Science a selling point in mature Philippines haircare market

Gino Borromeo, vice-president and head of planning at McCann Worldgroup Philippines, said that in a market where 80 per cent of the population is considered poor, hair is linked to dignity and self-respect.

“As one mother puts it, ‘Pangit na nga buhay ko, pati ba naman ako, pangit din?’ [My life is already not that beautiful. Can I at least not be ugly too?],” he said. “Bad hair is seen as a signal of a woman being pabaya [negligent]. And continuous pabaya leads a woman to becoming losyang [‘letting go of one’s self’].”

He added that for Filipino women, haircare is closely linked to hygiene, femininity and the ability to keep husbands faithful.

The sachet market
The Philippines market is also known as a ‘sachet’ market, as it is cheaper for consumers to buy just one sachet than a bottle to experience a new product, according to Onik Barbosa, group account director, P&G Asean at Leo Burnett Manila.

Brands such as Vaseline Shampoo, Clear and Rejoice are players in the sachet business.

Consumers in the Philippines are accustomed to trying and using several brands at once. Borromeo noted that variant loyalty in The Philippines is stronger than brand loyalty, partly driven by curiosity and novelty.

“[It is] also fuelled by the Filipino concept of hiyang, which loosely translates to 'works for me',” he said. “Consumers are in constant pursuit of the perfect hiyang hair care product for them.”

Do Bagcal, business unit director at Lowe Philippines, noted that the right packaging is essential in the market, especially in the case of imported shampoo brands that often come in bigger bottles. Price is also a critical factor, Bagcal said.

International haircare brands, such as L’Oréal (Elseve), Tresemmé, St. Ive’s, White Rain, Syoss and VO5, are well established in the market, and more are coming. In the past two years, Barcelona’s Lakme haircare and Canada’s Cynos were launched in the country.

Bagcal said 'for salon use' brands are very popular, as it is often the closest a broad-based consumer can get to an expensive salon treatment. “This is why Rejoice has been very successful,” he said. “It promises hair-spa treatment benefits. Recently, L’Oréal and Tresemmé seemed to have been well accepted for the same reason.”

He added that popularity is growing for these salon-style shampoo brands, especially as they are already offered in sachets. Tresemmé and L'Oréal have also gone into sachet formats recently.

Nevertheless, Bagcal noted that the Philippine economy is improving and that broad-based consumer households can now stock up on bigger-sized shampoo bottles.

“Imported brands will continue to be an aspiration and given a value price-point, they will surely use more of these imported brands,” he said.

Besides price, other key consumer considerations for a brand to stand out are new technology, benefits and celebrity endorsements.

Changing market
The market is evolving, Borromeo said, to where “science and technology is now beating nature/organic”, and this trend is already reflected in the products and in their marketing communications activity.

Brands are also positioning themselves around benefits and beauty mindsets. For example, Tressemme aims to convey salon glamour, while Sunsilk positions its product as expert-created shampoos that address specific needs.

“Brands in the category have traditionally positioned themselves against a specific consumer group, for example: Sunsilk and Rejoice are for the masses, Pantene is for the upscale, Palmolive is for the young, Vaseline is for families, while Head and Shoulders is for men,” Borromeo said.

He added that product development is moving towards benefits that address new and emerging consumer needs, such as the rise of anti-ageing shampoos. “It is tapping into the cultural tension being created by the blurring of age lines among women, as portrayed in media and in popular culture, which are making women more conscious about ageing, even as early as their 20s,” he said.

Statistics
Borromeo noted that the competition is fierce, and the heavy marketing communications activity has extended into the digital space.

“For example, Sunsilk has the 15^th most popular Facebook page in the Philippines, with 1.1 million fans,” he added. “It has more fans than brands like Axe, McDonald’s and Nike Basketball PH.”

A Filipino woman generally spends about US$10 on haircare per month, Bagcal said, adding that sales value of total liquid shampoo in the market is nearly $85 million and sales volume is about 1.4 million litres, with spending increasing at an average of 10 to 15 per cent annually.

The top three retail players are Unilever, P&G and Colgate-Palmolive. While Unilever and P&G have more brands in the category, Palmolive Natural has the biggest market share, he noted, followed by Sunsilk of Unilever and Head & Shoulders of P&G.

Other key brands include Clear, Vaseline, Dove, Pantene and Rejoice, with an average of two to three variants per brand launched every year.

Other active categories in the market include telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, skincare and quick service restaurants, Barbosa said.