Back in June 2017 I wrote an article praising the customer-centric homepage of Sk:n, a cosmetics chain that at the time had 46 clinics in the UK.
It had five more when it was bought for £35m earlier this month. The buyer, private equity firm TriSpan, which owns the restaurant chains Rosa’s Thai and Thunderbird Fried Chicken, wants to expand Sk:n’s healthcare brand.
Sk:n’s success tells us something important about the facial aesthetics market: it’s still in its infancy and there is plenty of headroom left. Anti-ageing treatments like Botox, fillers and dermabrasion are becoming more mainstream, and corporates are still staking their claims in this new growth market.
In August last year we reported Superdrug’s staggering rise in profits, based on the growth of its cosmetics section, which was the rationale it gave for launching an “everyday accessible” range of fillers and Botox starting from £99.
If you want to grow your dental practice it’s hard to think of a better treatment modality to introduce. For dentists, facial aesthetics are the perfect complementary service. Here are eight reasons why:
- Low entry costs: you can use any underused room in your practice, clinical or non-clinical, and you don’t need to invest in new equipment. All you need is a clinician and some marketing (a new landing page, a budget for online marketing and maybe some local advertising)
- The non-surgical cosmetic industry is unregulated — the perfect opportunity to leverage your prestige as a safe, professional and regulated dental practice with sterile surgeries and professionally trained clinicians with years of experience in facial injections
- Skin care awareness is on the rise and facial aesthetics are becoming increasingly normalised by popular culture — Love Island contestants and celebrities on social media are always talking about their treatments
- Growth is forecast to continue. For instance, the global dermal fillers market is expected to grow by 12.5% annually, reaching $10bn by 2023 (Market Research Future)
- The number of women in the US aged between 19 and 34 having Botox or fillers has risen by 41% since 2011, according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Men now make up 10% of all Botox users. It’s thought the UK is following a similar trend
- In 2017 the cosmetic surgery industry in the UK was worth £3.6bn. Non-surgical treatments such as Botox and fillers accounted for nine out of 10 procedures and were worth £2.75bn
- The ageing population are major consumers of aesthetic treatments, owing to skin loosening and wrinkles in over-40s
- It’s straightforward for dental practices to take a significant share of the facial aesthetics market, especially in major cities where demand is highest. The market is still far from saturated
Get in touch if you’d like help launching a profitable facial aesthetics line in your dental practice.
JJF
07860 672727
