Unilever China Launched High-end Men's Brand EB39
- Chaileedo Press
- May 25, 2022
- 3 min read
Unilever China's high-end brand EB39 has opened an official flagship store on Tmall, China's mainstream e-commerce platform, and launched 8 SKU, with a price range of $46.2-$97.6. The brand is Unilever's first high-end men's skin care brand, which shows the great importance that Unilever China attaches to men's skin care track.
Recently, Unilever China launched its first affordable luxury men's skin care brand, the first AI algorithm-driven formula research and development brand, and the first Metaverse artist skin care brand - EB39. The "EB" in EB39 is the abbreviation of the English "Energy Buff" (energy pack), referring to common vocabulary in video games; "39" refers to "39 days for the skin to iterate on itself".
The outer packaging of the man series adopts the stable blue color which can be widely accepted by consumers. With the laser bottle body with rigid straight lines, and the simple and bold fonts, the overall style is cyberpunk futuristic science fiction style.
"Simple and sharp lines highlight the sense of technological structure and the brand's pioneering attitude. The deformed design of the letters E and B is easy to read and has its own style, just like the unique code language of the Metaverse." Camille Zhang, an innovative visual designer explains the visual concept.
EB39 cuts into the relatively blank mid-to-high-end men's skin care market. At present, EB39 has opened stores on the Chinese short video platform Douyin and China's mainstream e-commerce platform Taobao. On Taobao, there are a total of 8 SKUs in the store with price ranging from $46.2 to $97.6. The product categories are mainly based on essences, focusing on oil control, acne treatment and other effects.
EB39 differs from other emerging men's care brands in that its first category is essence rather than facial cleanser. Essence requires higher R&D costs, which is the advantage of EB39 relying on Unilever.
The launch of Unilever China's first high-end men's brand is enough to see that Unilever attaches great importance to men's skin care. So why did Unilever China do that?
In 2021, Unilever's annual revenue was 52.4 billion euros (about $56.136 billion), achieving the fastest basic sales growth in nine years. According to the business department, Unilever's beauty and personal care business achieved sales revenue of 21.9 billion euros (about $23.461 billion), which is the largest segment of the company's revenue. In terms of subregions, the Chinese market increased by 14.3%, with total revenue of 3.3 billion euros (about $3.535 billion) in 2021, with the highest growth rate in five years.
In addition, in 2021, Unilever's growth rate in e-commerce was 44%, leading to the growth of global channels. E-commerce accounted for 13% of Unilever's turnover. While China's e-commerce industry is at the top level in the world, its personal care brand OMO has also become the second largest brand of e-commerce laundry beads in China.
China's men's care market has also ushered in an explosion in recent years. According to oIBP, from 2016 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of retail sales in China's male grooming market was 13.5%, much higher than the global average of 5.8%. The Prospective Industry Research Institute predicts that the average annual compound growth rate of China's men's skin care products market in 2021-2026 is 15.88%, and the overall market size is expected to reach $22.2 billion in 2026.
Chinese men's awareness and consumption abilities of beauty and skin care are also increasing. According to the Men's Economy Research Report in 2021, more than 50% of man users buy Beauty and skin care products in a year, 70% of them buy more than twice a quarter on average, and more than 50% of them buy more than $135 a year.
China's men's beauty market has unlimited potential, but there is not yet a "phenomenal" brand. In the mid-to-high-end men's skin care market where EB39 is located, there are only brands such as LAB SERIES, Kiehl's Men, Biotherm Men, and Shiseido Men. These brands have not yet "educated" consumers well for different reasons, making Chinese consumers lack understandings about their brand characteristics and product efficacy.
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