Noah's Naturals Ingestible Anti-Aging Elixir Winning Over Mass Retailers
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Noah's Naturals is expanding to new mass retail locations with its revamped natural skin-care line featuring an anti-aging beverage the brand credits with "getting its foot in the door.
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Noah's Naturals is expanding to new mass retail locations with its revamped natural skin-care line featuring an anti-aging beverage the brand credits with "getting its foot in the door." The brand, which launched in 2006 exclusively in Wal-Mart, is now available in 2,500 Wal-Mart doors, is shipping to about 2,000 Walgreens doors, and is in talks with other retailers. While expanding the line's retail footprint, Noah's has also added to its portfolio, which now boasts about 22 personal-care items. The highlight of the range is a four-step facial beauty regimen consisting of Gentle Cream Cleanser, Firming Gel Serum, Facial Moisturizer (with or without SPF 15) and the new Anti-Aging Beauty Elixir. The elixir, designed to nourish and hydrate skin and positioned as an effective supplement to any topical beauty routine, contains Collactive , a combination of marine collagen and elastin peptides, as well as anti-oxidant-rich foods such as pomegranate. The daily-use powder drink contains 30 calories, and high doses of vitamins A, C and E. A clinical trial supports the drink's efficacy, the firm says, though it is not ready to release the data publicly. The elixir is one of the few, if not the only, anti-aging beverages sold in the U.S. mass market, Director of Marketing Roseann Fernandez told "The Rose Sheet" in a March 8 interview. In recent years ingestible beauty products, or beauty foods, have been making their way primarily into specialty and department store doors. Isocell, for example, markets GliSODin Skin Nutrients in specialty channels, and Nestle's Glowelle beauty drinks are sold at Neiman Marcus. Overcoming Barriers To Mass Fernandez acknowledged that Noah's penetration of the mass market when so many retailers are culling brand-name products and dedicating more shelf space to private-label is an accomplishment. "Our beauty elixir got our foot in the door," she said, noting that the beverage strikes retailers as "new and unique and incremental to their business." Retailers are drawn to the fact that the beauty elixir can be used with any beauty regimen - not just as a supplement to Noah's Naturals formulas - and that it can be placed in stores' beauty aisle as well as in other sections. Fernandez says the line also appeals to retailers because it is priced between high-end natural products and value-oriented brands. A lip balm in the line retails for $1.99, while the beauty beverage, its most expensive product, is priced at around $20. "I wanted to find a nice middle ground there, so it's still very accessible to every type of consumer and they don't feel like they're breaking their piggy bank," Fernandez said. The topical products contain ingredients such as acai, pomegranate, goji berry and grape seed and are free of sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens and phthalates. They are not tested on animals. The company would eventually like to pair certain topical products in the line with additional ingestible beauty products. Noah's Naturals also has repackaged its products, emphasizing its anti-aging focus on skin-care labels, which will bear the words "Natural Age Repair" beneath the brandname. The line's former green and amber packaging has been redesigned with an "eco-luxe" image containing shades of purple and gold with a floral motif, a design intended to "introduce a bit of luxury into the green beauty category." Fernandez said the products will likely feature the Natural Products Association's seal soon. NPA has certified about 300 products since launching its naturals standard in May 2008 (1 (Also see "NPA Seal On Nearly 300 Natural Products; New CEO Gay Is Ready For 2010" - HBW Insight, 14 Dec, 2009.)). Noah's Naturals is promoting its expansion, its new image and the elixir with a $2 million marketing initiative that includes a 60-second TV spot on cable networks Bravo and Lifetime, beginning in late March. The spot aims to help consumers understand beauty "from the inside out," Fernandez said. The firm also is planning print ads for the latter half of the year and has launched a campaign targeted to moms on Twitter and Facebook. - Eileen Francis |