OLAY PUTS A NEW FACE ON CLEANSING
Byline: Laura Klepacki
NEW YORK — Oil of Olay is putting a different spin on the facial cleansing cloth.
After an eight-month test in Peoria, Ill., Procter & Gamble is preparing to roll out its Olay Daily Facial Cleansing Cloths — the first dry towel in the category.
Olay marketers claim that Daily Facials has become the top-selling facial cleanser in Peoria stores, and they are expecting a similar consumer response when the cloths hit the rest of the country, beginning in mid-June. P&G declined to comment, but industry sources said the company is projecting annual sales of $50 million for the cloths, which are priced at $7.29 for a 30-count container.
“It can really transform the way women cleanse their face and transform the category,” said Michael Kuremsky, P&G’s marketing director for Olay.
Olay currently ranks fourth in the $596.9 million facial cleansing category, according to Information Resources Inc. Last year Olay claimed a 6.1 percent market share with sales of $36.3 million. Pond’s led the segment with a 12 percent share, followed by Biore’s 7.4 point share and Johnson’s Clean & Clear’s 6.7 share.
Kuremsky says the Olay cloths perform multiple functions. In addition to removing makeup, they cleanse, exfoliate and condition skin in one simple process. “It is a holistic cleansing experience,” he said. Packaging copy tells consumers: “Use Daily Facial Cleansing Cloths in place of your normal routine, including bars, makeup remover, cleanser, toner and exfoliator.”
According to P&G research, 97 percent of U.S. women have never had a full facial. “This gives them a little bit of a facial everyday,” said Kuremsky. “We think women will make a habit change and improve their skin at the same time.” To use the cloths: moisten, lather, cleanse and rinse, according to instructions.
What makes the Olay version different is the use of water in the process. It removes dirt and cleanser residue while enabling moisturizers to remain, said Lourdes Albacarys, associate director of research and development at P&G. This was possible because of special fabrics created by P&G labs. There are different cloths for the dry to normal and the normal to oily versions.
According to Albacarys, products currently available either leave skin feeling tight, if all matter is removed, or leave skin soft but with a soap residue.”We were able to break that trade-off.”
Daily Facials promotions are to include TV, print and outdoor advertising, with a strategic “hot-spot program,” which will include messages intended to reach women at times they feel a strong desire to be refreshed, such as in a city crowd or on the way home from work. Additionally, there will be direct mail and in-store sampling and demonstrations as well as an interactive Daily Facials Web page.
Suzan Kettle, a CVS store manager in Peoria, said: “It is doing really well. We have an endcap devoted to them and to Olay’s new Total Effects skin cream, which is also doing well.” She added, “We sell more of the Olay than the Pond’s.”
Kettle said she’s noticed no price resistance to either item (with a suggested retail of $19.99, Total Effects is Olay’s highest priced product), although, she added, CVS occasionally runs $2 and $3 dollar coupons for both.
When first introduced into test market last summer, A.G. Lafley, P&G’s president of beauty care and North America, said Daily Facials is an example of the company’s initiative to draw on technologies developed across its product categories to fuel its beauty business. Innovations were gathered from baby care, beauty care, paper and food and beverage categories to help design the wipes.
Thus, the company doesn’t expect any “me-too” dry-cloth competitors to follow anytime soon, said Kuremsky. “We set out to obsolete the category.”