Why Small Players Are Beating Packaged Goods Titans In Customization Game
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Big players took a big interest in mass customization shortly after the web emerged, particularly Procter & Gamble Co. with its 1999 launch of Reflect.com beauty products. But while Reflect and other efforts by major marketers never got much traction, smaller players are showing signs that the concept can work on a more modest scale.
One is eSalon, five years into a mass-customized hair colorant business that has 140,000 subscribers for 110,000 unique color combinations. Now the company is launching The Match-Up — aimed at the $10 billion market for shampoo, conditioner and styling products. This time it’s taking a more measured approach that includes 30 stock-keeping-units. It’s also using an online question-and-answer configurator that feeds a proprietary algorithm to match people’s hair-care needs with products and delivery schedules so they never run out.
Dollar Shave Club is taking a similar approach for its Boogie’s men’s hair styling products, launched earlier this year with an online configurator to help men bypass the tangle of often confusingly labeled and merchandised products in stores.
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