Online Exclusive: Deodorants Help Drive Metal Aerosol Can Fortunes

The deodorants category, the single largest user of metal aerosol cans, offers strong volume growth prospects.

by Rosemarie Downey, packaging research manager, Euromonitor International

Global retail aerosol demand is concentrated within the beauty and home care industries, with these two

Rosemarie Downey, Euromonitor International

consumer markets together representing 90% of the 6.8 billion metal aerosol cans sold across the global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) marketplace in 2011. Key end-use applications include deodorant sprays, insecticides, air fresheners and styling agents, which accounted for 69% of retail aerosol unit volume sales in 2011.

The deodorants category, the single largest user of metal aerosol cans, also offers strong volume growth prospects. With retail sales set to rise by 4.4% this year, the number of aerosol cans in deodorants is forecast to break the two billion mark in 2012.

Regionally, growth trends differ. Europe is the most important region when it comes to deodorant sprays, accounting for 40% of global sales in 2011. It will help drive the category in 2012 and beyond. Western European sales of deodorant sprays are forecast to rise by 3% in 2012, with this performance being largely propelled by widespread consumer acceptance and the still rising use of deodorant sprays in core countries such as the UK, Germany and France.

North America is alone in eschewing the spray format and instead opting for stick deodorants in rigid plastic packaging. Sprays account for just 14% of the region’s deodorant sales compared to a much more robust 57% share in Western Europe. Maturity in the US and Canada, along with a high rate of penetration and a consumer preference for stick deodorants, will make organic growth of aerosol deodorants hard to come by.

The best emerging market opportunities for aerosol can sales lie in Asia Pacific, and specifically India, where national spending on deodorant sprays rose by 38% in 2011 to reach $237 million. With usage low at just 10ml per capita compared with 559ml in the UK, the potential for expansion is enormous. Market leader Hindustan Unilever, for instance, managed to triple sales of its Dove brand between 2009 and 2011.

The hygienic attributes of deodorant sprays make this the preferred delivery format for families to share. India will remain a lucrative market for aerosol sprays and will lead Asia Pacific growth in deodorants to 2015 as rising consumer wealth puts the purchase of deodorants within the reach of more consumers. Rising uptake will also be due to Indian consumers responding well to products supported by compelling advertising campaigns using Bollywood actors. As such, deodorant sprays in India are forecast an 18% unit volume CAGR over 2011-2015.

Buoyant global demand for aerosol deodorant sprays is being underpinned by the many and varied

North America is alone in eschewing the spray format and instead opting for stick deodorants in rigid plastic packaging.

innovative strategies of brand owners in terms of product formulation. Increasingly marketed and seen as lifestyle products, value is being added to deodorants through fragrance, natural ingredients and performance attributes. Gender-specific deodorants are another strategy aiming to expand consumer reach.

Skin-friendly products are, for instance, gaining traction, as are deodorants, which offer a longer-lasting performance. Such attributes are serving to boost deodorant sales and global demand for metal aerosol cans. Line extensions from leading brand owners such as Unilever and Beiersdorf seek to engage with consumers through sensory and performance enhancements.

Targeting the natural beauty trend, L’Oréal’s Garnier Mineral Deodorants range was one prominent new addition in 2011. Also offering improved performance in the UK is Unilever’s Sure Maximum Protection, a 48-hour antiperspirant line, covering both the men’s and women’s categories. Some new brands promote dryness, such as Lynx Dry Full Control. Others are offering day-long freshness, such as Unilever’s new Sure Women deodorant range, thanks to the use of microcapsules which sit on the skin’s surface and break to release a burst of freshness as the wearer moves. These are just some of the new product lines to grace retail shelves and expand spray deodorants far beyond being just conventional antiperspirant/deodorants.

With an increasing array of added-value product lines to be found across the deodorants spectrum, the aerosol can has also come under scrutiny from a design perspective. Shape, colour and texture are important tools used by brand owners to convey fragrance and functionality benefits to the end consumer. Dove employs the same shape across much of its range of deodorants, serving to strengthen brand equity, with its male-specific line, Dove Men+Care, being the main exception.

As use of shape has become more commonplace, aluminum as a base material has made significant gains. Aluminum’s aesthetic qualities as a one-piece container, along with its suitability for producing customized shapes have increased the application of aluminum at the expense of tinplate in the deodorants category in recent years. Furthermore, as the price differential between aluminum and steel is lower among smaller aerosol sizes and narrow can diameters, and with the global average pack size of deodorants at 143ml, the likelihood is that aluminum will further encroach on steel’s position in the deodorants category.