Content-Led Growth: Rock Face Bets on Storytelling Over Shelf Space
Amid intensifying men’s grooming market growth, challenger brand Rock Face is leaning on content to stand out. The company has hired Bafta-winning producer Jim Holmes as head of content and brand, signalling a shift from traditional trade marketing to a narrative-first grooming brand strategy. Holmes, who spent years producing TV, live and digital work and later led large-scale cultural and sports campaigns at Red Bull, is tasked with building what Rock Face calls “the most disruptive content engine” in fast-moving consumer goods. The role comes on the back of strong momentum: Rock Face reported 41 percent retail revenue growth year on year in the first quarter, alongside a 32 percent uplift in average rate of sale and more than 3,200 new distribution points. The brand’s ambition is to “scale far beyond the shelf,” using emotionally resonant campaigns such as “Don’t Judge a Bloke by his Cover” to link grooming with mental wellbeing and modern masculinity.
Cremo Shows Resilience as Inflation Tests Grooming Profitability
Even as inflation and discounts squeeze margins across personal care, some men’s grooming brands are still finding room to grow. Edgewell Personal Care, owner of Cremo, reported that the grooming label delivered 6.3 percent sales growth in its latest quarter, making it a top performer in a portfolio that otherwise posted only modest net sales gains. The broader business contended with contracting gross margins and a sharp drop in operating income as tariffs, an unfavourable mix skewed toward lower-margin grooming products and heavier promotions took their toll. Yet Edgewell maintained its full-year guidance, signalling confidence that portfolio adjustments and disciplined execution can stabilise performance. Cremo’s trajectory underlines how a focused grooming brand strategy, even in a high-cost environment, can capture demand within the men’s grooming market growth story—though profitability remains under pressure for owners balancing scale and value.
From Beauty Creators to Barbers and Dermatologists: The New Male Grooming Influencer
As men’s interest in skincare and grooming deepens, the faces driving purchase decisions are changing. Male beauty influencers are increasingly less likely to be traditional, entertainment-first creators and more likely to be athletes, stylists or dermatologists who can speak credibly about performance, technique and skin health. This shift is visible in new spaces such as Remedy Place, a luxury social wellness club that reimagines the spa experience with a strong focus on male clientele, and is now expanding with a large SoHo location and an at-home self-care line. For brands, the lesson is clear: authenticity comes from lived expertise. Partnering with barbers, sports professionals and medical experts allows grooming companies to frame routines as essential self-care rather than vanity, while also delivering more technical education around products and ingredients. That blend of authority and relatability is becoming central to winning men’s grooming market growth.
Sports Marketing Makes Grooming Part of the Ritual
Sports marketing grooming initiatives are emerging as a powerful way to embed products into men’s daily and celebratory rituals. Dove Men+Care’s latest global campaign, tied to its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, integrates skincare directly into the matchday experience. Under the banner “Care for Your Skin Like You Care for the Game,” the brand links familiar fan behaviours—body paint, chanting, long days in stadiums and crowded city streets—to potential skin stress, positioning its grooming range as a practical solution. A hero film built around a widely recognised stadium chant follows supporters across cities and arenas, using fandom’s emotional highs to reinforce messages of comfort, freshness and wellbeing. Beyond short-term sales, the push underscores how sports partnerships can move grooming from the bathroom shelf to the centre of lifestyle and identity, deepening loyalty in a crowded men’s grooming market.