Growing facial hair: Q&A with Universal Beauty Products' Howard Brauner

With the growing popularity of beards among men, Universal Beauty Products is launching an all-natural line called Beard Guyz. Drug Store News recently caught up with Universal Beauty Products' Howard Brauner to talk about the new line and opportunities in male facial hair.

DSN: Tell us about the new line of beard/shaving products?



Howard Brauner: Universal Beauty Products is introducing a line of all-natural personal care products for men with facial hair — Beard Guyz. This line has been formulated with top-shelf ingredients: organic oils for moisturizing and natural butters for softening. All formulated ingredients are natural. The Beard Guyz products include:

• 
  Beard Wash 35


• 
  Deep Conditioner 25


• 
  Beard Balm 25 for Fine/Medium Hair


• 
  Beard Balm 25 for Coarse Hair


• 
  Beard Oil 25.

(The number in the name relates to the number of active ingredients found in the product. For example, Beard Oil 25 is a blend of 25 organic and natural oils for skin and hair.)

 

DSN: What trends in grooming support this launch?



Brauner: The number of men with beards has been climbing year-over-year, with 17% annual growth since 2008. Currently 27% of all men are estimated* to have facial hair. At the same time, shaving products sales have declined, which independently confirms the trend.

Put simply: more and more men are growing beards. Beard Guyz satisfies the un-met market need for a quality line of beard care products.

DSN: How do you plan on supporting this launch?



Brauner: The Beard Guyz launch is supported by a fully integrated marketing program that includes: advertising in national magazines, online media, social media, event marketing, engagement marketing, product sampling and public relations.   

DSN: What is the retailers’ opportunity?



Brauner: Beard Guyz gives the retailers a unique opportunity to provide a non-competitive product, while satisfying an unserved consumer need. Beard Guyz provides a high profit margin in a category where the margin is currently low. The steady decline in razor sales has caused a ripple effect for shaving preps. Now the retailer can replace lower-margin slow-sellers with a new product that provides higher penny profits.

* All grooming and demographic numbers are from Experian research.