The SBS market is undergoing significant polarisation, as mid-tier products lose relevance and consumers either trade down to budget options or trade up to premium alternatives. From 2022 to 2025, the mass segment shrank from 33% to 25%, while the prestige segment doubled from 6% to 12%.
As polycrises grow, consumers are increasingly looking to manage their emotional and physical wellbeing. Elaborate shower and bathing routines have become part of this. 70% of Germans like taking their time when showering, and 18% of Germans say they have been spending more time with their bodycare routines in the last three months.
There’s a strong opportunity to position shower and bath routines as moments of relaxation and escapism, targeting ritual-focused younger consumers. In Germany, women aged 16-34 (28% of whom use five or more SBS products) are driving demand for personalised, multi-product rituals. There is also clear scope in leveraging the skinification trend, with 36% of Gen Z SBS users in Germany, twice the average, seeking products with beauty benefits and hero ingredients.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Usage of SBS products in the last six months, with a general decline in product use
- Interest in innovation in SBS products, with a focus on locally produced ingredients and protection of the skin barrier/microbiome
- Factors when choosing a SBS product, with low price and natural ingredients coming out on top
- Behaviours around SBS products, with a focus on skin health and relaxation
- Launch activity and innovation, with a focus on sustainable products, novel scents and skinification
- Growth in the SBS category through wellness and sensory experiences
- Trends towards premiumisation in SBS products
- Gen Zs’ influence on the market and their preference for multi-step rituals
Wellness, skinification and sustainability trends drive growth in the SBS market, with Gen Z shaping demand for both premium and affordable products.
Silke Lambers, Principal Analyst – Beauty and Personal Care
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Innovation highlights
- Market size and forecast for SBS
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Use science to update SBS experiences
- Applying AI-driven scent design to SBS products
- Leverage science-backed beauty benefits
- Mintel Spark concept: high-tech, eco-friendly self-care for Gen Z
- Tap into neurocosmetics with relaxing bath soaks
- Highlight the benefits of waterless innovation beyond sustainability
- Prove the efficacy of waterless products
- New waterless formats improve shelf life and performance
- Emphasise efficacy in marketing solid SBS products
- Mintel Spark concept: Mood Mosaic shower tiles
- Extend into hyper-personalised multi-step rituals
- Many seek elaborate routines
- Introduce ritual SBS lines with complementary products
- Elevate self-care and wellness through SBS
- Take inspiration from ritual-driven products
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CONSUMER
- SBS products used
- Most Germans use liquid hand soap and shower wash
- Graph 1: soap and shower products used in the last six months, 2025
- Traditional formats lead in bath products
- Graph 2: use of bath products in the last six months, by ownership of bathtub, 2025
- Product usage is decreasing
- Graph 3: usage of body washing products, 2020, 2023, 2025
- Eco-friendly hand sanitisers could drive market appeal
- Graph 4: usage of hand sanitiser gel, 2020, 2023, 2025
- From function to fashion: hand sanitisers get a glow up
- The rise of design-forward hand sanitisers
- Young women drive multi-product usage
- Young men signal interest in expanding their SBS routines
- Graph 5: repertoire analysis of number of SBS used in the last six months, 2025
- Men embrace self-care and take their time showering
- Where SBS products are used
- Most Germans favour home use of SBS products
- Gen Z dominates out-of-home SBS product use
- Gen Z needs travel-friendly SBS products
- Out-of-home showerers bring their own SBS products to the gym
- Graph 6: usage of own SBS products when showering out of home, by location where SBS products are used, 2025
- Engage active Germans with post-workout care
- Graph 7: select locations where soap, bath and shower products were used in the last six months, by gender and age, 2025
- Gender gap in body washes for active lifestyles
- White spot for female-friendly 2-in-1 products
- Graph 8: selected SBS products used, by selected locations they were used at, 2025
- Mintel Spark concept: AuraFlow 2-in-1 Organic Shower & Care Tube
- Time of day that SBS products were used in the last six months
- Germans’ preferred shower and bathing times
- Graph 9: time of day soap, bath and shower products were used in the last six months, 2025
- One in five younger Germans lather up at least thrice daily
- Appeal to young Germans with SBS collaborations
- Graph 10: repertoire analysis of how many times a day that soap, bath and shower products were used in the last six months, 2025
- From everyday routine to bio-active self-care rituals
- Graph 11: consumers who like to take their time showering/bathing, by time of day SBS are used, 2025
- Emphasise mood- and energy-boosting SBS features
- Factors that would motivate consumers to try a new SBS product
- Deals and green appeal tempt shoppers to try new SBS products
- Graph 12: factors that would motivate consumers to try a new soap, bath or shower product, 2025
- Varied motivations drive SBS consumer engagement
- Solid product users value eco-friendly features…
- Graph 13: selected factors that would motivate consumers to try a new SBS product, by type of SBS product used in the last six months, 2025
- …but don’t forget about efficacy
- Cater to eco-conscious, innovation-seeking consumers
- High spenders can be convinced by recommendations and beauty benefits
- Graph 14: selected factors that would make consumers buy new SBS products, by amount they are willing to spend on shower/bath products, 2025
- FOMO fuels premium SBS buyers’ purchases
- Skinifying premium SBS for next-level care
- Scent preferences when choosing SBS products
- Unpacking gendered nuances in fragrance preferences
- Graph 15: scent preferences when choosing soap, bath or shower products, by gender, 2025
- Scent priorities differ between SBS and HBF products
- Graph 16: scent preferences when choosing SBS or HBF products, 2025
- Premium consumers shape fragrance trends
- Graph 17: scent preferences when choosing SBS products, by amount willing to spend on shower/bath products, 2025
- Feed the appetite for gourmand fragrances
- Graph 18: preference for food-inspired scents when choosing soap, bath or shower products, by generation, 2025
- Food trends inspire SBS scents
- Novelty-driven gourmand collections create social media buzz
- Trending cherry scent trickles from luxury to mass market
- Axe redefines what selling scents can look like
- SBS product usage behaviours
- Tap into children’s love for storytelling and imagination
- Create loyalty through sensory effects in kids’ SBS products
- Interest in multiple product use surges among Gen Z
- ‘Everything showers’ promote multiple product use on social media
- Long showers are considered a form of self-care and -love
- Multifunctional products are trending
- Shower bombs are a self-care trend
- Graph 19: SBS product users who would be interested in using shower bombs, by generation, 2025
- Mintel Spark concept: Sauna Escape Shower Steamers
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INNOVATION
- Launch activity for shower products remains strong
- Graph 20: SBS launches by category, 2020-25
- Innovations in solid bar design
- Premiumisation fuels growth as market polarises
- Graph 21: launches in SBS, by beauty price positioning, 2022-25
- Skinification helps to premiumise shower products
- Drugstores drive the strongest launch growth
- Graph 22: SBS launches, by ultimate company, 2020-25
- Drugstores tap into mood-boosting SBS products
- Vegan becomes the most used claim in NPD in 2025
- Graph 23: SBS launches, by claims, 2020-25
- Vegan penetrates all price levels
- Outdoor and locational scents growing fastest in NPD
- Graph 24: SBS launches, by fragrance group, 2023-25
- AI-designed scents boost shower experience
- Aromatherapy scents rise while citrus declines
- Graph 25: SBS launches, by fragance group, 2023-25
- Savoury escapism: fruity and matcha scents
- Next in gourmand fragrances
- Gen Z self-care meets spiritual experience
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MARKET
- Market drivers
- Economy: recovery expected in 2026
- Consumer confidence: economic pressures and uncertainties
- Graph 26: top five products consumers would prioritise if worried about money, 2025
- Innovation: Gen Z drives SBS premiumisation
- Graph 27: what consumers are willing to spend on bath/shower products, by generation, 2025
- Consumer trends: wellness, self-care and skinification
- Sustainability: being green becomes the baseline in SBS
- Market size
- SBS market remains strong following post-pandemic surge
- Graph 28: retail value sales of SBS products, 2017-24
- Market segmentation
- Self-care trend drives segment growth
- Price rises slow bar soap, while liquid SBS drives value growth
- Graph 29: consumer price index, soap, shower gel, bath foam or the like, 2020-24
- Market forecast
- German SBS market expected to grow slowly but steadily
- Graph 30: retail value sales of SBS, 2019-30
- SBS market outlook in Germany
- Forecast – note on US trade disruption
- The impact of US trade disruption on the SBS market
- Market share
- Unilever and Beiersdorf share a quarter of the German SBS market
- Private labels lead growth
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Generations
- Mintel Spark
- A note on language
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- Methodology – market size and forecast
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size and forecast – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
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