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 Face & Nail Care - November/October 2007  |
Versatile Vanity
From mass-merchandisers to drugs stores to specialty stores, shoppers can find a wide variety of innovative, high-quality, price conscious, private label beauty care products to suit their needs. Ten thousand Americans celebrate their 50th birthday every day. These are the baby boomers and they are a force to be noticed. It is estimated that there will be 78 million baby boomers controlling $2.3 trillion dollars in annual household expenditures. This is great news for companies providing products and services to this market, and even greater news for private label manufacturers and retailers. Alycia de Mesa reports in a June 2007 article on brandchannel.com, “…don’t count on brand loyalty. Boomers form a generation that makes buying decisions based on the latest sales–not necessarily the brand name. Price-point sensitivity and brand fickleness can be attributed to financial demands…they certainly appear to like their share of indulgent luxuries and are not afraid of technology.” If this trend prediction comes true, private label manufactures and stores offering private label HBC products stand to profit from this dynamic marketing force. Private label products have traditionally competed well against branded items on price. And higher quality, indulgent, private label lines have already proven their worth in a variety of categories. Today we are seeing several new private label products competing in the HBC category. These include CVS brand eye lifting serum and Wal-Mart’s Equate label daily regenerating serum. Both products are competing with Procter and Gamble’s Oil of Olay newest product line, Regenerist. The CVS product is sold behind a glass enclosed case; the 1.7 ounce daily serum, enhancing lotion, perfecting cream, night cream, and eye lifting serum are all priced at $14.99. The Equate regenerating serum and eye lifting serum are priced at $10.48 compared to the Olay at $17.42. The Equate label is also offering a firming complex and face and neck product to compete with L’Oreal’s newest age fighting product, Revitalift. The 5 ounce face product sells for $6.48 and the 1.7 ounce face and neck product sells for $6.90. European Beauty Retailers are also experimenting with exclusivity. Target stores and select CVS stores carry the British Boots brand of cosmetics. CVS has imported its own European best seller with the Lumene line of skin care and cosmetics from Finland available in stores and online at CVS.com. New products in the Lumene line include Radiant C Beauty Drops age-defying serum. CVS stores offered a $2.00 in-store promotional coupon this summer. The store is also promoting the line in its weekly circulars. A recent advertisement promoted the Premium Beauty Rejuvenating Instant Serum with tri-peptides to minimize visible lines for $29.99. Customers can also pick up various Lumene cosmetic application guides and promotional pieces to help them learn more about these products. A majority of the lines skin care products are marketed to women aged 25 and over and ads state “Premium beauty cosmetics specifically designed for mature skin.” Boomer-centric products include targeted wrinkle treatment and age spot treatment, as well as a line of “age-defying” sun care products. In July, Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, introduced a new exclusive skin care product line, Yes to Carrots. The line has innovative names such as C You in the Morning, C Loves Your Hair, and C the Difference. The products contain beta-carotene and Dead Sea minerals. The combination is purported to have anti-aging and anti-oxidant properties along with healing properties. Michelle Hobson, Walgreens’ manager of strategic business development for beauty says, “We are always searching for new products our customers will love….the products are made with organic ingredients and smell great, the brand’s marketing philosophies are as fun and fresh as the products themselves.” The chain will be selling the complete line of 16 products at select Walgreens stores and at Walgreens.com. Skin care products are also appearing in unexpected places. Both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, two stores known for their robust private label groceries and organic/natural products, are extending their lines from food to body. Shoppers at Whole Foods can find a full-range of French-milled soaps and body lotions that are free from additives and not tested on animals. Soaps and lotions are displayed with shelf signs, “Great Buy.” Products are shelved in a section of the store away from grocery items along side vitamins and books. Trader Joe’s is selling moisturizing lotions in both pump bottles and stand-up tubes, moisturizing cream shave, and sea salt and sugar scrubs. Prices range from $2.49 to 6.99. And like Whole Foods, shoppers will find these items separate from grocery items. A Touch of Color In addition to fighting the signs of aging with topical creams, women of all ages want to present a healthy glow. And that means the application of foundation and color. The Lumene line carries a complete line from foundation to nails. New foundation products include the Crystal Radiance Skin Tone Perfector, Cover Palette that is designed to cover skin flaws, Rejuvenating makeup. New cosmetic products include a waterproof mascara, Beauty Nourishing Mascara, “the first mascara specifically designed to nourish and thicken mature lashes,” and Beauti-Full plumping lipshine lipstick. Fans of beauty expert Sonia Kashuk can shop at Barneys for her line of make-up brushes or at Target for her exclusive line of brushes and cosmetics. The line of foundations, eye shadows, lipsticks, lip liners range in price from $4.99 to $12.99. The line also contains several innovative products such as a combination mascara and eyeliner. Application Most cosmetics come with some type of disposable applicator. However, make-up experts have always advised women to use make-up brushes for professional results. And it is with cosmetic brushes and applicators that private label cleans up over the brands. Private label offers more variety and quality. Target’s Sonia Kashuk line contains 29 different brushes, as well as other tools like a deluxe travel eyelash curler. Target is also offering a value priced line of 15 cosmetic brushes under the Studio Tools name. Prices start at $1.97 to $4.99. Wal-Mart offers its Simply Basic line that includes cotton cosmetic rounds and brushes priced from $.97 to $4.84. Walgreens also has two tiers of brushes, the Perfection line that includes single brushes and sets and the more upscale Salon Collection of single wrapped brushes. Pretty Hands and Smooth Feet The increase in neighborhood nail salons has brought the luxury of manicured hands and smooth feet to the masses. And while the seasonal explosion of nail polish colors is still the domain of the big brands, private label is stepping a toe or two into this market. The CVS Lumene line includes new nail polishes, the Lumene Quick and Chic polish with one-touch brush. The polish “dries instantly and last long. Hyposensitive formula–no formaldehyde.” CVS also sells a line of pumice stones and a battery operated, hand-held pedicure foot buffer. The private label HBC category has a new channel of growth with luxurious and affordable products that appeal to baby boomers. Experts say that 96% of baby boomers participate in word-of-mouth marketing. So while they are enjoying their pedicure treatment, they’ll share the news of the great private label bargains and products found at their favorite local retailer. That’s a brand endorsement strategy that no amount of advertising can buy. Recommended suppliers
Products described or shown in this article are not necessarily available from these suppliers. For more suppliers see current Private Label Directory & Buyer’s Guide. |
