18 INTERVIEW
“A lot of brands are very smartly playing with the combination of modern and traditional. So, you’ll have a
vitamin C and turmeric serum, for example” Tanya Rajani, Mintel associate director for beauty and personal care for India
TP: Tell me about the hair care market in India. TR: If you asked me what is the bigger focus between hair care and skin care for the Indian consumer, it would be hair care. Hair care is king.
TP: What is trending in hair care? TR: Until very recently, hair oil was hands down the market leader. It was the go-to for pretty much everything. But now, shampoo has finally
taken over from hair oil in terms of usage. Over 80% of consumers use shampoo. Only 25% use conditioners. Hair care routines are not as
extensive as they are in some other markets, but in metro cities we are seeing serums and other leave-in treatments eat into hair oil’s market share. This is because they’ve positioned themselves as being easy to use, quick, efficient, and with better aromas. A leading factor for an Indian
consumer in choosing a hair treatment is a pleasant fragrance, which is quite interesting because a lot of hair oil brands in India do not highlight their pleasing aromas. That’s such a missed opportunity, because that’s exactly what consumers want. Hair treatments are doing that, whether it smells of jasmine or rose or lavender.
TP: Why aren’t hair oils being highlighted for their pleasant aroma? TR: The key reason for using hair
PERSONAL CARE January 2025
oils is for giving healthy, thick and strong hair. Hair treatments are going more specific. They’re highlighting frizz or shine, or helping with dry, brittle hair. This is what I was referring to
earlier about the more evolved Indian consumer, because they want more than just healthy hair. They want specific claims, specific benefits.
The hair care space is also
seeing a lot of use of new ingredients, even in hair oil, such as hibiscus and rosemary.
TP: Why do you think that is? TR: Hair oil is a completely ubiquitous product so brands are looking to bring in newness, and the way they’re bringing in newness is with ingredients. Of course, hair oils can’t
really do away with their natural positioning, which is why ingredients like hibiscus, rosemary, argan oil, and jojoba are all coming to market. We’ve also seen the skinification
trend make its way into shampoo. Take L’Oreal, which sells shampoo with hyaluronic acid. We’re also beginning to see
some of the DTC players - who are usually first movers of innovation in India - looking at bringing in these actives like hyaluronic acid and ceramides.
TP: What is the main ingredient used in hair oils? TR: Coconut oil. Even today, it is
the number one. You cannot do away with it. You cannot overlook it. But, like I said, they’re now
increasingly using it in combination with other ingredients, for example brahmi, which is an Ayurvedic herb, and then rosemary or onion to amplify the effectiveness.
TP: How developed is the sun care market in India? TR: It’s huge, and this is has been the most surprising recent development. When I was writing about it in 2019, it was kind of a dead category in India – almost nobody knew what sunscreen was! Innovation was very lacklustre. But in the past year or two,
we have seen a lot of sun care innovation in India in terms of formats - you’re seeing sticks, you’re seeing gels, you’re seeing sprays.
TP: How about incorporating into other products? TR: Currently, we’re still mostly looking at sun care as a step in your skin care regime. There’s also not a lot of awareness about frequent re-application. We’re still getting to using it at least once a day. Because we’re a humid
tropical country, the format and the texture are very important barriers to overcome. We don’t want that white, sticky, oily texture, which is what brands are overcoming.
TP: Turning to global trends, what is your crystal ball telling you about ingredients and consumer demand? TR: We get asked at this at Mintel very often! We think there is going to be lot more focus on how to renovate legacy ingredients. We are already seeing it with some brands, like Olay.
TP: Olay? TR: Olay formulated its Super Serum with niacinamide in a low pH formula to penetrate the skin better, to give better, glowing, brightening results. It’s about looking at new ways of innovating with legacy ingredients and building the link between those ingredients and claims.
TP: Which other ingredients are you seeing as making a comeback in that way? TR: We’re seeing ATP - adenosine triphosphate – being positioned as a replacement for retinol, particularly overuse of retinol, which studies show can lead to dryness and skin irritation. We see that ATP could be an
alternative to retinol for anti- ageing, because it’s kinder to skin and has multiple skin benefits. So, brands who want to kind
of do away with the negative connotation of ageing, or anti- ageing, could look at talking about energizing the skin with ATP, as it’s an energy storage molecule. One particular brand, Doctor
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