BY LAURA KLEPACKI
When it comes to buying natural products, consumers are starting to put their money where their mouths are—literally.
Natural and organic lip care products are becoming more widely available as even such major players as Wyeth’s ChapStick and Coty’s Sally Hansen introduce lip items with green attributes.
Earlier this year, ChapStick unveiled ChapStick 100 percent Naturals lip balms in two varieties. Lip Butter contains five natural butters, including avocado, shea and raspberry, while Botanical Medley features a mix of herbal essences and aloe vitamin extracts. Both are made of 100 percent natural ingredients and come in recyclable packaging.
Meanwhile, beauty brand Sally Hansen introduced Natural Lip Butter Shine, which claims to be the first naturally-based liquid lip gloss in the mass market. It is made from 94 percent natural ingredients such as mango, shea, cocoa, olive and avocado butters, along with acai berry, blueberry and blackberry extracts. There is also a companion Lip Shimmer balm, made from 95 percent natural ingredients. On top of that, an entire new beauty brand called Natural Beauty was launched featuring minerals, natural extracts and such active botanicals as soy, bamboo, papaya and mango. It contains lipsticks, glosses and balms.
Al Briscoe, director of merchandising for Elephant Pharmacy, a four-store California natural products chain, noted that it now carries about 100 different types of lip care items.
“The trend has been moving for some time to get Since its debut in 2003, Eco Lips’ business has away from petroleum and wax-based products,” doubled each year. “Amazingly enough, we are on said Briscoe. There is a rise in use of shea, vegan and track to double again this year,” Shriver said. With hemp ingredients, he added. the growing acceptance of natural and organic
In Elephant stores, lip items are products by mainstream shoppers, found in three spots— Eco Lips now is seeking to break in a lip balm endcap, into U.S. mass market stores. inline with the man- Retailers may be interested. ufacturer’s other face Burt’s Bees, a natural products products and at the brand, is rising fast in lip treatment cash register to grab sales. In food, drug and mass stores, impulse sales. In general, excluding Wal-Mart, with sales up 86 shoppers will spend from percent to $35 million, it had the third- $3.49 to $4.99 for a natural lip ranked lip treatment item, after Abreva and treatment. They will spend ChapStick, respectively, according to data more for SPF protection and from Information Resources Inc. Burt’s also “much more” for products with a had the sixth-ranked item with a shimmer lip wider range of oils and Many manufacturers, including ChapStick, Sally balm, whose volume was up 7. 8 per-botanicals, Briscoe said. He Hansen and Eco Lips, now offer more natural and cent to $21 million. cited as examples: Dr. organic lip care products. Alba Organics also has a blossoming Hauschka’slipcarestickfor lip care business. Last year, its lip $14.99, Juara’s Sweet Black Tea lip treatment for $22 balms and glosses accounted for more than 20 per-and Lavera’s anti-aging lip treatment for $49.99. cent of its $11.6 million in retail sales, according to IRI.
Steve Shriver, president of Eco Lips, a manu- Meanwhile, natural beauty brands are using their facturer of organic lip balms based in Cedar products to help other earth-friendly causes. Since Rapids, Iowa, commented that women still drive last August, Kiss My Face has been selling Lip Action sales of natural and organic lip products. Balms in Whole Foods stores with $1 from each $3.49
“They are the same people who have been tran- balm sold going to The Alliance for Climate Control, sitioning from conventional to organic produce,” an environmental group concerned with global said Shriver. “There are a lot of people looking at warming. And German brand Lavera, which has their options today. Because of the low price of lip moved beyond the specialty market and into the care, it is a low-risk item to start to try natural massmarket withdistributionin Longsand Harmon and organic products.” stores, has tied in with the Rainforest Alliance.
BY MICHAEL JOHNSEN Futuro marketing at Beiersdorf, told This lifestyle approach to market-
Drug Store News. “Whether they are ing, Futuro’s “Live More” campaign,
22, 52 or 82, there are things that is expected to help drive new users they want to do,” he said. “We are to the category, which means incre-looking to target [consumers] not mental dollars for the retailer. Along based on demographics, but based with that emotional appeal is more on mind-set—a mind-set of vitality education about how supports and and vibrancy … which goes along braces can enable or empower con-with consumers wanting to live life sumers. In addition to augmenting on their own terms.” It’s a market- the education right on the package, ing focus on activity, as opposed to LaPorta said, Futuro is currently disability, LaPorta explained, such revamping its Web site in July with a as enabling a weekend warrior to focus on that education . play that game of softball, or As for packaging that’s currently on Beiersdorf is appealing to users of its Futuro brand empowering a senior to join their shelf, Futuro expected that to sell- braces by showing how the items can assist with friends in their weekly mall walk. through by sometime early next year. movement in day-to-day activities.
“We’ve recently redesigned our The new packaging for all Futuro SKUs, dorf is launching under the new hosiery packaging,” LaPorta said. representing some 150 products, is marketing initiative is the Futuro “You’ll see a more consumer- expected to be completed by September. Therapeutic Diabetic Socks, a non-friendly design, which provides “We’ve already begun shipping our new cotton, moisture-wicking sock with more education and lifestyle situa- packages for hosiery,” LaPorta said. minimal compression that’s antimi-tions on the package.” One of the new products Beiers- crobial and cushioned.
WILTON, Conn. — Fresh from a recent round of consumer research, this fall Beiersdorf will be changing the face of its Futuro franchise with more of an emotional appeal to shoppers—braces and supports that focus on enabling them to do more of their day-to-day tasks as opposed to a need-driven pitch that reminds shoppers why they need the support or brace.
It’s a very subtle adjustment— moving from condition-solution marketing to more of an emotional appeal—but Beiersdorf is expecting this initiative to drive incremental dollars into the category in the coming year. “The [key] consumer research insight is that consumers really want to live life on their own terms,” Larry LaPorta, director of
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