With Veet’s venture into the Rs 5000 crore male-grooming industry, ‘the whole pie is poised to grow’: Pankaj Duhan

• Currently, the male grooming industry is estimated at ₹5,000 crore and is growing at a rapid rate of 50% CAGR. And since there is no brand catering to men for hair removal needs, with Veet’s new venture, the ‘whole pie is poised to grow.’
• The brand has on-boarded Kartik Aaryan as the brand ambassador for Veet Men and launched a new campaign called #FindYourSexy.
• To build a buzz on social media, Kartik Aaryan also started a debate on #BodyHairOrBodyBare -- how do men and women like it?

It was in the early 90’s that body hair was considered ‘masculine’ and flaunted on the big screens. And now, with Veet’s entry into the men’s grooming segment, people have started sharing their opinions on men’s body hair - whether they like it bare or natural.

Currently, the male grooming industry is estimated at ₹5,000 crore and is growing at a rapid rate of 50% CAGR. And since there is no brand catering to men for hair removal needs, with Veet’s new venture, the ‘whole pie is poised to grow,’ says Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB South Asia Health.

Veet Men conducted a survey that was focused on finding out what makes a man attractive and the questions were related to body hair. According to the study by InMobi, 87% of women think it is important for men to take care of their grooming and appearance. The study was conducted in August 2019 among men and women of 25 to 44 years of age, across metros including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata.

While the study was only conducted in metro cities, Duhan says the plan is to expand its presence beyond it. “Our target audience goes well beyond metros. In today’s connected world, we find that adoption of new behaviors and practices is not confined to any specific geography. It’s more about tapping into the right mindset. We are taking our distribution presence to cover all major cities.”

Marketing Strategy and Target Audience

The brand has already started a conversation on social media to destimagise body hair removal by reaching out to different kinds of influencers such as Shakti Mohan, Neha Dhupia, Krystle D’Souza, Ali Faizal, Apartshakti Khurrana, to name a few. They are sharing their opinions on body hair -- if they like it bare or not.

View this post on Instagram

Clean=Smooth=Sexy! This is my formula of choice while answering this question! But what is yours? Do you feel the same? Comment below with what you find sexy..Body Hair or Body Bare? #FindYourSexy @kartikaaryan

A post shared by Shakti Mohan (@mohanshakti) on Nov 3, 2019 at 1:29am PDT

Apart from the social conversation under #FindYourSexy, Veet Men has roped in Kartik Aaryan as its brand ambassador, who is known for his ‘boy next door’ image and cuts across class.

“We were looking for a face that genuinely believes in the proposition and embodies the character of the brand. Kartik Aaryan is the right fit to take the brand to all the men across India who want to be better groomed when it comes to their bodies,” says Duhan.

“We find that the love of sports, gymming and personal grooming cuts across all Tiers and that’s what the brand appeals to. Our media, distribution plans and choice of ambassador all reflect this strategy,” he adds.

Veet Men has also launched a TVC with its endorser Aaryan. #FindYourSexy is a holistic, multi-touchpoint campaign that aims to establish Veet for Men as a one stop solution for body hair removal.


Inspiration Behind the New Venture

On what inspired Veet, that has been known for catering to women for decades now, to venture into the men’s segment, Duhan says ‘The brand has received a lot of queries and requests on different platforms asking for hair removal products dedicated to men.’ Therefore, Veet thought of creating a new segment of Veet for Men hair removal creams.

“Today’s savvy cosmopolitan men are ready to experiment and strive for a well-groomed look. The perception of what a well-groomed man has changed significantly. As a result, male grooming industry is growing significantly. The number of products available and the increasing number of men's saloons indicates that men are already spending big on their grooming. We felt, Indian men are underserved with the kind of solutions present in the market. We combined our consumer understanding and existing expertise residing within Veet to launch the product range,” he elaborates.

Right now, there are two variants available – Veet Men Normal and Veet Men Sensitive are available in 25g, 50g and 100 g packs each.