Marketing Product Assessment - Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse - Essay Example

?The business selected is the cosmetics brand Maybelline. The company is headquartered in New York, the USA (L'Oreal). The company began as a family business and soon expanded to become one of the largest and well-known cosmetics brands throughout the world. The company was created by a chemist in New York in 1915 after observing his daughter applying a combination of cream and coal dust to enhance her eyelashes (L'Oreal). This is how the concept of the lash mascara was born, which is exactly what Maybelline was famous for. Soon the mascara was named Maybelline after the name “Maybel” given by her daughter to the lash mascara (L'Oreal). Two years later, the company produced the first of its kind mascara for everyday use which became an instant hit with the mass market. In 1996, the company’s headquarters moved to New York when it was acquired by L’Oreal (L'Oreal). Over the passage of time, the company hired celebrities as brand ambassadors, which again was an instant hit. In 1991, the company adopted the popular slogan “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” which continues to be its slogan to date (L'Oreal). Maybelline enjoys a strong presence in over 129 countries today and covers four broad location segments: North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania (L'Oreal). Maybelline stands at no.1 in the makeup brands category in its home country, the US. In the UK, it has acquired the second position, along with strong growth in Russia (L'Oreal). The company is expanding fast in all BRIC economies, and has managed to bag the top position in make-up brands in China in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company is struggling to penetrate through the Japanese market which has intense competition as far as the make-up category is concerned. Overall, the company registered a 13.3% growth in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company offers a variety of product lines related to cosmetics including face, eyes, lips, nails, brushes and accessories (Maybelline LLC.). Under the “face” product line, the company offers concealer, foundation, powder, blush and bronzer (Maybelline LLC.). Under the “eyes” category, it offers eye shadow, eye liner, brow liner and mascara (Maybelline LLC.). Under “lips” category, Maybelline offers lip color, lip gloss and lip liner (Maybelline LLC.). Under “nails” it offers nail color, whereas, under “brushes and accessories” it offers brushes, tweezers, curlers, combs, removers and false lashes (Maybelline LLC.). The product brand that is part of this paper is the Maybelline “Dream Matte Mousse Foundation” that falls under the “face” product line. The highest sales of Maybelline are generated by its “face” product line, followed by lips and then eye (L'Oreal). The Dream Matte Mousse Foundation fits well into the company’s product range since it offers customers the advantage of matte effect for perfect blending of foundation into their skin. It offers full coverage and it offers the added advantage of shine control. This product is the only one that offers two of the three finishes: matte and natural (Maybelline LLC.). Furthermore, this product provides a powder effect and combines the benefits of liquid and cake foundations. Other foundations by Maybelline offer a combination of matte, natural, luminous and shimmer finishes (Maybelline LLC.). Maybelline sells to the mass market and has major competitors such as Revlon, Covergirl and Avon pitted against it in this segment. As far as Avon is concerned, it has global representation in approximately more than 100 countries and is also headquartered in New York (Avon Products Inc.). Avon’s internal strengths are that it has a strong business model that allows it to differentiate itself against competitors. It also had been doing fairly well and has had a steady increase in revenue throughout history. However, the primary weakness is that the company has been facing declining operations in the North American region, primarily as it has not been able to pace up with fast changing customer trends in this region. Maybelline, on the other hand, derives a large chunk of its sales from North America (L'Oreal). As far as Covergirl is concerned, its primary strength arises from it being a part of the P & G umbrella that has given it substantial boost and reputation in the market. Covergirl has had the opportunity to take advantage of P&G’s highly diversified distribution and promotion channels. Like Maybelline, Covergirl has also used celebrities to endorse its brands. However, one major weakness of Covergirl is its inability to capture the emerging Asian economies the way Maybelline has. Maybelline’s strong presence and proliferation into the BRIC economies provides tremendous challenge to Covergirl in times to come. Also, Covergirl was accused of animal testing in the past, which is something Maybelline can capitalize upon by explicitly claiming that the ingredients of its Dream Matte Mousse Foundation are not tested on animals. Perhaps, the company’s strongest competitor is Revlon. The Dream Matte Mousse Foundation directly competes with Revlon’s Colorstay Mineral Mousse Matte foundation as both are almost priced in the same range of $10-$15. Maybelline has recorded a double digit growth figure in 2010, ranking it as the fastest growing brand in L’Oreal’s consumer products’ division (L'Oreal). The brand has a 7.4% global market share (L'Oreal). The Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse falls under the category of Silicone based foundations that use the chemical Silicone as their major ingredient. The major substitutes of this product are water-based and mineral based foundations. Water-based foundations come in tubes and bottles and are usually liquid in nature (Board). For instance, the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation comes in a semi-liquid form (as opposed to the cakey finish of Dream Matte Mousse) and offers greater coverage along with the added advantage of blending quickly into the skin. However, the problem is that these foundations usually result in streaks and patches on the skin where the concentration of the foundation is high and are more difficult to even out (Board). Water-based foundations that are transfer-resistant are also a popular substitute for the Dream Matte Mousse foundation as they provide better results for skins that are very oily. The results of these foundations also last considerably longer than the Dream Matte Mousse, especially in humid climate. The industry presents a new set of opportunities for Maybelline’s dream matte mousse foundation. As far as the demographics are concerned, the western economies are facing ageing populations, although scope lies with the eastern economies for youngsters and adults. Not only is the population pyramid skewed towards these segments but the spending power of these groups is much higher than others. It has been estimated that individuals over 60 years are the ones who spend most on beauty products (L'Oreal). Particularly in Europe, the consumption of beauty products by men is projected to rise from 4% in 1990 to 50% by 2015 (L'Oreal). Over 10% of men’s spending on cosmetics is related to skincare products (L'Oreal). Keeping in view these trends, there is enormous potential for Maybelline to capture and conquer the segment of seniors and men in the western part of the world. The dream matte mousse foundation could be offered to these groups with added features such as anti-wrinkle and anti-clogging properties. However, Maybelline is exposed to the risk of having an inconsistent brand image if it enters the men’s segment in its Dream Matte Mousse Foundation. Also, since the segment is entirely different from its present one, high research and development, as well as marketing costs shall be incurred. As far as the political and social arena is concerned, there have been several legislations against the use of chemicals in cosmetics. These legislations have been particularly high in the U.S, EU and Canada (L'Oreal). Taking advantage of this trend, Maybelline could consider adding natural ingredients in its Dream Matte Mousse Foundation and come up with a ‘greener’ version of this product. Animal testing has also been prohibited since long in the western world. Maybelline needs to follow the lead of its competitor Body Shop in this regard since the latter has already gone at lengths to dissuade the practice of animal testing in its cosmetics line. Furthermore, it is even more important to eliminate the use of ingredients that are proven to have cancerous properties as individuals across the world are becoming more aware of the damaging effects that these ingredients have on their skin in the long run. As far as the economic environment is concerned, trends suggest that there’s enormous potential and purchasing power vested in the emerging and BRIC economies. Per capita cosmetics expenditure is expected to increase by 4 times in Brazil in 2010, 6 times in Russia, 2 times in India and 3.5 times in China (L'Oreal). Maybelline is already penetrating these markets and has over 17 shades in its Dream Matte Mousse Foundation to cater to the diverse skin tones of Asians (Maybelline LLC.). Therefore, Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse Foundation has had to cope up with these external pressures in recent times. However, despite these challenges, the company boasts of steady growth in revenues, particularly in the BRIC economies where there is enormous untapped potential for mass market cosmetics brands such as Maybelline. This also simultaneously presents the threat of being downplayed by cheaper competitors, especially in the saturated Japanese market. To overcome this threat, however, Maybelline is constantly innovating when it comes to their product lines. Maybelline has the added advantage of falling under the L’Oreal umbrella as it is able to lower its costs of production and pass it on in the form to low prices to customers. A major reason for this is the shared costs of research and development in the L’Oreal umbrella that are spread amongst all its profit centers, including Maybelline. It is not surprising, therefore, that Maybelline has been able to offer lower prices in all categories compared to Revlon. Furthermore, it has revolutionized consumer buying by offering an online catalogue to its customers. The distinguishing feature of the Dream Matte Mousse Foundation is that it offers greater coverage and is ideal for those individuals to seek to hide their blemishes and other skin imperfections. Thus, it gives a cakey and perfected finish. The major advantage of this product is that it prevents oil from clogging one’s pores. Therefore, the core advantage of this product is sheer coverage (Maybelline LLC.). However, the downside is that the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation tends to become cakey if applied a lot. Ideally, it needs to be applied with another product (such as a bronzer) in order to capture one’s natural skin tones. Thus, it is not the ideal product for those with oily or combination skin as it tends to clog one’s pores. Therefore, it does not produce the natural look that consumers vie for. The Dream Matte Mousse Foundation by Maybelline is currently targeted to women with varying ages. The company has worked along several segments including the youngsters (aged 16-25), working women (26-35) and 35 and above market. The target market of Dream Matte Mouse Foundation is the 16-25 market (L'Oreal). This brand is geared towards the mass market and is considered an inexpensive brand targeted towards young women. A typical user profile of a customer using this product would be described as young, glamorous, fashionable, energetic, expressive and extrovert. In other words, the average consumer of Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation loves to look beautiful and is conscious about her public appearance. Works Cited "About Avon: AVON." Avon Products Inc. 2012. Web. 14 March 2012 . Board, Niir. Modern Technology Of Cosmetics. New Delhi: Asia Pacific Business Press, 2000. Print. "Brands: L'Oreal: Cosmetics, beauty, perfumes." L'Oreal.com. 2012. Web. 13 March 2012 . L'Oreal Annual Report 2010. Annual Report. Paris: L'Oreal, 2010. Print. "Maybelline Product Explorer- Explore Makeup Products- Makeup Cosmetics by Maybelline." Maybelline.com. 2011. Web. 13 March 2012 . Read More