Coppertone Innovates With Texture, Launching ‘Whipped’ Sunscreens

Despite passage of the US Sunscreen Innovation Act in late 2015 – which was intended to help speed the approval process for new UV filters – sunscreen formulators’ active ingredient palette has not expanded. Bayer brand Coppertone has the same filters at its disposal, but is innovating in other directions.

Bayer AG’s Coppertone unit focuses on product texture with the launch of new Whipped sunscreens, expected to promote consumer usage and be a win with moms.

The firm’s Whipped sunscreens are designed to quickly absorb into skin while moisturizing and without leaving a sticky residue, Lisa Perez, sun care marketing director, explained in an email to the Rose Sheet.

Further, Coppertone expects that the “clean and light” texture will encourage consumers to reapply more frequently.

With a frothy consistency similar to shaving cream, the Whipped product is a “happy medium – it’s not a lotion per se but it has the convenience of a spray,” according to a brand spokesperson.

Meanwhile, it eliminates a prominent concern about spray sunscreens – the possibility of inadvertent inhalation, which poses safety risks that FDA is exploring under a 2011 advance notice of proposed rulemaking and associated data request.

The new Water Babies Pure & Simple collection also includes a Free lotion, touted as free of fragrance, parabens, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and dyes, as well as a Mineral Based (zinc oxide) lotion and stick.

Coppertone achieves the unique Whipped texture through a combination of product formula and delivery system. According to Perez, the innovation took more than seven years to develop.

“It is a result of a careful balance of sunscreen actives, propellant and emollients that offer trusted Coppertone protection in a desirable, moisturizing formula,” she said.

The Whipped sunscreens come in SPF 30 and SPF 50 under the Clearly Sheer banner, and in SPF 50 as part of the new Water Babies Pure & Simple range for kids, with prices ranging from $10.99 to $13.99 at mass retailers.

They feature UV filters avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate and octocrylene, and the Clearly Sheer offerings also include oxybenzone.

Oxybenzone’s exclusion from the kids’ line may be due to health concerns among consumers, including the ingredient’s perceived endocrine-disrupting potential, which industry continues to deny based on the bulk of available scientific evidence.

Bayer/Coppertone’s Whipped items are rolling out fully in April in the US and will be primarily marketed to moms – the No. 1 purchaser demographic for sunscreens, according to the brand.

One of Coppertone's new Whipped sunscreen offerings

Innovating with sunscreen delivery formats could be an option for more brands facing a seeming brick wall when it comes to gaining FDA’s approval for next-generation UV filters.

Stakeholders heralded the Sunscreen Innovation Act, signed into law in late 2014, as a breakthrough that would speed a new wave of improved products to US consumers.

However, FDA has drawn a hard line in its review of pending ingredient applications, seeking safety and efficacy data on par with that required for new drugs, despite the ingredients’ extensive marketing histories in other countries. The review process has all but stalled at this point, according to insiders.

While opportunity may exist for twists on traditional formats, if not for new UV filters, companies have to be careful, as FDA also is watching for noncompliant dosage formats. In October 2016, the agency issued warning letters to companies selling sunscreen wipes and shower-on sunscreens, maintaining that such formats are ineligible for OTC review and therefore barred from the US market without new drug approval. (Also see "FDA Scorches Sunscreen Wipe Marketers With October Warning Letters" - HBW Insight, 25 Oct, 2016.)

Presumably, Coppertone’s Whipped offerings fall securely within the range of oils, lotions, creams, gels, butters, pastes, ointments, sticks and sprays that are eligible formats – for the time being anyway – in FDA’s view. (Also see "FDA Questions Spray Sunscreen Safety, Efficacy & Monograph Status" - HBW Insight, 27 Jun, 2011.)

Coppertone Taps ‘Free Of’ Demand

Coppertone also is introducing other new products for summer 2017.

In addition to a Whipped variant, the new Water Babies Pure & Simple collection includes a Free lotion, touted as free of fragrance, parabens, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and dyes, as well as a Mineral Based (zinc oxide) lotion and stick. All provide broad-spectrum SPF 50 protection, the brand says.

Under the Coppertone Sport umbrella, the brand is launching an SPF 50 stick – with wider packaging designed for less mess on application – and a reformulated SPF 50 lip balm, made with aloe and vitamin E for moisturization.

During Bayer’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Global Consumer Chief Erica Mann said she expects new Coppertone launches to boost sluggish overall brand sales. (Also see "Bayer Plans 19 Consumer Product Launches To Revive Sluggish Sales" - Pink Sheet, 23 Feb, 2017.)

She added that the firm was already seeing “early signs” of improvements for Coppertone in fiscal 2017.

Bayer has been subject to criticism from some analysts who believe the firm may have overpaid with its $14bn acquisition of Merck & Co.’s consumer business in 2014, and that certain brands included in the deal, including Coppertone, were questionable choices for integration at Bayer.