Manlighet på burk - En kvalitativ studie om relationer och konsumentbarriärer inom kategorin manlig hudvård

Sammanfattning: The beauty industry has experienced a turnover increase of 220 % the last 20 years (Jones, 2010). At the moment the market for men's skin care is seeing the fastest growth rate in the cosmetic industry and multinational companies such as Procter and Gamble and L'Oréal have identified a "multibillion-dollar potential" within the segment. BUT - fresh research from the category leading company L'Oréal, shows that only 48 % of the male consumers use a skin care product specially adapted for men. It further shows that as many as 28 % of these do not even know how that skin care product got into their bathroom cabinet. The purpose of this paper is to get a deeper insight into men's relationship with skin care products and grooming. By studying how seven male consumers perceive the category and how these interpretations affects their consumer behavior, in terms of demand, interaction and exploration, we will get a better understanding of how companies could communicate more effectively to reach this coveted target group. The study is carried out as a qualitative research, through in-depth interviews with carefully selected men and through observations of their bathroom cabinets. I collected valuable information from the respondents about men's secrets about masculinity, embarrassment and consumer demand when it comes to consumption of vulnerable products, such as men's skin care. Furthermore, I have aimed to identify the barriers that prevented the seven male consumers from revel on skin care products. By pondering, reasoning and reflecting with my seven respondents I came to the conclusion that there is doubtfulness in how the beauty industry interprets male consumers needs when it comes to skin care. The respondents seem to perceive the category in a rational way, while the beauty industry rather looks at it in an emotional manner. Thus, beauty companies use inaccurate attributes to desperately enthuse male consumers to a purchase of skin care products.