NEWS: Granny Trend and Co-washing are More than Just Buzzwords

PARSIPPANY, N.J., May 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "granny trend" of women of all ages coloring their hair shades of silver and gray is more than a media craze. According to Kline PRO, a powerful product-level database published quarterly by global market research and consulting firm Kline, hair colorant sales within the brights and silver shade groups are up 46% and 14%, respectively, in 2014.

"It's exciting to see current market trends reflected in our data," remarks Paula Gottdiner, Kline's manager of the program. "We've been busy building our panel and are currently reporting on about 1,000 independent salons and 8,500 chain salons. We are planning to double the number of independent salons by the end of 2015, with our eventual goal being 3,000 independent salons and a panel that is representative of the total U.S. professional salon industry." The data on independent salons is of particular interest to the industry's players, as this segment is harder to track and get a read on, yet is often the place where new brands and product trends appear first. "Already it's clear that this objective tool measures what is really happening in the marketplace," adds Gottdiner.

Another trend validated by this revolutionary data set is co-washing, which is the practice of cleansing one's hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. The clarifying segment of conditioners has been growing exponentially. While still nascent and accounting for less than 1% of total conditioner sales in 2014, the clarifying segment posts the highest growth of all conditioner types in independent salons. Ouidad's Curl Co-Wash is among the leading items in the segment.

Functional hair care, or products that provide specific performance-oriented benefits like restoring hair or imparting shine, is another area where Kline PRO is reporting significant growth. In independent salons, products that address thinning hair increase by 22% in shampoos and 12% in conditioners in 2014. Nioxin, the undisputed leader within the thinning segment, jumps 22% in shampoo sales. Sizable gains are likewise recorded by the Kevin Murphy Plumping line, ranking it third in dollar share in the thinning segment of both shampoos and conditioners. Other products contributing to growth in the functional hair care space include Pureology's Strengthcure in the repair/condition segment, the launch of Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore collection, and Redken's Blonde Idol and Color Extend lines in the color care segment.

Meanwhile, hair oils is an area that is losing some steam, with sales down 6% in chains and 5% in independents in 2014. Although the segment, which was pioneered by Moroccanoil, has reached maturity, some items experience rapid sales growth in 2014, including Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil, which triples in dollar volume.

Kline PRO fills an ongoing and persistent need for consistent, reliable, and validated data about the professional sector. "PBA is proud to be working closely with and supporting Kline in the development of this critical initiative for our industry. What's even more exciting is the additional levels of information that it will ultimately provide as it builds out. In particular, the service level data that is so important to the broad policy and program development work we do on behalf of our members," says Steve Sleeper, Executive Director of the Professional Beauty Association.

Kline has teamed with the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) to offer timely, detailed sales performance insights for the professional hair care industry based on transactional data culled from a panel of independent salons, chain salons, and distributors, including dollar and volume shares based on the total market and within individual categories. Data for more than 30,000 professional hair care items is currently available in the Kline PRO database with all items classified by category, sub-category, company, master brand, brand, and sub-brand.

For additional information, please visit http://www.klinegroup.com/reports/kline_pro_database.asp.

About Kline

Kline is a worldwide consulting and research firm dedicated to providing the kind of insight and knowledge that helps companies find a clear path to success. The firm has served the management consulting and market research needs of organizations in the agrochemicals, chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries for over 50 years. For more information, visit www.KlineGroup.com.

About PBA

The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) is a non-profit trade association that represents the interests of the professional beauty industry from manufacturers and distributors to salons / spas and beauty professionals. PBA offers business tools, education, advocacy, networking and more to improve individual businesses and the industry as a whole. For more information, visit www.probeauty.org.

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Vera Sandarova

Marketing Communications

Vera.Sandarova@klinegroup.com