Lumene looks to better reach consumers with product updates
NEW YORK — Lumene, a beauty brand from Finland that came to the U.S. beauty market in 2003 through an exclusive deal with CVS/pharmacy, is gearing up for growth in 2011 with revamped formulas and new packaging to better communicate with the U.S. consumer.
Since entering the marketing in 2003, Lumene has garnered an impressive following and has expanded beyond CVS’ store base of about 7,100 stores to roughly 3,400 Walgreens stores, 400 Ulta locations and 103 Sears stores. The brand also is available in select Target, Wegmans, Meijer and Giant Eagle locations.
“We have been very selective and cautious about rolling out to other retailers. … We have a tremendous partnership with CVS and they have really helped steer us and guide us from a marketing perspective in the U.S. market," Joe Pastorkovich, VP North America for Lumene, told Drug Store News. " We know our products and [CVS knows] the U.S. consumer, so they have been critical to our success here."
"[CVS has] also been very supportive of us going out into other retailers as well," Pastorkovich added. "They want to see this brand get bigger and they’ll benefit from us growing. But in order to really start activating media and marketing, we need to have a broader base of distribution.”
As Lumene works to expand distribution selectively and to find additional partners who will support the brand, the company also is focused on enhancing communication with its U.S. consumers. As part of that effort, the new packaging features a new “Lumene Finland” logo and more information about the product and its unique ingredients.
“Almost 100% of the women in focus groups said they like having an understanding of the point of origin of this product, and attaching the word ‘Finland’ to the logo was going to be helpful for them to understand that this is a European product and has a European heritage,” Pastorkovich said. “They connected Finland with beautiful women with beautiful skin, and also [with] high-quality and natural ingredients, so we felt it was a win to go forward with our new logo.”
Some of the new packaging more clearly calls out what the product does, such as reduces puffiness or fights wrinkles. In addition, the packaging now features information on the natural ingredients, including Arctic Cloudberry or Arctic Heather, which are used within the products. “These [ingredients] are the core of the Lumene brand, and what makes us unique and different is that we have these very specialized, natural ingredients that are found only in the Arctic area of Scandinavia. And we are telling the consumer what this is all about,” Pastorkovich said.
To help her understand which product line is best for her specific needs, the revamped packaging also includes an “age bar” to clearly communicate the suggested age of use. For example, the Vitamin C+ Plus line is geared for women ages 25 years and older, the Time Freeze line is designed for women ages 40 years and older, and the Premium Beauty line is ideal for women ages 50 years and older.
With regard to the formulas, Lumene has increased the level of natural ingredients within all of the formulas so the full line has a minimum of 80% natural ingredients, and the formulas now are free of parabens.
Lumene also has several new launches, including the new Time Freeze eye perfecting treatment that just launched at CVS for 2011. This “instant lift serum” promises to diminish puffiness and firm the skin around the eye area with the Artic Heather and metabiotics resveratrol. “It is almost like a completely new launch for Lumene in the U.S. market — all new product formulas, new product names and packaging,” Pastorkovich said.