Basic, good-for-you beauty products to drive growth

Drug store retailers sense a shift in skin care. While for many years they enjoyed the glowing results of anti-aging, that segment has plateaued. Instead, they are looking to growth from cleansers and therapeutic offers.

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To wit, facial anti-aging sales for the 52-week period ended May 15 across multi-outlets declined 6% to just over $1 billion, according to IRI data. Body anti-aging declined even more at 13%. Facial cleansers, however, jumped 6% to $1.1 billion, and moisturizers are up almost 5%.



Unilever is addressing a huge market need — effective, yet good for you, cleansers. “There is a whole new generation of women [who] haven’t heard of cold cream before and don’t know what it is. Yet they are makeup-savvy — whether it be contouring or strobing. With that much layered makeup, you need a remover that’s going to work and give back to your skin,” said Suzanne Palentchar, brand-building director for skin care at Unilever North America. Unilever is rolling out launches under its Pond’s and Simple Skin-care logos. The company has infused its Pond’s Cold Cream Cleanser into towelettes. While under Simple, the company has improved its facial wipes so that every wipe is more effective and moist right down to the last one in the pack.



At the other end of the market, Chris McClain who helped build such brands as Bodycology, Cantu and Dr. Teal’s is launching a line called Aquation. The modern take on some of the older therapeutic lines focuses on maximum hydration. There are four SKUs in the line, which is testing next month with a major rollout in 2017.