Week 4 Part B: Defining YOUR Target Market

 Target Market Analysis for Consumers of Personal Care Products  

This target market analysis report is being prepared to consider whether Salt + Citrus should revise its marketing efforts and focus on a broader target audience. Salt + Citrus is a soap company. Our target market is upper-middle-class, educated, and environmentally-minded people. They are of all ages, both male and female, single or married, kids and no kids (although we plan to add a kids product line), they are comfortable paying for quality, and are made up of any race or religion. Our consumers are concerned about product ingredients. They appreciate unique scents (i.e., olive and fig) and do not like perfumes or unnatural ingredients. Our customers value quality and appreciate local resources. Our products will be available at framer’s markets and online where consumers are already seeking alternative buying opportunities. We will meet our customers where they are and explain the quality of products and the benefits of using them. We will utilize social media to build our business.

According to The Daily Star, the pandemic has increased the demand for soap. People have become more conscious about personal hygiene and handwashing, to reduce the spread of COVID. The increased health concern has boosted the demand for soap. Additionally, Technavio analysts forecast the global organic skin care products market to grow more than 10% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

Consumers are more knowledgeable about the dangers of synthetic chemicals that are used in many personal care products. The pandemic compelled consumers to change their expectations more than at any other time in history. People looked inward, evaluated their relationships, responsibilities, and priorities. Many people are applying new attitudes to where what, and how they make purchases. This enhanced focus on choices and relationships is driving consumers to purposefully seek out products that connect them to their communities and their environment. Accenture’s conducted a recent survey of more than 25,000 consumers and found that 50% of consumers say that the pandemic caused them to rethink their personal purpose and reevaluate what’s important to them in life. This shift is creating new opportunities in a previously saturated personal care industry.

The soap market is heavily saturated with artisanal soaps; however, our goal is to connect with new customers who are concerned about the ingredients they are bringing into their homes. There will also be a “slow soap” emphasis with a desire to share our practices and inspire new soap makers. We hope to be a part of a movement that brings the art of crafting back to our communities and homes. The authentic practice of soap making reduces environmental footprints and engages users with the products they use.

Consumers are paying more attention to ingredients in skincare products, preferring natural and organic ones over those that contain chemicals or ingredients that could cause harmful side effects. According to Brijesh Kumar Choubey, a lead analyst at Technavio for cosmetics and toiletry research, “The growing aging population has led to high demand for natural and organic anti-aging creams, moisturizers, and body lotions, and this is likely to continue during the next five years.”

Today, consumers have a lot of distrust in large corporations. Repeatedly, manufacturers have misled customers about their ingredients and practices. We capitalized on the trend of consumer rejection of large corporations in favor of small local businesses that are transparent and accessible to their customers. The beauty industry has been increasingly criticized for its use of toxic chemicals. Consumers, especially Gen Z, are starting to pay attention to the ingredients in soap and the effect they are having on their health, and the environment (Brown-West, 2021). Because of the growing distrust of the beauty product and personal care industry, there is increasing consumer interest in alternative personal care products. Using my passion for artisanal organic soap I can create a unique product line that could be extremely profitable (Macdonald, 2020).

The already alarming toxicity of personal care products is driving a very competitive personal care product industry. We will be competing with other soap companies both locally and through e-commerce. We project that this market will continue to grow. However, supply chain disruptions and consumer distrust create an unstable market. There is concern about our company dealing with supply chain issues as we test ingredients and secure vendors. To mitigate risk, we will be seeking out local vendors to create a truly local product using the cleanest most natural ingredients.

 

 

 

References

Brown-West, Boma (2021). Beauty has a toxic equity problem. It’s time companies champion clean beauty justice. https://business.edf.org/insights/beauty-has-a-toxic-equity-problem-its-time-companies-champion-clean-beauty-justice/

Macdonald, Mark (2020). Find a Product to Sell: 12 Strategies for Finding Your First Profitable Product. https://www.shopify.com/blog/product-opportunities#9

Market Screener. (2022). https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Organic-Skincare-Products-Market-Analysis-Highlights-the-Impact-of-COVID-19-2020-2024-Shift-Toward--30904541/

Parvez. Sohel. (2020). Pandemic lifts demand for soap, detergent. Pandemic lifts demand for soap, detergent | The Daily Star