Nailmatic eyes growth in kids bath care: We want to help them ‘play differently’

Founded in 2012, with its dedicated children’s line Nailmatic Kids launched in 2014, Nailmatic offered a range of eco-friendly, vegan nail polishes for children aged three and above. Developed using “super gentle”​ ingredients and presented in fun jars and gift boxes, the nail polish line had been designed to offer kids a fun and safe alternative to regular polishes. But the brand had since branched into temporary body art pens and bath care for kids – the latter of which launched just two years ago and already represented more than 50% of total turnover globally.

Bath bombs to combine fun and cleansing​

The range of coloured, foaming bath bombs and bath salts had been specifically designed for children, made using eco-friendly cleansing formulas that offered an all-in-one product combining fun and care.

“The bath line is growing very, very fast,”​ said Charlotte Mesnil, sales director at Nailmatic.

“The idea is to make the products as natural as possible but help the kids to have fun in the bath too. It’s about having a good moment and making the skin very smooth as well,”​ Mesnil told CosmeticsDesign-Europe at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna in Italy at the end of April.

With Nailmatic products already available in more than 40 countries worldwide – largely across Europe, but also in Asia-Pacific and the US – she said the goal was to widen reach of the bath bomb line too at a global level. And the brand would continue to centre is retail strategy around niche toy shops, children’s fashion outlets and online platforms, she said.

“Nail polish is still obviously part of the brand because it’s the first product we launched, but we’re not the only brand proposing this kind of product now, which is not the case with the bath line.”​

Nailmatic had developed specialised bath bomb formulas designed specifically for children – something that remained very niche to the market. It had also worked to ensure the bath bomb product not only created bubbles but also offered cleansing and moisturising properties, meaning no additional soap was needed, Mesnil said.

Care for kids that offers a way to ‘play differently’​

And this ‘care’ aspect of the product, she said, was something Nailmatic was focused on expanding on.

“At the end of this year and next year, we will work on do-it-yourself [DIY] products; launching a soap to be made by the kids themselves.”​

The idea of the DIY soap line, she said, was to help children “play differently” ​which, much like how the tattoo pen encouraged play, interaction, creativity, and time away from screens, tapped into the brand’s wider ambition. It also tapped into an increasingly important area – personal care for kids, she said.

“I think the future is about taking care of kids because their skin is very different,”​ she said.