The Top Three Popular Trends in the Professional Nail Care Market
The dynamic professional nail care market continues on its evolution path with new innovations and trends. The boundaries between categories start to blur, as marketers continue to launch products that are either cross category or similar in results to products from another category. Let’s take a look at the top three trends and innovations from this market in 2016:
1. Top coats with gel-like results – Originally started by L’Oréal with the launch of Essie Gel Setter in 2015, this new trend makes big waves in 2016 with several marketers launching similar variants. When applied on nail lacquer without UV/LED curing, these top coats give a gel-like result, such as high shine, long-wear, and chip-resistance.Continue reading
Does TENS Technology Impact the U.S. OTC Industry?
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) technology has existed for over 50 years, but such devices have only been in the consumer marketplace since 2006-2007. Today, over 500 manufacturers of TENS products are registered with the FDA, and this number continues to increase. Innovation, convenience, and the ease of use of TENS devices, coupled with consumers’ increasing demand for non-drug options to prevent and alleviate pain, have helped boost sales of such devices.
The introduction of Sanofi’s Icy Hot TENS device in November 2014 had a big impact on this market segment, resulting in a 15% sales increase. Backed by an intensive marketing campaign, wide retail distribution through drug store chains and mass retailers, and a moderate price point of about $40.00-$50.00, this game-changer device helped increase Sanofi’s sales by more than 20%, as well as taking the leading spot in the at-home TENS devices market in the United States.Continue reading
Synthetic Biology: Changing the Face of Personal Care
In the last 20 years, billions of dollars have been spent on the development of more sustainable fuels and chemicals. Yet this revolutionary threat has not lived up to the hype. Chemical companies dealing with low oil prices and margins have every right to be skeptical of the bio-based solutions that have pretty much failed to reach economic viability.
At the same time, consumer markets have changed dramatically. Both millennials and their parents have embraced the shared economy, social networking, continuous communication, asynchronous media, gaming, GPS, and soon artificial intelligence—essentially valuing “information” far greater than the built environment—cars and homes and the chemicals they are made from. Indeed, consumer markets have changed dramatically with two big exceptions: continued concerns over individual health and the impact of global warming. Continue reading
Kline PRO Delivers Breakthrough Data for the Salon Hair Care Industry
The salon hair care market is notoriously difficult to measure because it is more fragmented than nearly all other industries. With over 170,000 locations, mostly controlled by sole proprietors, and growth of booth rentals adding to the fragmentation, quantitative gathering of credible data has been practically impossible…until now. Through the revolutionary Kline PRO, we have done what nobody else has been able to do—a tool that measures sales of products both into salons, as well as into the hands of consumers, and now also services.
From the beginning of 2016, service dollars and number of transactions are being tracked and reported for seven different categories that include typical services, such as haircutting and coloring to “other,” which ranges from beard services and eyebrow tinting. Data shows which services are trending and the average price for each of them—even down to a region of the United States and the size of the salon.Continue reading
The Face of the Jan/San Market Continues to Change
Over the past several years, there have been many high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. jan/san market, such as Ecolab’s acquisition of Swisher Hygiene and Sealed Air’s acquisition of Diversey. However, as these businesses are being integrated into their larger parent companies, the portion of the business that does not match the parent company’s core strengths or vision for the future are being divested. According to Kline’s data, the 10 leading suppliers of jan/san cleaning products account for 37% of total sales in 2014. The market continues to change, with companies strengthening their positions in their usual segments, as well as entering new segments through mergers and acquisitions.Continue reading
How Is Korean Beauty Making an Impact?
As a symbol of looking beautiful at every age with a youthful, dewy complexion, Korean beauty has been the most talked about trend in the U.S. beauty industry for the past few years. The offer of a personalized, targeted approach to beauty addressing specific skin concerns and offering value for money has resonated with U.S. beauty lovers looking for the next best thing to cater to their needs. Drawing on the recently published K-Beauty: Riding the Wave in the United States, Kline’s beauty experts answer some questions on K-beauty and its impact on the U.S. beauty market.Continue reading
How Well Do You Understand the Natural Consumer?
Consumers’ desire for natural products doesn’t pertain only to foods and beverages, but extends into many other areas, including personal care products and OTC medicines. Consumers are increasingly aware of ingredients and seek transparency in labeling for products that will be applied topically or ingested. Environmental concerns, green consciousness, and sustainability are important to consumers who are driving strong growth of natural products in both the personal care and natural OTC markets. The U.S. market for natural personal care products has grown over 7% recently while the U.S. market for natural OTC medicines has grown over 11%, fueled by growing consumer awareness and interest in using these products.
In a recent survey of American adult consumers conducted by Kline, 46% note they used natural OTCs both for prevention of illness and to treat themselves when they are sick. Over time, the use of natural OTCs has increased, with 50% of consumers indicating more usage now than one year ago, and nearly two-thirds noting they buy and use natural OTCs more now than they did five years ago.Continue reading
Floor care robots and wide area air care products steal the ISSA Interclean Show
Last week, Kline attended the ISSA Interclean Show in Chicago, and it was great to see so many exhibitors and clients. It seems that the industry is starting to catch up to technology with the release of floor care robots. Sealed Air Taski’s Intellibot Aerobot 1850 and Minuteman’s Autonomy Roboscrub machine were of the more prevalent robots roaming around and cleaning floors. In addition to being a first-time exhibitor at the show, the Autonomy by Brain Corp. product won the “Innovation of the Year” award from ISSA. The company’s concept is to further the knowledge towards autonomous, machine-learning systems. Continue reading
Skin Rejuvenation: From Tattoo Removal to Fine Lines
Getting a tattoo is no longer a lifetime commitment with the new removal techniques available. During a tattoo, ink permeates the skin to varying degrees. Depending on the color, depth of the needle, and the type of ink used, tattoos can look fresh and vibrant for long periods of time. However, what happens when the ink fades and the customer is left with a faded, blurry unappealing mark? The options are limited to having the tattoo covered, redone, or removed. In this day and age of millennials, blemished skin is no longer an option.
Technology has finally caught up to the way artists “sling ink” for removal. Various fade creams have always touted the ability to help remove or pull out the ink. However, laser removal has advanced to the point that, in most cases, tattoos can be completely removed, but, this option is not without substantial pain and cost.Continue reading
Biostimulants Market Requires Cultivation, Yet is Poised for Double-digit Growth through 2020
The current biostimulants market is estimated at over $1 billion at the end user level in seven key markets analyzed by Kline’s upcoming report, Global Biostimulants: An Overview of the Market and Use. Field crops is the largest use of biostimulants, followed closely by fruit and vegetable crops. The combined countries of Europe have the largest use of biostimulants and are about as large as the collective total use in the United States and Brazil.
There is no strict legal or regulatory definition of plant biostimulants anywhere in the world, which often leads to confusion on the marketplace, but it is generally accepted that biostimulants are or come from natural sources. However, this description often builds a gray line between biopesticides, fertilizers, and biostimulants, as some materials classified as biopesticides work by enhancing or activating a plant’s own defense mechanisms; however, they may also increase root growth or abiotic stress resistance. Similarly, some biostimulants have nutritional value or are included in fertilizers to increase nutrient uptake and are sold as fertilizers, sometimes with and sometimes without biostimulant claims.Continue reading
