Why aren’t most derm-approved, pharmacy products marketed rampantly?

While advertisements of shampoos, face washes and body creams from the FMCG sector dominate television and social media platforms, why haven’t the products prescribed by your dermatologist followed suit?

One’s beauty vanity is no longer restricted to just a handful of products. With the commercialisation of actives and the augmentation of consumer awareness, every store now has separate aisles for a range of serums, toners, moisturisers and so on. Besides a mix of drugstore and luxury products, another category that occupies a spot on your shelf is pharmacy products. A few examples of budget-friendly drugstore products include those from brands like Lakme, Garnier, Olay, Neutrogena and Revlon. Some cult-favourites, from Bioderma’s Sensibio H2O to Avène’s sunscreens and the Instagram-popular Episoft AC from Glenmark) come from the “pharmacy” terrain and are widely prescribed by dermatologists. There’s even a niche category called “cosmeceuticals” that refers to cosmetics with medicinal properties. 

However, unless a dermatologist recommends such a product from the pharmacy category, you might seldom discover them. This is largely because such products aren’t advertised on a macro scale like FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) goods The Established attempts to find out more about the discrepancy in the advertising patterns of these two categories.

Going against convention 

We rarely come across a television commercial, a radio jingle or even a billboard advertising brands like Sesderma, iS Clinical, Biologique Recherche, Neutriderm, Dermavive, Emolene, Rivela and so forth.This is, however, a stack of efficacious brands that offer potent, skin-bettering solutions. Such products, more often than not, gain traction via a customary way, and that is the dermatologists’ prescription.

Mumbai-based celebrity dermatologist Dr Jaishree Sharad reveals that in the past, presently-viral products (think CeraVe, SkinCeuticals and Ulta MD) were prescribed by dermatologists only. “It was believed that when a qualified dermatologist or an aesthetic physician prescribes a cosmetic or a pharmaceutical skin care product, they understand the science behind the ingredient and prescribe it according to one’s skin type and requirement,” says the skin expert. “The person using it then gets the maximum benefit and the product remains true to its claims. This was direct sales,” she adds. Sharad also highlights the fact that such products are more expensive than FMCG products and hence the brands in question would consciously wish to cater to a niche audience.

Luxury cosmeceutical skincare brand Biologique Recherche’s spokesperson shares, “Given the high concentration of active ingredients and a personalised approach, Biologique Recherche is the brand of choice for dermatologists in Eastern Europe, the United States and Asia.” The spokesperson affirms, “We mostly rely on word of mouth. We believe in selecting our clients, to make sure our approach works for both partners. The brand offers a clinical approach, using pure, concentrated, complex formulas, and original and rigorous treatments, to provide results to our clients.”

According to Bioderma India’s spokesperson, the core strength of the brand lies in  the efficacy of its products which is sworn by both consumers and dermatologists worldwide. “Hence, we concentrate on selective and targeted marketing activities, with a key focus on samplings and influencers,” they say.

Sharad also throws light on the fundamental difference in the formulation of cosmeceuticals (or pharmaceutical products) and its cosmetical counterpart, which majorly influences the levels of permissiveness in the advertisements. “FDA (Food & Drug Administration) regulations do not permit the marketing of certain skin care products [pharmaceuticals] as they may have side-effects if not used by the right skin type or in the right manner,” she says. In retrospect, Sharad mentions, “Since a  lot of money goes into the research and development of the product, the budgets for marketing are curtailed.”

One can perhaps attribute the rampant advertising of FMCG beauty products to their generic characteristics and rather basic formulations that, if not any good, won’t do any significant harm either and are relatively safer to be exposed to the not-so-well-informed audiences as well, as opposed to potent treatment-oriented serums and toners that must be used in a specific way. Lastly, Sharad believes that the magnitude of transparency adopted by pharmaceuticals also constrains them whereas FMCG products can do away with bidding on just one key ingredient without full disclosure, pertaining to the other constituents in their advertisements.

Building a target audience 

For most cosmeceutical brands, the marketing and advertising activities are tailor-made to address their target audience and their needs. “The marketing activities of Bioderma adopt traditional as well as contemporary methods. In order to develop a sizeable market share, we need to accommodate a dermatologist and social media marketing strategy along with leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon so as to expand its market share further,” says the French-origin brand’s spokesperson. “The awareness is created through sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations, personal selling, word of mouth marketing, interactive marketing and direct marketing,” he adds.

On behalf of iS Clinical India, Bharat Sachdev, director, Leader Medical System, bets on the power of digital marketing to keep up with the times. “We have reckoned with the power that strategic digital marketing and social media have had over the last decade and we continue to build our online presence in that sphere. It is essential to effectively communicate with one’s community, consider their feedback and do our best to work through some of their concerns. Another route we love in terms of creating awareness is allowing people to interact with the brand by physically trying the products via clinics of reputable dermatologists, those whose ideologies align with ours.” Biologique Recherche also swears by PR services in terms of brand awareness to have more direct contact with our clients. Furthermore, today, niche “skinfluencers” are also a go-to option for such brands.

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