How do Latin American men relate to the naturals trend?

An interest in both sustainability and wellbeing is something both male and female cosmetic and personal care consumers agreeing throughout the region, and it’s a trend that has impacted launches in every category.

In the men’s grooming market, this once dormant part of the market has been invigorated at Millennial and Z Generation consumers become more aware of the importance of their appearance and grooming habits, whilst also looking out for products that are positive for their wellbeing and have a minimal impact on the environment.

Cosmetics Design spoke to Marianna Cyrillo, marketing manager at leading Brazilian natural ingredients provider Beraca to find out how this is impacting the sourcing of formulation for natural products and the types of ingredients that are making the biggest impact for male-targeted cosmetic and personal care products.

Is the naturals trend making a big impact in men’s grooming in the LATAM region?​

The natural trend in Latin America is not a trend anymore, but a Market definition. Naturals are growing and growing, and with the consumer getting more connected and aware of their choices, the demand for the truth is rising. Consumers want to know what is behind a product, their ingredients’ safety and tracebility as well as social and environmental positive impacts, not to mention perceived benefits and efficacy.

This demand is not only driven by women, but by men as well –  although this group is not as big as the female one, Latin American men in recent years have realized that they could take care of themselves and they would need specific products for this, in order to meet their skin´s and hair specificities. For example, in Brazil, where the men´s grooming Market represents 13% of global sales, according to Euromonitor, men´s products are using natural ingredients, claiming their benefits in a direct and easy way for a better understanding.

What sort of brands and products are looking for natural ingredients for men’s grooming in Latin America?​

One of the major trends in Latin America is Indie Brands. By taking a closer approach to the consumer, these companies are focusing on social media and natural ingredients. Brands like Souvie, Almanati and Simple Organic work with clean ingredients showing to the consumer their benefits, histories and what´s behind their sustainable harvesting. Perfect examples of indie brands that target men’s care are Macholandia, Surya Brasil with its Sapien male product line and Feito Brasil Homem.

On the other hand, we cannot forget global companies like L´Oreal and Natura that are focusing their men care product line using natural ingredients, like L´Oreal Elseve Men and Natura Homem Copaíba

What are the main ingredients you are offering for men’s grooming products and what sort of applications do they have?​

Beraca, a pioneer company in sourcing ingredients sustainably harvested from brazilian biodiversity, have specific ingredients for the men care Market, like Ucuuba Butter and Passion Fruit Oil, both 100% natural, vegan, cold pressed and pure.

Ucuuba butter can be used for hair care and beard care products as it promotes matte effect with perceivable moisturization. For skin care, passion fruit oil is lightweight and promotes a dry touch feel on the skin.

What is Beraca’s approach to targeting the men’s grooming market?​

At Beraca we constantly monitor the consumer and future trends in order to offer updated efficacy tests, formulations and prototypes. For the Men Care Market this couldn´t be different – Men are demanding more specific products and formulation, without too many steps and with simple instructions. Our ingredients are aimed at this kind of product, always considering men's specificities, such as skin and hair needs, as well as their approach toward beauty routines and shopping experiences. We think of all these points when developing a new product, marketing material and prototypes for this group. For example, we launched a Beard Butter formulation – a moisturizing paste to control and hydrate the beard, which was vegan and 100% natural.

What is the best advice you can give to men’s grooming brands looking to make their products more natural?​

For brands looking to make their products more natural Beraca´s main advice would be to connect with its consumers. Engage in social media not only to better understand what your consumer is looking for but to show them the truth behind your products – like efficacy tests and ingredient traceability. Make it real, show it is real!