Hyland's covers 'life cycle' of products

NEW YORK — The new marketing frontier of social media has created new opportunities to reach a very passionate consumer, and that may be one big reason behind homeopathy’s escalating penetration with the general public.

That’s especially true for a niche marketer like Hyland’s, a company that has developed a “life cycle” of products of sorts by providing solutions applicable to newborn babies and toddlers, such as teething gel and colic tablets; remedies for older children as part of its Hyland’s “4Kids” brand; and homeopathic remedies more appropriate for adults.

“The purchaser of a teething tablet is going to have different attributes than a consumer and/or purchaser of an adult cough-cold product,” said J.P. Borneman, chairman and CEO at Hyland’s. “In the baby product area, the consumer is a passionate Hyland’s mom. … That’s an entirely different proposition than the adult cold or the leg-cramp user.”

Also helping bridge the gap is a comprehensive Web presence, including both traditional Web portals and newer social media portals, such as Facebook. That strategy has paid dividends, Borneman noted. “Sometimes those smaller [niche markets] have significantly higher loyalty and stickiness. … That also means that what’s growing is growing in a more robust and stable way.”