Is the perception of low-cost personal care products changing? According to arecent Canadean survey, 74% of consumers globally find price an important factor when choosing a personal care product, while 56% say promotional offers are important. Moreover, the mindset that inexpensive private label personal care products are less effective is changing across the globe, with 49% of consumers agreeing or strongly agreeing that discounters and private label offerings are the same as branded products, only packaged differently. “This new generation of savvy shoppers often feels proud about finding a private label bargain in the personal care aisle,” says Joanne Hardman, analyst at Canadean.
  
While private label has traditionally targeted a lower-end market, private label manufacturers are now also expanding their ranges to meet the needs of consumers who look for good value. “In order to challenge brands, private label needs to position products as being better or at least as good as branded alternatives,” says Hardman. “Manufacturers need to continue to shift consumer attitude towards a positive image of private label by offering good-value-for-money products that people can trust.” For example, many private labels are offering inexpensive alternatives with a packaging design similar to that of a well-known brand in order to instill brand confidence in consumers and simplify the product choice by providing an obvious comparison.
 
Canadean also finds that almost half (49%) of consumers globally agree that they like to buy personal care products that are reflective of their attitudes and opinions in life. This highlights opportunities for private labels to better establish their products in the market by pairing up with popular bloggers and personal care gurus. Hardman says: “Bloggers offer a first-hand opinion of new products and give consumers confidence to explore personal care offerings they may not have thought of trying before. Brands are already successful in this channel, which means that private label needs to catch up with this trend to capture consumer attention and compete in the market.”