More Than Pretty Packaging for Ethnic-Specific Beauty Products

Slight anatomical and physiological differences serve as goldmines in the sales and product industry. Packaging, the intended audience, and emotional and personal connections are all factors necessary to make a product and separate them into differing segments. For example, shaving razors can be used by both men and women alike, but why are they segmented? The need to expand a product into two gender niches allows a company to allocate and thrive on two markets for one product. 

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Form a Sturdy Foundation

Just as gender roles serve as foundations to further market a product, cultures, traditions, and ethnic backgrounds do much the same. The latter of these foundations are often overlooked in the American industry and if given more attention, would allow more market expansion and better client retention and loyalty.  

The Hispanic community, according to the 2010 census, comprises 16.3 percent of the total U.S. population with a mass of nearly 50.5 million individuals. A nearly untapped market, this community can be easily represented and marketed to if marketers take the time to understand subtle differences between members of the Hispanic community and their cultures. 

Juan Guillermo Tornoe of Hispanic Trending states, “there isn’t a simple turnkey solution to effectively reach “Hispanics”; it all depends on the specifics of EACH situation. It is the job of the advertiser and its advertising/marketing consultant to see the business real and approach the situation in the best way possible.”

Learning About Your Niche

The same concept applies to beauty and health market trends within the Hispanic Community. Relaying back to segmenting similar products, it is not uncommon to see shampoo in a drugstore, and a somewhat similar shampoo marketed for people of ethnic backgrounds. How then, do these similar but dissimilar products produce any sales? It is necessary to make products and concepts that are relatable to your targeted audience through understanding their culture, tradition, and in this case, healthcare needs. Having a thorough grasp of the Hispanic Community will afford you knowledge about cultures that can be easily applied to marketing, and it will help avoid advertising using just a representation of how people look with no consideration to their background.

Be Attractive

Reflecting core values and interests of your target audience will garner much attention from customers. Research conducted by U.S.-based Bromley Communications finds that the Hispanic Latina is quickly replacing Anglo moms as the dominant consumer target from now to 2050. With that in mind, consider an example of how marketing and a need for segmenting can aid your campaign:

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Fórmula Latina ™ is the only line of professional hair care products made exclusively for the Latina woman sold at retail outlets, and the first line launched in the U.S. with Spanish packaging and advertising.  This line of hair care was designed especially for Latinas, but is marketed for anyone who requires the same maintenance as someone who has similar hair to Latina hair. Although this shampoo was designed with the Latina in mind, it was made to be appropriate for all ethnicities. This, perhaps, is an example of how products seem to represent a culture of people but falsely do so by not considering the specific needs of the Hispanic community and the background, interests, and tradition of the niche they are marketing to. 

Regardless of Fórmula Latina ™ being a generalized product, it has grown to much success and attention from Hispanic women. Ironically, the market for ethnic-specific health and beauty products is stagnate and valued at $1.5 billion, a 1.3 percent decrease over 2002 sales. Purchases of general-use health and beauty products by ethnic consumers are valued at $6 billion, posting a slight increase of 1.1% over 2002 according to Packaged Facts. This slight increase and the acknowledgement of ethnic-specific health and beauty products is the start of a blossoming industry.