NEW YORK — Nivea for Men, the top-selling men’s facial skin care line in the U.S., is being relaunched this spring.
The Beiersdorf-owned brand will launch Active Firming Lotion SPF 15, an antiaging treatment item, as well as introduce newly named products and revamped formulations and packaging scheduled to begin shipping to 20,000 and 30,000 mass market doors in March. Products are expected to reach full distribution by May and replace existing Nivea for Men items as they sell through.
“We’re relaunching the whole line in 2006,” said Joe Venezia, marketing manager for Nivea for Men, “to help simplify the shopping experience for men — and hopefully have [male] consumers feel less intimidated by skin care.”
Active Firming Lotion, which is set for a worldwide launch this spring, will be the 17th Nivea for Men item marketed in the U.S. It’s perhaps the most significant aspect of the relaunch because it represents a pure antiaging positioning for Nivea for Men. It also will target a new demographic for the brand — men 40 years old and up.
“This is our first true foray into antiaging,” said Venezia. “It’s our first attempt at going after 40-plus males.” He noted that 70 percent of Nivea for Men consumers are under 44 years old, while 60 percent are under 34 years old.
Two existing Nivea for Men items — Revitalizing Lotion Q10 ($8.99) and Revitalizing Eye Crème Q10 ($9.99) — address antiaging, but are positioned more as “lifestyle” products, according to Venezia: Think recovering after a late night out.
Active Firming Lotion “is taking it a step further,” said Venezia. The item, which is priced at $10.99 for 1.7 oz., is designed to “firm and tighten” the skin in order to “reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,” he said.
The formulation contains creatine, which has been found to provide energy to skin cells. The amino acid that is naturally present in skin cells is believed to diminish over time, in turn giving rise to the appearance of aging. At least three existing Nivea Visage treatment items — dubbed Multiple Results — feature Creatine Complex. Venezia noted, however, that Active Firming Lotion was formulated differently for guys, taking into account men’s thicker, oilier skin, and the fact that men prefer lighter formulations and fragrances.
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Also, consumer testing showed men disliked terms like “antiaging” and “antiwrinkle,” Venezia noted, so the brand went with “active firming” when naming the new product.
Nivea for Men, which has been on the market in Germany for 25 years, was first introduced in the U.S. in 2001 with seven items. As the Nivea for Men assortment expanded in the U.S., products have been grouped into ranges that target different skin types. New packaging will color code the skin type designations, including white for sensitive skin, dark blue for normal-to-dry skin, metallic blue for normal skin and dark green for normal-to-oily skin.
The line’s shave gels are priced at $2.99 and moisturizers are priced at $5.99. As part of the relaunch, the price of aftershave balms will rise from $5.99 to $6.29. Product names have been tweaked and Double Action face wash has been reformulated to have a thicker foaming action.
Citing ACNielsen data, Venezia noted men’s face care is up 41.4 percent in the past year, to $60 million. Nivea, whose share of the category was about 38 percent, predicts the men’s face care market at mass will grow to $100 million by 2010.
The category has seen “two big additions,” noted Venezia, “Gillette Complete Skincare in 2004 and L’Oréal Men’s Expert in 2005. The nice thing is they have added incremental [volume] to the category, helping [teach] men about skin care.”
While Nivea declined comment on sales projections, industry sources speculated the relaunch of Nivea for Men could generate $25 million in retail sales volume in the brand’s first year in full distribution.
To draw attention to the brand in-store, Nivea will launch a shelf talker program, starting with Walgreen Co. Brochures in the units will feature a “skin analyzer,” which is designed to be opened and applied to the skin for 10 seconds, helping customers to determine skin type.
Sampling at golf tournaments and driving ranges will be used to support the launch of Active Firming Lotion. Also, product samples will be placed in Golf Magazine as part of an advertising campaign that is to include a total of 15 to 20 magazines in the sports, music and general interest genres. Network and cable TV advertising also will be employed.