Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone
Personal care products hit home

BY KAREN BUTLER

Years ago, “spa days” were reserved for the rich and famous, while the rest of us were expected to grin and bear the stresses of everyday life. But somewhere along the road of rising health care premiums and sick-day revenue losses, Corporate America realized employees were worth a little pampering. By the same token, more individuals began slowing down to catch their breaths — rather than paying the ongoing price of total burnout.

Enter personal care products. Big, fluffy robes. Special kits to fix up fingernails. Soothing foot lotions and massaging contraptions of every shape and size. Even the basics, such as hygiene and safety products. And men, women and children want it all.

“Very few promotional products reach all demographic groups like personal care items,” explains Joe Keely, CAS, director of sales for Fenton, Mo.-based Quickpoint. “Virtually everyone will need a bandage at some point, whether you work at a computer all day or in an industrial environment.”

Donna Houston, SafeHaven Products Inc.’s national sales manager, agrees that the market is wide open. “Personal care items are not only found in the obvious areas like health care facilities, spas and hotels, but amazingly, we’ve had construction companies, realtors and auto dealerships place personal care items in their programs,” she says. Forty percent of the Moorpark, Calif. company’s business is in customized personal kits of relaxation products. Houston credits “the increased level and speed with which business is conducted” for stressing people out, which has directly impacted the demand for stress-relief products.

The folks at Commerce Township, Mich.- based HoMedics Inc. also understand the negative impact of stress. “Companies want their employees to be happy and feel good about themselves. This can be achieved by offering them products that help alleviate the stresses and strains of everyday life,” says Dan Paul, director of special markets. “The personal care market has grown tremendously in the last couple of years ... Items are being purchased for every type of incentive, reward, safety or recognition program within Corporate America as well as for customer gifts.” He notes that more people are becoming aware of the role of massage in easing stress and tension, and that “health and beauty are of great concern to people of all ages and genders trying to obtain a new generation of treatments which offer results without the downtime and risks."

An increased concern about germs and illnesses has benefited this niche as well. “The SARS epidemic in China and the potential for a similar infectious disease outbreak in the U.S. has led to a much higher awareness for protecting yourself against harmful germs,” Keely explains. This has opened the door even wider for products offering lotions, cleansers and other products with antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. “The perceived value to the recipient is tremendous, as the added value that antimicrobial protection brings pushes the item to the ‘everyday use’ category.”

Laws of the Land

Although personal care products have gained in popularity, one of the golden rules of selling still applies. “Know your audience,” states Keely. “There are some personal care items that are so gender- or use-specific that they will be used by very few people or used very rarely.” That’s why many of life’s ‘staples’ — toothbrushes, bandages and nail clippers — have held strong in this category, which is just fine with its suppliers and customers.

“Every time a customer uses a personal care item, such as a lip balm, they are, in effect, pulling out the business card of the company being promoted,” says Karl S. Halpert, president of Taos, N.M.-based Private Label Select Ltd. Co. “The company name and image is reinforced dozens of times. As lip-balm manufacturers, we tell our customers that, through the use of our lip balms as a promotional tool, they are keeping their company name ‘on their customers’ lips.’ And if the product quality is high, that sense of quality promotes an impression of quality for the company.”

While that may sound like a no-brainer, Halpert points out that “Most personal care items manufactured for promotion are of very cheap, poor quality,” — a sentiment echoed by several concerned suppliers.

Rich Butler, managing director of The W.I.S.E. Group/Promosoap Line in Lake Worth, Fla., says, “It is important for distributors to understand that promotional products with ‘antibacterial’ claims are considered by the U.S. FDA to be ‘over-the-counter drug cosmetics’ and only responsible, reliable and knowledgeable FDA-registered and compliant sources should be used. This is one area of the promotional products universe where ‘overseas imports’ are particularly dangerous and risky. Our motto? Buyer beware.”

Halpert concurs. “Make sure that the manufacturer is reputable and is manufacturing the products in the U.S., or with a foreign company that has similar standards to the U.S. in a verifiable way. This is important in terms of quality; manufacturing standards as established by the FDA; and the working conditions under which the product is made, i.e. sweat shops/child labor.”

The Ones to Watch

Which products should distributors keep an eye on in the months to come? Seasoned veterans recommend focusing on the feet, as well as products containing natural ingredients. “The foot is like a circuit board which has direct communications with the brain — aka the ‘computer’ — therefore we should take very good care of our feet,” advises sales and marketing guru Dale P. Ross of Largo, Fla.-based Hit Promotional Products.

Halpert looks to retail trends for what’s hot. “Personal care consumers have become increasingly educated about the benefits of natural ingredients in their personal care products — for health, aesthetic and also for environmental reasons,” he says. “This has been aided by mass-market retailers carrying natural products on an ever-increasing level; multiplying distribution channels; investment capital available to natural products suppliers; and the shrinking disparity in the cost of natural vs. synthetic. This trend continues with cosmetics. An extension of this phenomenon is in the organic personal care market, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of the personal care industry.”

According to Seth Kane, sales manager of Sero Sales in Belmont, N.C., increasing sales hinges on something much simpler than identifying the hottest new trends. “Companies must see a need for personal care products, either in their day-to-day operation or in their advertising,” he says. “Once a distributor can find that need, then selling personal care products is easier.” Kane notes versatility should help close the deal since the products are typically genderneutral, devoid of size problems and able to be decorated in many ways.

Other suppliers agree that an elaborate sales pitch isn’t necessarily a must in this category. “The best selling tip for personal care items is that they are personal as opposed to impersonal,” Houston explains, “which sends a caring message to the recipient. This creates higher levels of positive feelings — which is very effective in business relationships.”

A Brush with Greatness
MICHIGAN COMPANY HIRES UNIQUE WORKFORCE

On the surface, Lansing, Mich.-based Bretton Square Industries is conducting business as usual. The company’s catalog is filled with typical products, pricing and industry jargon. However, behind the scenes, the organization does much more than manufacture imprinted toothbrushes: It serves as a major employer of the developmentally disabled and mentally ill.

During the past 20 years, the company has expanded its product line for children and adults to include vibrant color combinations and more sophisticated designs. It even created a special line of Halloween toothbrushes which are popular with oral physicians and insurance companies featuring fall enrollment dates.

The vocational program partners with a local public organization, Community Mental Health of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties. Currently, Bretton has nearly 100 employees, each of whom is developmentally disabled.

“We’re not necessarily looking to make a ton of money,” admits Susan Speers, business plant manager. “Our goal is to employ people.”

For more information, visit www.asisupplier.com/41720.