A balm-y cold season
Cold weather doesn’t just bring sniffles and sneezes — it also can bring dry lips. The lip care segment is tied to cough-cold — which this year is bringing lip balm manufacturers a boon.
“Cold, dry weather and illness both really impact our business because we are merchandised in the cough-cold planogram,” said Jona Mancuso, vice president of marketing at Franklin, Wis.-based Carma Labs. “The more people who come down the aisle for illness-related reasons will generally have a positive impact on our business.”
That being the case, in the same way that sales of cough-cold products are off to a fast start, so are lip balm sales. “Pre-season, September [and on] looks like we are off to a slightly faster start than prior years,” Mancuso said.
The trend toward natural also is resonating among consumers seeking relief from dry, irritated or chapped lips. “Natural is one of the most important consumer trends across all personal care categories,” Mancuso said. “Natural/organic personal care shoppers are buying more now than they ever have.”
Mancuso said Carma Labs is looking to capitalize on both of these trends in the coming months with the line extension across its Carmex Comfort Care brand of a natural offering this spring and the extension of its Daily Care Tube three-pack in flavors that officials said have broad appeal. Multipacks in particular have been drawing more of consumers’ dollars recently.
“Multipack category volume has continued to increase year-over-year,” Mancuso said. “Over the past four years, it’s grown from 14% of the category to 18% of the category. That is something we expect to continue as our retailers look to increase their average unit retail.”
“Cold, dry weather and illness both really impact our business because we are merchandised in the cough-cold planogram,” said Jona Mancuso, vice president of marketing at Franklin, Wis.-based Carma Labs. “The more people who come down the aisle for illness-related reasons will generally have a positive impact on our business.”
That being the case, in the same way that sales of cough-cold products are off to a fast start, so are lip balm sales. “Pre-season, September [and on] looks like we are off to a slightly faster start than prior years,” Mancuso said.The trend toward natural also is resonating among consumers seeking relief from dry, irritated or chapped lips. “Natural is one of the most important consumer trends across all personal care categories,” Mancuso said. “Natural/organic personal care shoppers are buying more now than they ever have.”
Mancuso said Carma Labs is looking to capitalize on both of these trends in the coming months with the line extension across its Carmex Comfort Care brand of a natural offering this spring and the extension of its Daily Care Tube three-pack in flavors that officials said have broad appeal. Multipacks in particular have been drawing more of consumers’ dollars recently.
“Multipack category volume has continued to increase year-over-year,” Mancuso said. “Over the past four years, it’s grown from 14% of the category to 18% of the category. That is something we expect to continue as our retailers look to increase their average unit retail.”