Boots launches fake tan to bronze the British man

The company's own research suggests that good fake tan for men is long overdue and an increasing proportion of the male population is faking the bronzed glow.

According to the research the West Midlands region of the UK is the hub of enthusiasm with 39 per cent of men admitting to 'faking it' many of them using their girlfriend's products.

Two products will be added to the range, No7 Gradual Body Tan and No7 Gradual Tan Face which includes an SPF 15 to protect the face against UV damage.

Boots has tried to make the products attractive to the male consumer by opting for orange and silver packaging that it feels will be sufficiently masculine to not put off the average British man.

Male grooming has potential… The UK-based personal care provider has decided to capitalise on the potential of the male skin care market by launching the No7 range for men earlier this year.

So far eleven products make up the range including the Protect and Perfect anti-ageing serum that proved to be so popular with female consumers.

Boots is not alone in an attempt to corner this market.

Many of the global players have been increasing and diversifying the products they offer to their male consumers and Verdict market research recently tipped men's toiletries as a future growth area.

But skin care is still small However, further market research suggests that although men's toiletries may be a growing category, skin care remains a very small section of the category.

Uptake of new skin care product innovations by British males has been disappointing according to market research company Mintel.

Only an average of £2.50 was spent by each British man on skin care products in 2007, which accounts for a total market size of £57m (€71m), according to the report.

This is less than a tenth of the women's skin care market, which in 2007 was worth approximately £602m. Despite the marketing push from many of the global personal care giants it seems that men's skin care habits are not changing in the UK, as skin care accounted for only 7 per cent of the total men's toiletries market in 2007, up marginally from 6 per cent in 2005.

"Companies have invested huge amounts of money into men's skincare.

And with all the talk of the new age man and metrosexuals, everyone has been waiting for British men to really buy into looking after their skin.

But this has clearly not happened, " said Alexandra Richmond, senior beauty analyst at Mintel.