Kiss My Face Gets Infusion To Grow
Several years ago, a reporter had the pleasure of sitting on a rooftop overlooking Manhattan with the founders of Kiss My Face. The duo, Bob MacLeod and Steve Byckiewicz, were visionaries at a time when there were few natural brands. Those that were available were so medicinal that they wouldn’t appeal to the general public.
Kiss My Face was created more than 30 years ago out of a desire by the founders, who are vegetarians, to find alternatives in body care. They weren’t looking to capitalize on a trend or craze. The brand has grown steadily over those years, but has never gotten the attention some newer to the party other natural lines have attracted. Distribution includes natural stores, specialty stores and some mass marketers.
While the founders had the dream, they might not have had the relationships to propel growth into more doors, especially now as natural is becoming the mantra of shoppers and retailers. Enter an industry familiar face — Lisa Yarnell — who hopes to put the brand on more shelves. Yarnell most recently helped nurture Jane Cosmetics, which thrived until retailers were forced into drastic stockkeeping unit cuts and Jane was the victim at a few major accounts. Yarnell has been a fixture in the industry for many years, with a career that has included positions at Colgate and Coty. She has big plans to help Kiss My Face in her role at chief executive officer.
Joining her is Ron Gordon, the retired chairman and ceo of Beiersdorf North America. He also held management roles with Nice-Pak and Goody. The two will certainly use their experience and contact to expand Kiss My Face.
One of the first efforts under the new partnership is the donation of 10 percent of profits of the Peace Soap line to a nonprofit organization called Seeds of Peace. This is a camp where kids from countries at odds with each other come together to get to know and understand one another in hopes of building future generations of peace. Target, Whole Foods, Fred Meyer, Loblaws, Wegmans and other retailers stocking Kiss My Face will sell the Peace Soap. For the team, this is just the beginning of having the manpower and financial backing to grow the brand at a time when shoppers are looking for natural, but also natural products that are efficacious. “The time is so right for this brand,” Yarnell said in a phone interview breaking the news. Indeed, retailers including Ulta, Target and Walgreens are enlarging natural departments.
People, Places and Things
A few words with Anita Jennison, marketing director for Wet n Wild who made a stop this week in New York to show off new products
WWDBeautyNews: Where is Wet ‘n Wild growth coming from as far as distribution?
Jennison: We are really expanding with value stores such as Dollar General, but also food chains such as Wegmans, Giant Eagle, Stop n Shop and Publix. We are approaching 31,000 doors.
WWDBeautyNews: And what categories are growing?
Jennison: We’ve had great growth in mascaras and are launching a serum. We are definitely growing market share in eye. We have done a lot of research on our new nail colors and we have an exciting bottle that we researched with people. It was the favorite choice. And we have such cute names based on shows like Everyone Loves Redmond.
What’s In Store
Duane Reade Goes Raw: Carol Alt will make appearances next week at Duane Reade stores in Manhattan to launch her skin care line called Raw Essentials. Alt created Raw Essentials with organic ingredients such as green tea, blue chamomile, cucumber, rose, tangerine, lavender and calendula. Raw Essentials never is heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve vitamins and nutrients that create glowing, healthy-looking skin.
Wet ‘n Wild Teases With New Product: In addition to a full array of new items slated for 2011, Wet ‘n Wild will introduce new face powders with SPF 15 — and priced at only $4.99 — next year.