NEW YORK – The Healing Garden, the brand that carved out the specialty bath section in the mass market, is setting its sights on more attractive real estate – the burgeoning facial skin care category.
This spring, the Coty Beauty brand will introduce The Healing Garden Skin Organics, a collection of seven skin care products designed to blend science with nature. However, rather than compete on the home turf of L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble, Coty will incubate Skin Organics in the specialty bath aisle.
“The whole bath and body category is in flux,” noted Roslyn Griner, vice president of bath and body for Coty Beauty, adding that skin care treatments continue to generate healthy year-over-year sales gains. The category saw robust growth across most segments, with sales of antiaging products surging 21 percent to $437.5 million for the 52-week period ended Nov. 27 in the mass market, excluding Wal-Mart, according to Information Resources Inc. Sales in the specialty bath category did not fare as well, sliding more than 11 percent to $83.3 million during the same period.
Coty has been shepherding The Healing Garden into the wellness arena over the last year in a move to distance the brand from value-priced imports and tap into higher growth areas. It began the effort last summer with The Healing Garden Organics Wild Honey, a line of body care products formulated with certified organic ingredients. To introduce the new platform, Coty recruited the songbird/poet Jewel as the face of The Healing Garden Organics’ advertising campaign. She will help market the facial care line as well.
Despite its efforts to revive sales in an ailing category, The Healing Garden’s sales declined 15 percent to $38.1 million for the 52 weeks ended Nov. 27 in the mass market, excluding Wal-Mart, according to IRI. The brand is banking on its newly implemented diversification strategy to reverse its fortunes and redefine its role in the mass beauty arena.
The Skin Organics collection includes ReNourish Moisture Lotion SPF 15, ReFortify Anti-Wrinkle Cream, ReFortify Eye Cream, ReFine Microdermabrasion Treatment, ReEnergize Facial Cleansing Gel, ReHydrate Cleansing Milk and ReFresh Facial Toner. Prices range from $6.75 to $13.95, positioning Skin Organics at the premium end of the specialty bath category.
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Coty executives would not comment on sales, but they anticipate Skin Organics will account for 2 to 3 percent of skin treatment sales, which, according to IRI data, translates into roughly $9 million to $12 million in sales volume.
To create Skin Organics, The Healing Garden leveraged technology from Lancaster Group, Coty’s prestige beauty division. Griner, describing the texture of the products as “light and luxurious,” said the line is designed to go head-to-head with prestige offerings. The formula relies on what Paul Seplowitz, vice president of product development for Coty Beauty, called a “Natural Energy Complex.” This blend of nutrients includes aloe for repair and moisture, wheat protein for firming and plumping wrinkles, wild yam to firm and vitamins A, C and E to protect against environmental stresses.
Seplowitz said that consumers in focus groups responded well to the word “energy,” associating it with firm, vibrant skin.
Its organic bent, said Griner, is what distinguishes Skin Organics from other players in the same space. Each product contains 70 percent organic ingredients. For instance, ReFine Microdermabrasion Treatment uses bamboo and pumice as an alternative to aluminum oxide, the ingredient commonly found in microdermabrasion products.
To prove their worth, each product has been clinically tested. “Consumers like the organic positioning, but above all, they want to know the products work,” said Griner.
The Healing Garden will include a singular claim in its print ads, which break in March beauty books: In just two weeks, 85 percent of women reported healthier looking skin. As it did with Organics Wild Honey, The Healing Garden will promote Skin Organics on Jewel’s Web site, Jeweljk.com.
To build awareness in the store, The Healing Garden will roll out a sampling program. The company is also educating Walgreens’ beauty advisors on product benefits. By next fall, Coty executives expect the brand to have retail presence in 20,000 doors.
Seplowitz said, “We are trying to get organics into as many hands as we can.”