The rise of men’s grooming: What’s driving the boom in personal care
In the world of beauty products, the men’s grooming category used to be an afterthought. There were plenty of intriguing individual products available, but as a whole, the market was so small that it was barely worth mentioning.
Not anymore. As many of the companies making those intriguing products can attest, the growth in men’s grooming has made the category a major force. In fact, on a percentage basis, men’s grooming is now growing faster than women’s beauty markets, which has long been a powerhouse economic force of its own.
Men’s grooming products growth: By the numbers
The key number in examining these trends is the CAGR, i.e., the compound annual growth rate. According to Grand View Research, the global CAGR for men’s grooming products from 2023 to 2030 is 8%, and the US market is slightly higher at 8.3%.
Breaking down the women’s market is trickier, mostly because there are multiple categories and some of them are quite large. The overall CAGR is 7.7%, but that’s slightly deceptive.
Why? Because it includes the cosmetics segment CAGR, which is expected to rise by 6.1% from 2024 to 2030. That number is dragging down the overall growth numbers for women, but it’s still remarkable that the market for men’s grooming products is growing that quickly.
A growth rate of 8% for men’s products versus 6.1 for women’s cosmetics is almost 25% higher, a number that would have been unimaginable just a decade or two ago.
Trend drivers: Societal and product specific
At first glance, the explosive growth of men’s grooming products is a little difficult to understand, largely because a combination of trends is driving it.
The societal drivers start with a shift in grooming norms. Men are now encouraged to embrace the potential of grooming products, leading to a wider array of available products. This has encouraged innovation, especially when it comes to premium-level products.
These trends go hand-in-hand with the growth of e-commerce. Grand View Research has this growth pegged at 12.8% from 2024-2030, while Digital Commerce 360 pins it down even further, citing a growth rate of 5.6% for the Top Thousand retailers in men’s grooming products, versus an overall rate of 3% for the health and beauty category as a whole.
Social media influencers are getting in on the act, too. The platforms they’re using may be less stable these days, but there are still plenty of choices, and many influencers are promoting premium products. They’re creating a higher level of awareness about the importance of self-care and personal hygiene, and that trend seems unlikely to reverse itself any time soon.
Size matters when it comes to the overall market
As revelatory as this news about the growth of men’s grooming products is, it’s also important to put it in context. The overall market for women’s beauty products was estimated at just under $560B in 2023, while the men’s grooming products market was valued at just over $200B the year before that, so the men won’t be catching up any time soon.
But there’s no doubting the importance of this kind of growth. It’s been in the wind for a while given some of the trends driving it, and there’s no reason to think it will stop or slow down any time soon. More and more men are putting together their own personal grooming routines, and companies are supplying the products to help them succeed — which is only a win for your toiletry kit.
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