With the market for women's shampoo in Japan
saturated, cosmetics makers are competing to grab the middle-aged
male market with shampoos that strengthen hair and protect against
hair loss.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. began selling a scalp shampoo for men
under its UL OS brand on Sept. 13. Combining ingredients that remove
skin oils and foreign matter from the scalp without damaging the
skin, the company is targeting men in their latter 30s to 40s.
Executive official Chiaki Sakurai says the shampoo "leads to a
healthy scalp."
Although at 1,575 yen for a 300 milliliter bottle the shampoo is
more expensive than many regular shampoos, Sakurai was confident,
saying, "This generation will spend money for quality products."
The men's shampoo market expanded from 7.6 billion yen in 2008 to
11.2 billion yen in 2010. Contributing to that growth was the fact
that relatively expensive scalp shampoo came to account for over
half of sales.
A pioneer in the recent targeting of the middle-aged male
demographic was Angfa Co., which released its men's scalp shampoo
"Scalp D" in 2005. While expensive at 3,800 yen for a 350 milliliter
bottle, the shampoo was received favorably for giving hair volume
and strength. In July this year, cumulative sales of Scalp D reached
four million bottles.
Joining the fray in 2006 was Kao Corp., as it shifted the focus of
its "Success" men's shampoo, first sold in 1987, to one of scalp
care.
Lion Corp. followed in 2007, introducing a shampoo under its "Protec"
brand based on the concept of cleaning skin pores.
"There are 12 million men worried about thinning hair in Japan,"
claims an executive of one cosmetics maker. Many middle-aged men
currently use the same shampoo as the rest of their family, but
makers are betting that if men experience the effects of specialized
scalp shampoo, they will start buying it for their individual use.
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