The Business Of Grooming Men

Vanity isn’t unmasculine, according to L’oréal’s Henric Sark

- Hannah Choo

IF YOU HAVE NEVER put moisturiser on your face or masked your skin in sunblock, that now puts you in the minority. The male grooming business is booming. The year 2013 saw the first time men spent more on male-specific products than just aftershave, and the market continues to grow. Henric Sark, the manager for L’Oréal Singapore, shares more on the male grooming movement and what the group does to keep itself ahead.

For the longest time, men have stumped the beauty industry. What has L’Oréal done to crack this “bro code”?

It depends on what category we are talking about. While men are heavy users of haircare, skincare is where we have seen tremendous improvement. This happened through dedicated lines for men, such as Biotherm Homme. Makeup, on the other hand, is still at its early stages, though we believe that men are increasingly interested in skin perfectors like light foundation. In fact, in 2016, L’Oréal UK was one of the first cosmetic brands to feature a man in their True Match campaign.

What is the key to selling beauty products to men?