The rise of the self-care Gen Z male: A new opportunity for marketers

A decade ago, a man's grooming routine often began and ended with a razor, a deodorant, and perhaps a bottle of hair oil. Today, young Indian men are curating fragrance wardrobes, building multi-step skincare routines, investing in premium fashion and activewear, and spending on wellness products designed to enhance everything from sleep quality to overall performance.

The shift is reshaping one of the country's fastest-evolving consumer segments. As attitudes toward self-care become more mainstream and personal expression gains importance, young men are emerging as a key growth audience for FMCG and lifestyle brands. In response, marketers are expanding product portfolios, refining brand positioning, and rethinking communication strategies to tap into a category that is growing well beyond traditional grooming.

Deepak Chhabra, Managing Director, Timex, said, “Gen Z consumers engage with brands very differently from previous generations. Traditional aspirational advertising alone is no longer enough; this audience values authenticity, cultural relevance, individuality, and community-driven discovery.”

He added, “Today, nearly 75–80% of our investments are digital-first, and the strategy is less about broadcasting and more about building cultural relevance and participation.”

Chhabra noted that younger consumers increasingly gravitate towards brands that tap into fandoms, cultural communities, and shared interests rather than traditional product-led marketing. He pointed to the growing popularity of Formula 1 among young audiences as an example of how sport has evolved into a broader lifestyle and cultural phenomenon.

The shift is not limited to fashion and lifestyle categories. Marketers across fitness, grooming, wellness, and personal care are also seeing young men engage with these categories earlier and more intentionally than previous generations.

A similar shift is unfolding in personal care and grooming. Manish Chowdhary, Co-Founder of WOW Skin Science, said Gen Z male consumers are increasingly viewing grooming and self-care as extensions of confidence, wellness, and personal identity. He noted that younger consumers are more informed and ingredient-conscious than previous generations, driving demand for science-backed products and greater transparency.

Chowdhary added that marketing investments are increasingly shifting towards creator ecosystems, digital-first storytelling, social commerce, and engagement-led formats. He noted that the rise of quick commerce is further shortening discovery-to-purchase journeys, as consumers increasingly expect immediacy and convenience.

“Marketing spends are increasingly aligned with ensuring strong visibility across Q-commerce platforms so that when consumers discover a product through creator content or social media, they can seamlessly purchase and receive it within minutes,” Chowdhary said.

Mohua Das Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer at cult.fit, noted that while millennials often approached fitness later in life from a preventive health perspective, Gen Z is entering the category much earlier and viewing fitness as part of their identity. As a result, brands are increasingly moving beyond standalone fitness offerings to build broader ecosystems around wellness, recovery, community, and lifestyle. She added that this evolution is also influencing how brands communicate with younger consumers.

She said, “The narrative is moving away from transformation-led messaging towards progress-led messaging. With Gen Z accounting for nearly 45% of our consumer base, we increasingly focus on helping individuals become stronger, healthier, and more consistent versions of themselves, rather than chasing a singular fitness outcome. The emphasis is on building sustainable habits, celebrating progress, and creating a sense of belonging around fitness.”

Beyond fitness and personal care, brands across wellness, jewellery, and grooming categories are seeing similar behavioural changes among young male consumers.

At Nat Habit, Gen Z men are increasingly turning to grooming products to address specific concerns such as acne, hair fall, tanning, and oily skin, while seeking greater transparency around ingredients and efficacy. Similarly, Bold Care noted that younger consumers are more identity-driven than previous generations, gravitating towards brands that are culturally relevant, authentic, and purpose-led, prompting greater investment in creator-led content and storytelling.

The trend extends beyond grooming and wellness. At Solitario, younger men are increasingly purchasing diamonds as a form of self-expression, driving demand for gender-fluid jewellery and everyday luxury products. Meanwhile, KT Professional observed that Gen Z men increasingly view grooming as an expression of confidence and personal style, pushing brands towards creator collaborations, short-form content, and culture-led communication.

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Discovery channels

The changing consumer mindset is also reshaping where brands invest their marketing budgets and how they engage with young men online.

Swagatika Das, CEO and Co-founder of Nat Habit, said short-video platforms, particularly Instagram Reels, are driving strong engagement among young male consumers. According to her, content centred on relatable grooming concerns and everyday routines is resonating more strongly than purely aesthetic or aspirational messaging.

“We’re seeing strong traction with regional creators, reaction-style formats, and problem-solution storytelling, while e-commerce and quick commerce are also emerging as important discovery platforms for impulse-led grooming purchases,” she said.

Rajat Jadhav, Co-founder and CEO, Bold Care, said, “Collaborations with Samay Raina and our co-founder Ranveer Singh have shown us that Gen Z consumers engage most with content that feels entertaining, culturally aware, and platform-native. Right now, creators and short-video platforms are driving the strongest engagement because they shape trends, humour, and consumer behaviour in real time.”

Jadhav also highlighted the growing role of e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, noting that they are increasingly serving as discovery and engagement channels in addition to purchase platforms. According to him, consumers are now discovering, evaluating, and buying products within the same digital journey, particularly across grooming, wellness, and lifestyle categories.

Across categories, marketers pointed to a common shift in how young men discover and engage with brands. Chhabra noted that discovery, validation, and purchase increasingly happen simultaneously across creator content, short-form video, sports ecosystems, and e-commerce platforms, while cultural relevance is becoming more important as consumers move fluidly across fashion, entertainment, gaming, music, and lifestyle.

Gupta highlighted the growing influence of creators, fitness coaches, athletes, and community-led experiences, with marathons and fitness events emerging as key engagement platforms. Echoing this, Chowdhary said trust is increasingly built through creators, peer recommendations, reviews, and real-world experiences, while e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms are evolving into powerful discovery channels. As a result, brands are moving beyond traditional demographic targeting and focusing more on communities, interests, and lifestyle behaviours.

Ricky Vasandani, CEO and Co-founder, Solitario, explained, “Engagement today isn't about broadcasting; it’s about integration. We’ve found that the traditional hard sell fails miserably with this cohort.”

He added that style-focused creators and short-form video platforms are among the strongest drivers of engagement, particularly when content showcases jewellery as part of everyday fashion and self-expression. The company is also seeing traction within sneaker, streetwear, and other youth culture communities, where jewellery is increasingly viewed as an extension of personal style. According to Vasandani, while purchases may happen online or offline, discovery is overwhelmingly digital, making visual storytelling and social proof critical to influencing consumers.

According to Dhruv Sayani, Founder of KT Men, creators and short-form video platforms have emerged as key discovery channels for young male consumers, with relatable personalities increasingly influencing grooming, style, and purchase decisions more than traditional advertising.

Sayani said, “Platforms aren't just transactional checkouts anymore; they have become active discovery engines where guys research tutorials, product categories, and reviews before deciding. Quick commerce has accelerated this into pure impulse discovery. The rule for us is simple: stop trying to interrupt the culture. You have to participate organically within their everyday scrolling habits.”

Industry observers believe these shifts reflect a broader transformation in how Gen Z men interact with brands and culture.

To bring a broader perspective, Smita Khanna, COO of Newton Consulting India Pvt Ltd, said Gen Z men's purchase decisions are increasingly shaped by cultural ecosystems spanning short-form video, gaming communities, sports content, podcasts, creator recommendations, and peer conversations. According to her, authenticity and relevance have become critical, with trusted creators and communities often exerting greater influence than traditional advertising.

Khanna added that brands are increasingly relying on consumer insights, behavioural analytics, social listening, and AI-driven segmentation to identify emerging interests and consumption patterns, enabling more personalised and timely engagement with younger audiences.

Khanna further noted that Gen Z has fundamentally reshaped marketing by prioritising authenticity, conversation, and purpose over traditional brand messaging. According to her, younger consumers increasingly expect brands to build communities around shared values and experiences, with issues such as sustainability, inclusivity, and wellbeing playing a growing role in engagement. She added that this shift is driving marketing investments towards digital platforms, creator collaborations, influencer-led storytelling, and short-form video content, with platforms such as Instagram and YouTube emerging as key touchpoints.

“The key to connecting with this generation is not speaking louder but listening better. Gen Z is vocal, opinionated, and quick to call out insincerity. Brands that encourage dialogue, embrace transparency, and create genuine value are far more likely to earn their trust and long-term loyalty,” she concluded.

As young men increasingly view grooming, wellness, fashion, and self-care as extensions of identity rather than necessity, brands are finding that relevance today is less about selling products and more about participating in the communities, cultures, and conversations that shape modern consumer behaviour.