Bulldog boss tips on conquering the male grooming segment

23-Nov-2012 - Last updated on 03-May-2013 at 08:12 GMT

As the natural cosmetics market continues to evolve, co-founder Simon Duffy of UK male grooming brand Bulldog reveals the ins and outs of building a successful international distribution network, as the company continues to successfully expand its presence globally.

Appearing at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, Duffy highlighted amongst other aspects, that with segmentation occurring and brands targeting specific consumer groups, a strong brand, and an open and transparent relationship with the consumer is key.

Strong brand

According to the Bulldog boss, the male skin care market can lack innovation and relies heavily on companies that offer ‘for men’ variants of female products; “brands can swim in a sea of sameness or make too much of a unisex compromise."

“I think this is one of the key reasons why the male skin care category is currently smaller than the female equivalent,” he adds.

When it comes to the Bulldog line, Duffy says the range is specifically designed to offer men the personable approach, to cut out the language barrier – and ultimately provide a straightforward masculine choice of skin care products.

“I think our success comes down to the fact that we’ve found that these factors appeal to men, whether they regularly use grooming products or are newcomers to the male grooming category.”

Transparency

The co-founder then moved on to highlight that when it comes to the topical issue of sustainability, Bulldog has ensured that they have strict controls and policies in place that govern the use of the ingredients used.

“Our products never contain parabens, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colours or synthetic fragrances and we have only ever used naturally derived surfactants and are committed to on-going product improvements over time,” he explains.

The CEO also reveals that the company’s website has a dedicated section in regards to openness and transparency in terms of what ingredients go into the product range, an effort he says, to better establish a closer relationship to the consumer.

The Bulldog boss delivered a presentation on the matter at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, in Paris last week.

Expansion

Back in May, Cosmetics Design caught up with Duffy on the announcement that the company was expanding into Australia with the first of five international launches to take place throughout 2012.

“Australia has always been one of the markets that we wanted to expand to… like in the UK, men needed a real choice of male skin care products, beyond those offered by the typical mainstream brands,” he had then told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.