Nary a day goes by — especially in the cold winter months from December to March — that the media is not talking about the cold and flu season. This season may have been one of the worst in a while and, while consumers agonize, the fact is that retailers have an excellent opportunity to profit off of this category.
But, it also is increasingly clear that product innovation is crucial to the success of the cough-cold category. More than 300 retailers and manufacturers gathered for the ECRM Cough-Cold conference in Chicago in February, all eager to see what steps can be taken to get shoppers even more engaged with this growing, yet complicated category. Blister Balm® is one product line some manufacturers are offering in the months ahead:
JojobaDerm Labs
The Chandler, Ariz.-based company is offering two SKUs in its Blister Balm® line. The lip protectant has a suggested retail price of $14.99, and the cold sore and fever blister treatment has a suggested retail price of $18.99. Both were released to the retail trade in the fall of 2017.
“We use an array of natural fatty alcohols as the key ingredients in our products,” Thomas Vadeboncoeur, the company’s senior vice president of global marketing, said. “It is a natural for retailers looking to offer their consumers an alternative, and will produce incremental sales.”
He said that the cold sore product, which contains 100% natural jojoba botanicals, is designed to limit the length of time of an outbreak. The lip treatment is designed to moisturize the lips and delay the onset of future outbreaks.