The revelation comes as a result of a consumer study carried out by Kuick Research which suggests that Indian male consumers are willing to pay premium prices for male-specific cosmetics products.
According to the consumer study, ‘India Male Cosmetics Market - Consumer Insight 2012’, eight in ten of the men surveyed said they are willing to pay a premium of up to 10-15 per cent for products that are available or that are yet to be launched in the market.
“Although, the Indian male consumer is more price sensitive than its counterparts in western countries, they don’t hesitate to pay premium for cosmetics products when it comes to feeling good and looking attractive,” states the India-based market analyst.
Anti-ageing boom
Kuick claims that the consumption of cosmetics products by Indian men has witnessed an upward trend in recent years.
Indian males are now on par with female consumers when it comes to using cosmetics products like face creams, anti-dark circle cream as well as anti-wrinkle products.
“In our survey results, most of the men were found using cosmetics products even if these products are available for female consumers,” says Kuick.
Opportunity knocks
However, despite the increasing popularity of these products, the male cosmetics market in India is still in its infancy stage; offering a good opportunity to cosmetics companies which are planning to target male consumers in the region in the coming years.
The market is anticipated to witness double digit growth in the next few years driven by an increase in spending and changing lifestyle amongst male consumers.
Kuick believes that the market is yet to be structured which will definitely help the early entrants to get a high degree of product acceptability among male consumers.