NEW YORK — Procter & Gamble is adding three collections to its Pantene Pro-V hair care brand, as well as several line extensions to existing collections, in a continued effort to reach women’s unmet hair care needs.
All new items will arrive on mass retail shelves in January, making for cramped quarters in the hair care aisle, even though Pantene is trimming the bottom 5 percent of its assortment, said Valerie Garcia, Pantene’s brand manager for the past year and a half. Including the discontinued items, Pantene’s sku count will grow to more than 150 in February. Garcia explained that despite Pantene’s breadth of sku’s, the new line is worthy of additional space, since at the heart of the products is Pantene’s next generation of formulas.
“Pantene Pro-V Restoratives is a supercharged Pantene to satisfy the 40 percent of women who purchase shampoo looking to solve a hair problem,” Garcia said of the new subbrand. Within Restoratives are lines targeting breakage and frizz for the general market, as well as items for ethnic hair under Pantene’s Relaxed & Natural brand.
The discontinuation of underperforming Pantene sku’s, as well as the scaling back of competitors’ value brands by retailers, may offer retail shelves some breathing room. But retail incentives abound as many of Pantene Pro-V’s lines are very successful, despite a competitive market. Pantene remains the world’s leading hair care brand with nearly $2.5 billion in global annual sales, Garcia said.
At 59 years old, Pantene has gone head-to-head with the competition, especially in the past two years. Garnier Fructis, launched in 2004, is now the top-selling regular shampoo sku for the 52-week period ended Sept. 4, according to Information Resources Inc., followed by Unilever’s Dove, which also was launched last year. P&G’s Clairol Herbal Essences is now the third best-selling sku, Unilever’s Suave Naturals ranks fourth and L’Oréal Vive comes in at number five.
While Pantene doesn’t appear on the bestsellers list until the sixth ranking (Smooth & Sleek), its individual Pro-V items claim the seventh (Classically Clean), eighth (Sheer Volume), ninth (Daily Moisture Renewal), 11th (Color Revival) and 12th (Full & Thick) best-selling spots for a total of $174 million in regular shampoo sales in food, drug and mass stores, excluding Wal-Mart.
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The new Pantene items targeting hair breakage and frizz could generate $80 million in first-year sales volume, according to industry sources, and that’s only considering shampoo and conditioner sales, not vanity items also in the line.
And, the new items do target some of the major hair concerns of women today, according to Pantene’s research. Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Breakage Defense targets the 41 percent of women who said their hair breaks each day, with about 32 percent of this group concerned about the amount of hair they are losing.
For African-Americans, those numbers jump significantly. Pantene research found that about 70 percent of African-American women suffer from breakage, which can be related to overstyling, bad combing and overrelaxing.
Restoratives Breakage Defense will provide 90 percent less hair fall in just one month with the use of its shampoo and conditioner, Garcia said. With Relaxed & Natural Breakage Defense, the items targeting African-Americans, up to 50 percent less breakage can be realized in just two months, the brand claimed.
“Considering how chronic hair breakage is, that possibility is mind-blowing,” Garcia said of the products’ results.
Restoratives Breakage Defense technology is designed to target the areas of the hair vulnerable to breakage, a zone that is midshaft, about 3 to 4 inches from the scalp. Most breakage happens in the wet state, when hair is filled with water after showering and is incredibly fragile. Formulas, especially those found in Restoratives’ conditioner, lay down cataionic surfactants to create a frictionless layer on the surface of hair.
The line’s vanity products also contain a large amount of active ingredients, such as the Detangling Leave-In Crème. The general market line consists of a shampoo, conditioner, a Strengthening Lotion, the Detangling Leave-In Crème and a Strengthening Spray; Relaxed & Natural Anti-Breakage shampoo and conditioner is designed for the ethnic market.
The cataionic technology comes at a more premium price: 8.5-oz. containers retail for between $4.99 and $5.99, rather than $3.99 for 13.5 oz. — the usual price for many Pantene Pro-V items.
Aiming to boost sales even further, Pantene isn’t stopping at Restoratives Breakage Defense but is also tackling the ever-present issue of frizz. Pantene Pro-V Frizz Control targets the 53 percent of women who spend more time managing their frizz than exercising.
Formulas contain a “cataionic surfactant and a hydrophobic water-hating ingredient” to fill in hair pores and “create a raincoat for the hair to lock out moisture,” said Cheri McMaster, principal scientist for Pantene Pro-V. The line includes a shampoo, a conditioner, an Anti-Humidity Hairspray, an Extra-Strength Serum and an Ultra-Smoothing Balm.
An antifrizz collection for Hispanics, Pantene Pro-V Anti-Esponjado, is coming to the U.S. after experiencing success in Latin America. The line, which consists of a shampoo and a conditioner, joins the Extra Straight/Extra Liso collection and targets the 80 percent of Hispanic women who cite frizz as the culprit that keeps them from achieving their desired hair look.
In addition to fighting problem hair, Pantene is adding on to its successful Expressions line, an estimated $50 million line at retail, which targets different hair colors. Three items have been created for those with blonde highlights — a shampoo, a conditioner and a shimmer lock gel — to make highlights more brilliant. The trio will enter the market under the existing Blonde Expressions range.
For brunettes, there’s an Intense Hydrating shampoo and conditioner, available in two shades, to address brunettes who said their hair is too dry. The items will be sold within the Brunette Expressions range.
And, to be sure all consumers are covered, P&G is launching Silver Expressions, to target the 7 percent of women who have gray, white or silver hair, of which 42 percent said they can’t find any hair care options to help brighten their hair. Silver Expressions, as well as the other line extensions, will retail for $6.49.
Print ads to support the launches will begin appearing in January beauty magazines.