Jungle Care children's bath & body line national ad campaign breaking in September.

JUNGLE CARE CHILDREN's SALON BATH & BODY LINE GOING NATIONAL with print ads scheduled for the September issue of In Style and distributor negotiations in progress. Jungle Care products, from the eponymous Vienna, Va.-based company, are positioned as tear-free formulas with no animal by-products. The products are also not tested on animals. The 18-SKU line currently is available at 100 salons in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The company has been advertising on a regional basis, including print spots in the Washingtonian magazine.

Jungle Care, which initially debuted in April, is formulated with the "most advanced natural ingredients," including botanical extracts, essential oils, vitamins and proteins, the company said. Ingredients featured in the line include aloe vera, passion fruit, peach, apricot, comfrey, jojoba, cherry bark, angelica and chamomile. The color-safe formulation is also promoted for moms with "treated or colored hair," the company noted.

After two-and-a-half years of research and development, Jungle Care claims to offer the "first professional-only line created to fill the fastest growing niche for salons," children's product sales.

Research shows that children comprise 28% of the U.S. population and sales of children's personal care products reached $182 mil. in 1995, according to Jungle Care. Children's personal care product sales are projected to grow at least 8% over the next five years, the firm added.

"Extra gentle" Tear Free shampoo has a pH balance that allows for everyday use, according to Jungle Care. Formulated with Provitamin B5, the shampoo gives hair "body and volume" while "cleansing so thoroughly it helps remove swimmer's green" and "other chemicals and minerals found in household water," the company noted. Formulated with almond oil and jojoba, the conditioner locks in "natural moisture," while detangling and protecting hair.

Jungle Care Bubble gel's "great smelling bubbles" contain extracts of apricot, mango and peach and provide children's skin with a "healthy moisture balance," Jungle Care said. The leave-in spray Detangler "tames unmanageable hair" and is "a perfect treatment for protecting the hair between shampoos," the company explained. The detangler also incorporates UVA and UVB sunscreens to protect hair from the sun's damage.

Each Jungle Care product is available in three bottle sizes, 8 oz., 16 oz. and 32 oz. The shampoo retails for $5.50 in an 8 oz. size and $14 for the 32 oz. pump. The conditioner sells between $7 and $17, and the bubble gel and detangler are priced at $7 to $11. The company is in the process of testing additional products, with plans to conclude testing by the end of 1997.

Jungle Care claims the line is easy to pick out on salon shelves, even for children who cannot yet read, because of its white packaging with jungle print icons. The firm also positions its offerings to adolescents, noting that while the products are suitable for small children, 13-to-15 year-olds will not think themselves too old to use them.

When it first entered the children's personal care market, Jungle Care viewed Baby Guess-Guess Kids as its largest competitor. The Baby Guess-Guess Kids personal care eight-SKU line included shampoo, detangler and body lotion and was sold in Guess Kids stores, Bloomingdale's and fine salons ("The Rose Sheet" Sept. 2, 1996, p. 4). Guess recently decided to discontinues its Baby Guess line. Jungle Care estimates Guess invested $14 mil. in start-up costs.