Household and Personal Products Industry

Liquid soap sales have been on the rise, thanks to more youngsters washing their hands.

pockets. Just ask Kimberly-Clark, which earlier this year pulled the plug on its Hug-gies Cleanteam line of bath products.

Raising the Bar

While bars have been losing out to body washes and gels in shower stalls across America, the subsector rebounded in 2008 and 2009, according to Euromonitor. The return to growth was driven by manufacturers’ long-term efforts to upgrade the image of traditional bar soap by including more value-added features, such as moisturizing properties or natural ingredients.

Tom’s of Maine will be leading that charge in 2011, with its new line of natural Beauty Bar soaps. The six-bar range is clinically proven to maintain skin’s moisture and will leave skin feeling clean and ultra-rich with natural ingredients such as citrus oils, lavender, apricot seeds, lemongrass and soothing chamomile, according to Tom’s of Maine.

When formulating the bar soaps, Tom’s had a chance to “zero in on specific benefits consumers were looking for,” according to Rob Robinson, category

leader at Tom’s of Maine. “The cost of entry in cleansing in general is obviously a product that is going to clean, but mois-turization is critical. The experience goes beyond cleansing,” he told HAPPI.

Specifically, the new Tom’s line delivers skin care benefits and aromather-apy—pegged to be future drivers in the personal cleanser space. For example, the Sensitive bar marries chamomile with olive oil and natural vitamin E while the Exfoliating soap uses natural apricot seeds to help slough off dull skin. The Energizing bar—Robinson’s personal favorite—has refreshing citrus oils for a natural “pick-me-up.” Also available are Daily Moisture, Deodorant (formulated odor-fighting sage and lemongrass) and Relaxing (which uses lavender botanical oils and woks with the steam in the shower).

Tom’s has also addressed issues such as value, a factor that can’t be ignored in today’s economy, and sustainability, a cornerstone of its business model. The bars are milled four times so they last longer, according to Robinson, and they come in sustainable packaging, including a fully recyclable outer package and new com-postable plastic wrap made from PLA.

Bars, Washes or Both?

Products that address anti-aging and offer unique fragrance profiles are two ways marketers can drive sales in the bath and shower category going forward, according to Euromonitor.

And while the market is divided between mature bars and more dynamic body wash/shower gels, soap makers are wise to address both forms, as U.S. consumers’ personal cleansing habits remain diverse. In fact, many consumers vary their cleansers, switching from bars to washes and back again to suit their fancy on any particular day.

“If you look at the cleansing habits of consumers, they are one of three—the bar soap person, the body wash user—and those that use both,” said Robinson.