnan Baiyao, Philips, Chuanhua Group, Tianqi, Pepperl+jie, Liangmianzhen, Sanban, Soushi, Ajili, Garcia, Phoenix Chemical, Lengsuanling, Fujian Baotai , Huaxi Biotechnology, Costina, Youhu Youjia, Nosbell, Jiesheng, Shiloh's, Yingke Medical, Changzhou Jialibao, Wanyuan Industrial, Bingke, Pentai Daily Chemicals, Lanjieya, Domei Chemical, Shanghai Xianlei, Neng Niang Chemical, Beidao, Guangdong Qinye, Cleansing Rou, Jieyi Group, Jinghu, Fenhao, Tom, Xianlei, Magic Crystal, Youkai, Danny Yue and many more industry leading exhibitors made a wonderful appearance!