Tropical Seas:
One Of The Industry's Hidden Treasures
by Karen Butler
Captain Of The Ship
Knorr transitioned into retailing pharmaceuticals and eventually into wholesale. He finally found his niche in 1982, when he made his mark in manufacturing--creating a contract fill division for Hawaiian Tropic.
Knorr loved this work--formulating products, designing packaging--and spent five years with Hawaiian Tropic, until a major bath and body product company lured him to move and work for them in Ohio.
In 1988, he relocated to Florida, setting up his own shop, Tropical Seas. One of his first acquisitions was purchasing the trademark for the Beach Buff outdoor tanning line, which he distributes exclusively to resort gift shops.
Over the years, Tropical Seas flourished with contract fill orders--approximately 90 percent of its business--for major companies such as Revlon, American Crew and Creative Nail. In 1991, Tropical Seas was the contracted provider of shampoo and SPF products for Desert Storm's troops--a job that required manufacturing 10.2 million bottles of products over a period of four months.
Large orders are the norm for Knorr. State-of-the-art machinery and a well-trained staff enable him to produce upward of 50,000 bottles of product in a single shift. And everyone knows that large volume helps keeps price-points down. For this reason, he really wasn't looking to enter the indoor tanning arena, which often deals in smaller batches, especially when private labeling.
Indoor tanning pursued him, however, in the form of Bimini Magic. Knorr was producing the line as a custom fill order for a couple that had entered the industry as a hobby. When they retired, he agreed to buy the line, which he decided to phase out. Ironically, the Bimini line skyrocketed, and when 30,000 bottles sold easily, Knorr was forced to reconsider indoor tanning.
Yo-Ho-Ho And A Bottle Of Rub
Today, the Bimini line continues to thrive, as do the Beach Buff and--most recently created--Tropical Seas Bath & Body.
Because of its diversity of accounts--currently ranging from 60 percent to 80 percent contract fill orders--the company is not reliant upon mass success in the indoor tanning industry. This translates into two big benefits for fans of its indoor tanning products--they are not into high-pressure sales and Knorr will not compromise his high standards for manufacturing.
A glowing example of the company's devotion to follow its instincts about products is its decision to leave the tingle market.
"We were reluctant to start producing hot action products, simply because there was no research about the long-term effects of using them," says Knorr. "Then two of our large distributors got fairly demanding about their need for hot action products, so we finally introduced some. However, we've gotten to the point where we just don't believe tingle is in the best interests of our customers so we're phasing out hot action."
Knorr has interest in--and direct knowledge of--all the ingredients in his products. He insists on all-natural, earth-friendly, pure quality. He has an open-door policy for clients wishing to tour the manufacturing plant and product disclosures are easily accessible.
"In our products, ingredients are added for their efficacy, not so we can make a marketing claim," explains Knorr. "We add the amount of an ingredient that is recommended to enhance your skin's healthy glow or add moisture--not an amount so small that we can simply boast that it's in there."
Quest For Pirate Treasure
For a man whose modern-day office is surrounded by palm trees--and shared with an animal collection involving cats, parrots, prairie dogs and aquariums full of salt water sea life--the shift out of pharmaceutics and into manufacturing was a good one. Construction is underway for a new 16,000-square-foot headquarters, scheduled to open at the start of 2002.
The costs of a new facility won't be passed on to customers. In fact, Knorr has exciting news for salons that are struggling with high-end lotion sales.
"In speaking with clients, I learned that lotion sales were down--anywhere from 12 percent to 25 percent--this season," he says. "So to meet the needs of people wanting more value-driven lotions, we are introducing our Electric Beach line, as well as price rollbacks on several of our most popular products."
Additionally, the company invites everyone to have a little fun by playing Treasure Quest on the www.tropicalseas.com Web site. Don't be surprised to find yourself winning a prize.
With his wife Debbie taking care of bookkeeping and Ohio salon owner Chuck Stenger handling promotions, it's hard to believe that Knorr--along with a few dozen employees--has built such a strong empire. However, their commitment to hard work and high quality, along with the ability to diversify, has made Tropical Seas a treasure in and of itself.
