CurEl is taking a more targeted approach.
The mass market skin care brand plans to introduce its first product line specifically tailored to the hands and feet, called Targeted Therapy Hand and Cuticle and Foot Creams.
Curél developed the two formulas, both priced at $4.99, using feedback from its female consumers. The products aim to heal and moisturize the overworked and often-neglected skin of the hands and feet. Holly Brunson, a Curél research scientist who helped developed the line, described the hand cream as a “cationic system,” explaining that dry areas of the skin, which have negative charges, draw in the lotion, because of its positive ionic charge. “This lotion provides a protective barrier for the skin and stays not just through one hand wash, but several,” said Brunson.
The hand cream also contains monoi oil, a blend of Tahitian tiare flower and coconut oil that is used to moisturize the skin, and vitamin E, an antioxidant that is said to reduce dryness and aid in cell production. The foot cream relies on urea, an ingredient designed to deeply penetrate the calloused skin of the foot, and also contains shea butter and coconut milk that is said to provide anti-inflammatory benefits.
The concept for the Targeted Therapy line, which is slated to launch in February, was formed as Curél executives evaluated the brand’s presence in the marketplace.
“We took a look at our portfolio and realized we were not developed in the hand and foot segment and those two segments had been growing over the years,” said Nikki Zellen, brand manager for Curél. After realizing the need existed, Zellen and Brunson began consumer research with focus groups. “Moms told us that when they went to pick up their kids from school, they had to wait a while after using some lotions because their hands were too slippery for the steering wheel,” said Zellen.
Curél researchers also found that women felt the standard foot cream scent of peppermint was too strong for bedtime, the time they typically applied the products. The result is a line reflecting the desires of the consumer — a hand cream said to be nonslip and a foot cream with a soft scent inspired by coconut milk. The hand cream’s long, thin packaging was designed to fit into a woman’s purse, while the foot cream is shorter and stockier to fit bedside tables. Both have flip tops to “accommodate a woman on the go,” said Zellen.
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According to Information Resources Inc., Curél sales increased 7.5 percent to about $35 million in food, drug and mass stores — excluding Wal-Mart — for the 52-week period ended Oct. 8.
Industry sources estimate that the new Targeted Therapy line will reach between $8 million and $10 million in first-year retail sales.
Also in the works is the Curél Cures the Winter Blues campaign. A Curél skin care team will be stopping in several cities this winter, including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and New York, to give skin analyses, hand massages and Curél samples. At each event, participants can make donations to The American Red Cross.