Supre

Lotion manufacturer Supre celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, but instead of resting on its achievements, the Dallas-based company is working hard to create innovative products that will propel it to continued success in 2008 and beyond.

The constantly changing indoor tanning market demands that manufacturers evolve simultaneously. Supre understands that fact and has a “top secret” method for staying on top of current trends in the industry— listening to salons and distributors.

“We always spend time listening to distributors and salons regarding ways we can improve our products and service,” says Scott Olsen, the national sales manager for Supre. “The products that we have created in 2007 truly reflect how well we listen—and everyone can expect that same commitment in 2008 and beyond.”

The company goal is to work with salons more closely than ever before, which is reflected in the revamped approach Supre took in contacting salons and distributors for market information.

“We always had felt that we could be more exhaustive in regard to the number of salons and distributors we were contacting for input, but this year we did something about it,” he says. “We also recognized a need to ensure that we were asking the ‘right’ questions to get the answers we needed to create products that fit the marketplace.”

Supre does not only act in the role of the learner in regard to salons and distributors; the company also takes on the part of the teacher. As a learner, Supre is able to identify the needs of the consumer and create products in line with those needs, but that alone does not guarantee success. Therefore, Supre focuses on educating the distributors and salon owners about each and every product, because they are the front line for disseminating and selling the company’s lotions to the consumer.

“The training staff at Supre combines a wealth of experience with the real desire to help salon personnel learn more about Supre products,” Olsen says. “We offer training in the field, at various distributor shows, at the ITA show in Nashville and over the phone—and we have a great catalog that can be used as an educational instrument itself.”

Supre also provides salons with the necessary tools to promote the lotions, which, in combination with their educational outreach efforts, helps to further the overall goal of working intimately with salons.

“We have exciting, new materials that are perfect for helping to promote Supre products in salons,” he says, adding that the collateral materials are free to any salon that needs them. “We also offer coop advertising for salons regarding every medium, from mailers to radio to television, and have a very generous program to host in-salon promotions.”

Creating A Syllabus

So, after collecting all that information from distributors and salons, what is Supre creating to “wow” the tanning industry? Innovative products with a new look, feel and performance—all of which are designed to reach a wide variety of customers based on their individual personalities, interests, budgets and skincare needs.

“There are many different types of Supre customers, from the budgetminded consumer to the sophisticated tanner that demands cutting-edge skincare,” Olsen says.

As a reflection of the understanding that each consumer requires something different in a lotion, Supre utilizes a four-tier system. Each bottle of product manufactured by the company is tagged as either an advanced, superior, premiere or elite formula in accordance with the specific standards of each product class.

“The four product classes allow our customers—new and existing—to identify the products that satisfy their particular needs,” Olsen says.

All of the company’s formulas are high-quality, high-value, highperformance products with dark tanning technology and a variety of skincare ingredients; however, the class level distinguishes the more basic products (like advanced and superior) from the higher-end, super-potent products (such as premiere and elite).

Across the board, the tanning industry is seeing a paradigm shift in the way a tanner selects a lotion. Today’s consumer not only is looking for a lotion that accelerates and enhances their golden bronze, but also is putting more thought into what the product can do for their skin in regard to moisturizing and anti-aging properties. This makes Supre’s product classifications a great way to orient the customer to what type of product they need.

“As a whole, Supre customers are evolving and seeking out new ingredients in our products just as they are seeking out new ingredients at the cosmetics counter,” Olsen says. “To satisfy the needs of this customer, Supre is focused on implementing exciting new elements in its products.”

One example of these new, enhanced formulations can be seen in the Tansium line. Released earlier this year, Tansium epitomizes the elite category because it encapsulates the highest-quality, highest-performance, exclusive, state-of-the-art dark tanning technology and rich, unique skincare ingredients for the pinnacle of performance and results.

Geared toward the tanning connoisseur, the lotion line incorporates a body tanning system, facial tanning system, body bronzing system and facial bronzing system with proactive and age-defying components, such as caviar extract, 12 principle minerals, 18 amino acids and six essential vitamins.

“Tansium products were created to treat the skin not only today and tomorrow, but six months down the road—that’s what makes it proactive,” Olsen says. “Meanwhile, minerals like copper, iron, magnesium, silicon and zinc are very powerful and designed to nourish and condition the skin, while the caviar extract provides an excellent antiaging and skin-renewal ingredient.”

Each component of the line, which is available in wild raspberry, vanilla or blackberry fragrances, can be used by itself or in tandem with the other products.

The tanning system utilizes AlgoMax™ Tanning Technology with Melanin Synthesizers, a proprietary blend of elite dark tan maximizers and melanin synthesis intensifiers. The company says this blend produces the finest, most golden and richest color imaginable in the shortest time possible. Meanwhile, Oxygen Conversion Technology™ is intended to help oxygen convert to moisture to maximize the tanning process while conditioning skin.

The bronzing system features many of the key ingredients found in the tanning system, with one addition—advanced, streak-free, color-balanced bronzers that allow skin to further darken at progressive levels for up to 12 hours following UV exposure.

The decision to create a separate facial product for the tanning system and bronzing system is one that Supre takes great pride in. Unlike the body products, the facial lotion and facial bronzer incorporate alpha-lipoic acid, which helps protect skin from environmental stress, while conditioning and moisturizing to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

“The Tansium facial products have one main alpha-lipoic acid, which is many times stronger than vitamins A, C and E,” Olsen says. “This makes them tremendous anti-aging products.”

Because of its attention to detail regarding each ingredient in the Tansium line, Supre felt that packaging should receive that same level of thoughtful consideration. And, as with any lotion, Supre wanted to give salon personnel the best opportunity to sell the product by cultivating consumer excitement with an enticing package.

“Tansium is our first product line at the $100 mark and we wanted the packaging to reflect how high-end the product is inside the bottle,” Olsen says. “Considering that the overwhelming response from salons and distributors has been that they consider the Tansium packaging amongst the most beautiful they’ve seen, I think we are right on track.”

Ultimately, the Tansium line is a true reflection of Supre’s dedication to “suncare that is beyond skin deep”, generated from a cooperative effort between the manufacturer and its distributors and salon owners.

“The Supre customer is evolving and so is Supre,” he says. “Tansium is just one of the products that came directly out of our renewed commitment to listening to salon owners and distributors … and from asking the right questions.”