Last month, Garnier introduced a do it yourself highlighting kit - an indication of how popular fashion hair colour, once restricted only to beauty salons, is becoming increasingly popular among the masses.
The hair colour market is pegged at around Rs 380 crore (Rs 3.8 billion) and the fashion hair colour segment accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total market.
According to Kunal Motishaw, assistant analyst, Equitymaster, hair colour is a product with high aspirational value, and as media penetration grows, so also the demand for the product.
"We see the category growing at between 18 and 20 per cent over the next five years," he says.
HK Press, executive director, Godrej Consumer, agrees with the growth prediction and feels that at present the product penetration is quite low. Although Godrej Consumer's market share has fallen marginally over the last few years, revenues have been steadily increasing. The company holds a 41.5 per cent market share and is the market leader in the segment.
"We don't have products in the higher range as we see huge opportunity in lower priced products which are more mass oriented," Press says, adding that the powder sachets are the fastest moving category.
Clearly, hair colour is no longer only about covering gray. Even Godrej had to introduce their Renew and Colour Soft line to cater to the fashion hair colour market.
Kavita Nalawade, deputy general manager, Wella, estimates the fashion hair colour market at Rs 160 crore (Rs 1.6 billion). She says that the market has been growing at 30- 40 per cent year on year for the last two years and sees this trend continuing for the next few years. Wella does not retail but sells products only through salons.
On the retail front, Schwarzkopf introduced two products to target both the mid and premium market in keeping with the growing demand for affordable hair colour.
Price is not a deciding factor in this segment, as people are willing to pay higher prices if they are assured of the quality. This explains why brands like L'oreal and Wella can sustain and in fact gain market share.
As Motishaw of Equitymaster puts in, eventually branding and innovation will decide on the growth of the industry if not the colour of hair.