FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy White
The Natural Marketing Institute
215.513.7300 ext. 225
Nancy.White@NMIsolutions.com

NMI Research Shows: It’s Reigning Men

Sixth in a series of 10 releases based on NMI’s Top Ten Trends of 2007

Harleysville, Pa. (October 2007) – The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services for the health, wellness and sustainability marketplace, today expanded on one of the key trends it has identified as having a significant impact in 2007 and beyond.

Men’s personal care is the fastest growing segment in the bath and body care category. In part driven by the massification of metroxexuals, the most critical aspect of this trend has been the growth of a youth culture which places increasing social and media pressure on men to be young, fit and well groomed. The job market is flooded with aging Boomer men who are striving to maintain their competitive advantage through greater investment in their personal appearance. The culmination of these factors is driving market expansion across generations and giving men a new-found permission to participate fully in the category. Interest in having natural, organic and eco elements to their personal care products (not just in the foods that they eat) and the prevalence of these products in mainstream retail environments is also leading more men to the category.

According to Linda Povey, a Vice President of Strategic Consulting at NMI, “More men are gaining exposure to the personal care category as a direct result of their participation as primary grocery shoppers. Men’s role as the primary grocery shopper has almost doubled from 26% in 1999 to 41% in 2006, allowing them greater access and interaction with products and brands.”

Because of this shift, look for men to become increasingly accommodated in traditionally female environments such as grocery, drug and specialty retail. The challenge will be for retailers to understand how men shop, representing a unique opportunity in effectively marketing and merchandising to them versus women.

NMI’s top ten trends of 2007 are based on data and insight from a variety of NMI proprietary databases, including the Health & Wellness Trends Database, the Evolution of Personal Care Database and the LOHAS Consumer Trends Database. For more information, visit www.nmisolutions.com.

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The Natural Marketing Institute is the leading strategic consulting, market research and business development company specializing in the health, wellness and the sustainability marketplace. For more information on NMI, visit NMI’s web site at www.NMIsolutions.com.

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