NEW YORK — Implus Foot Care, makers of the Airplus for Her line of women’s insoles, is stepping into the pedicure business. In January, Implus will introduce the Spa-la-la pedicure line to retailers nationwide.
The collection, billed as a luxury line for the mass market, was created to provide a complete range of foot care products.
The quintet of Spa-la-la items include two citrus-scented creams, Repair and Heal. Repair is said to restore cracked skin while Heal, which contains paraffin, is designed to hydrate and seal in moisture. The line’s exfoliator, Scrub, contains a sugar-based exfoliant, an ingredient John Andrews, Implus’ vice president of marketing, described as a unique benefit of the Spa-la-la products. “Sugar is a very gentle exfoliant, more so than the salt or ground-up walnut shells found in other products,” he said. A double-sided pumice stone, Pedistone, with both medium and heavy coarseness, and a Spa Therapy Sock complete the line. The products will retail from $5.99 each for the Therapy Sock and Pedistone to $6.99 each for the creams and scrub.
The line was developed in conjunction with celebrity manicurist Carla Kay, who played an integral role in the cultivation of the products’ luxury appeal. As Implus created product prototypes, Kay weighed in on the effectiveness of the formulas and the quality of the ingredients. “We took her luxury expertise and brought it to the mass market through her input and feedback,” said Andrews.
Spa-la-la’s lavender and fuchsia packaging is similar to the Airplus for Her, which, according to Andrews, was a strategic move to make the line appealing to consumers already familiar with the brand. He also cited the feminine color palette as another point of differentiation from its main competitors. “We tried to bring in a visual element that female consumers are accustomed to finding when they’re shopping for cosmetics,” said Andrews. This, he said, is in contrast to other foot care brands, which are “medicinal” looking.
The foot care industry is a $540 million business currently dominated by established brands such as Dr. Scholl’s, which does about 30 percent of total industry sales. Industry analysts forecast Spa-la-la will do $10 million to $20 million in first-year retail sales.
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The creators of Spa-la-la believe the line’s feminine appeal and “masstige” positioning will allow it to penetrate this brand dominance. “The female consumer is very underserved,” Andrews stated. “Spa-la-la will fill a void in the marketplace by differentiating on its luxury, nonmedicinal products.”