Posted : 12/01/2001
Sunless Tanning:
A Profit-Generating Complement To Your Salon
by Scott Eric Barrett
Troy Cooper, the president and CEO of Mystic Tan Inc. in Carrollton, Texas, believes it's always important to find ways to increase profits or sales in a salon by adding something new.
"Typically what you are doing is either bringing in new customers because of the new product or generating additional dollars from your current customers," he says.
The goal of any tanning salon should be to stand out in a crowded marketplace by offering a unique experience. Many salons offer facial services, aromatherapy, nail services and even body wraps.
Another popular--and somewhat controversial--ancillary profit-generator is a sunless tanning system. The phrase sounds as redundant as jumbo shrimp, non- alcoholic beer, scheduled spontaneity and other oxymorons. In most cases, supporting something in direct competition with your product is financial suicide.
Imagine a Coke distributor advising his drinkers to slam down an ice-cold Pepsi. Although that will never happen in a capitalist society, advances in the application process have led many tanning salon operators to take a second look at sunless tanning.
Bob Puppa, COO of Atlanta-based Air Brush Tanning, Inc., says when consumers purchase sunless products and apply them at home, salon owners play little or no role in the process. At best, salon owners only can retail the products with minimal or no repeat business.
Sunless tanning systems give salon operators an option to offer to sunless tanners. "It is a whole new revenue center that will ultimately increase the traffic--and thus the revenue--for a salon," he says.
Sunless vs. UV
By definition, sunless tanning and UV tanning should be competitors, but both methods actually may complement each other.
"I don't think sunless tanning machines are enemies to traditional indoor tanning because they offer a different option for salon clients," says Leslie Hartlieb, vice president of marketing for Indianapolis-based ETS, Inc., manufacturer of the Sunless Express. "I've actually heard of instances where customers decided to use a UV tanning bed after trying out our Sunless Express, so one can lead to the other and vice versa."
According to Mystic Tan's Cooper, tanners want to be tan for lots of different reasons. He developed his Mystic Tan booth because he could see that there was a segment of the population that he would never get into his salon because they were too concerned about the effects of UV radiation. He assumed it would be a complement to UV tanning--not a replacement--so he was very careful about his marketing.
"We looked at it as an add-on product that would bring new customers into the store, generating additional revenue from a different customer base," he says. "I have 30 salons so I certainly don't want to turn people off to UV tanning so we advertised it as a product that was UV free."
Air Brush's Puppa says tanning salons are already an important component of his client base. That speaks volumes about the benefits of combining the services, and should allay any concerns that sunless tanning systems negatively will impact revenue when paired with tanning beds.
Mist-On Tan's Dr. Tom Laughlin says people often find that the brown they get from UV tanning is beautifully complemented by the golden brown they can get from the mist. He agrees that some salon operators think sunless machines create competition with the UV machines.
"They think UV sales will decrease, but that's not what happens," he says. "We have reports of UV bed tanning going up as much as 30 percent. I am not talking about added revenue from the Mist-On. I'm talking about just what it does to the UV bed tanning."
The ultimate pre-tan conditioner for sunless tanning systems is the UV tan, according to Laughlin. He believes UV tanning does a great job of prepping the body by dehydrating a tanner's skin and making it more susceptible to a fluid being absorbed.
"Think of the human body as a sponge; the stuff works better if your skin is slightly dehydrated," he says.
Effective Sunless Tanning
According to Sunless.com's Clara Pettitt, the active ingredient in sunless tanners, dihydroxyacetone (DHA), was used in early X-Ray technology. In the 1920s, employees of X-Ray laboratories discovered the skin-coloring properties of DHA during the course of their jobs, but Coppertone didn't introduce the first over-the-counter sunless tanning product until 1960.
The product, Quick Tan or QT, was not a success. QT became a byword for orange, streaky fake tans. QT's poor results cast a shadow over sunless tanning products for years. In the 1990s, improvements in manufacturing produced a more refined version of DHA.
Mystic Tan's Cooper says the problem with the technology was never the agent that causes the tan. The DHA reacts with the proteins of the top layers of the skin to create brown color--that process always has been reliable. The problem always has been on the application side because--if you apply too much DHA to an area of the skin--you can get the dreaded orange look. Or if you are taking the lotion form and rubbing it up and down your legs and arms, you are never going to get even coverage because it will get absorbed in some areas faster than others, which is what causes streakiness and the orange colors.
As far back as the 1970s, Mist-On's Dr. Laughlin started thinking about a way to solve the application problem. He was working with automated coating processes and learned that there was a phenomenal difference between fine coating and coarse coating. Painting a car is an example of a fine coating, while slapping something on by hand is known as a course coating.
"You would never expect anybody to paint your car by putting paint on their palm and smearing it all over your car," he says. "The finish on a person has that same quality factor in it."
His idea wasn't exactly embraced. He says everyone he talked to thought it was impossible. He conducted a full-blown patent search to find out if his idea had been realized. No one did it because no one thought you could automatically coat a person. But Laughlin, along with Mystic Tan's Cooper, made a prototype booth in 1997.
"I talked to a lot of experts in the field," Laughlin says. "The one thing they all agreed on was that it would be impossible. A few people actually said that people would die of thermal shock! I knew that was a ludicrous claim so I had to test the machine myself."
Laughlin says mist works better than lotion because it can reach various locations that are hard for lotions to reach without a partner. On the set of the television show Baywatch, an expert paints sunless lotion on each actor's entire body. Amateurs have a difficult time creating the same effect. The mist dispenses the exact same amount of film over your arm and your elbow so each part of the body absorbs the same amount of DHA.
Choices, Choices, Choices
While all the sunless tanning systems are DHA-based, they certainly aren't universal in their design, application process or cost.
- Mist-On Tan
Based on his research on automatic coating processes and the latest misting technology, Dr. Laughlin founded Mist-On Tan, applying his original idea to the commercial world of indoor tanning in 1999.
He says salon operators and their customers loved it from the very beginning, but its success is up to the operator.
"Customers will try it once and if they like the results and the cost of the session you will have a customer for life," he says. "But if you can't provide adequate quality you will have a hard time getting them back."
Laughlin says the best way to think about quality is to imagine a man showing up at your door with a grandfather clock he would like you to paint. Before you get started, he mentions that he has a few restrictions: you need to paint it perfectly uniform; you are not allowed to sand it or dust it--as a matter of fact, he'll slap you if you touch it; you are not allowed to look at it while you're painting it; and worst of all, he has to be out of your salon in 10 minutes. When you are finished he is going to put the clock in the back of his Mercedes, so it better not be wet or get anything on the upholstery. The clock also has a lot of cracks and crevices and he wants them perfectly coated.
"This is really important to him," Laughlin says. "And, by the way, he'll pay you $15!"
To deal with this kind of intense demand for quality, Laughlin advises that salons focus on quality service and getting it right that first time. It wasn't an easy process to develop, he adds. "Our goal was to create a system that can uniformly coat the human body and have the person live to tell about it," he says. "To do something this complex at a high-uniform quality is a very expensive process, but the growth potential is phenomenal."
The purchasing price for a Mist-On system is $50,000. The price of the solution is $60 a gallon. Laughlin says operators can squeeze out roughly 30 tans for each gallon of solution at a running cost of about $2.50 to $3 per session. He advises charging customers $15 to $18 to maximize profits. Charging a lower price per session probably will generate more customers, but your profit margin will drop drastically. Several salons were grossing $10,000 per month in the first few months after purchasing a Mist-On system.
- Mystic Tan
Cooper developed the original system with Dr. Laughlin, then broke off on his own and created Mystic Tan. The principle difference between the Mist-On system and Mystic Tan is Cooper's MagneTan technology. Cooper says that when the original booths (with the spray-on technology) were developed there was a lot of waste because operators had to be sure that the mist got on all parts of the body.
"You had to put a lot of mist out there and get the person to turn a lot of different times," he says. "We were only getting about 10 tans per gallon out of the solution."
He saw that in the paint industry when they wanted to increase efficiency they went to electrostatics. After hours of research at the patent office, Cooper discovered that there was already a patent that had been filed and approved for the use of electrostatics to apply a sunless tanning solution to the body.
"I contacted the lady who had filed the patent and her attorneys," he says. "When they filed the patent they were hoping to build a device that would do this. It didn't work out for them so we licensed the patent from them and got an exclusive license."
That's how MagneTan was born. When the solution passes through the booth's nozzles, the particles of solution are polarized, taking on the characteristics of tiny magnets. MagneTan technology then uses the body's own magnetic properties to attract the solution particles to all surfaces of the skin.
"The process allows us to give a more even tan because rather than trying to spray it onto all parts of the body, we just put the mist out there in the booth and then it travels and is attracted to the person," Cooper says.
Juanita Atayde, co-owner of Sunset Tanning in Concord, Calif., says the Mystic Tanning system has been very profitable. "I really like it and so do our clients," she says. "It delivers a really good color--a tan without UV light."
Mystic Tan currently features 290 units in 35 states. The $30,000 price tag includes the booth and a startup kit. The startup kit includes all the supplies, banners and promotional videos, and enough solution to perform 450 tans. Cooper says if a salon does 3,600 tans a month at $15 a tan, the salon can generate $54,000 a month.
- Sunless Express Spray Spa
"Our system covers a tanner's entire body and there are no missed spots," she says.
Another customer-pleaser is the gravity foot wash. Typically in a sunless unit, as gravity pulls the solution downward, tanners' feet get really dark brown compared to the rest of their body. To counter this, the Sunless Express system dilutes the solution before it collects on the feet, keeping the toes and feet looking evenly tan.
Hartlieb says the system also comes with an ergonomic mat so it's very comfortable inside. The unit also physically speaks to tanners. When they walk into the booth, a voice tells them what's going to happen and when it's going to happen. "Our system is very user-friendly and that makes people feel comfortable," she adds.
The system is very easy to maintain with a thorough wash down cycle, which automatically disinfects the booth after each session. "Squeegee the walls, wipe off the step and you are ready for the next session," she says. "Tanning has never been easier."
The unit costs $34,999 with a $3,500 advertising rebate that operators get back. The price includes the setup, delivery and first supply of solution, a television-VCR combo and a whole advertising campaign. The solution costs $175 for 2.5 gallons and operators can get 75 tans per bottle. Hartlieb advises operators to charge $15 to $20 per session.
"We started shipping units in October," she says. "Salon operators have said the coverage is really good. They also love the foot wash and the voice instructions."
- Air Brush Tanning's SunMist
"Another key benefit of the SunMist System is that we offer three different solutions: a bronzer, a clear solution and a moisturizer solution for those with sensitive or fair skin."
He says another key benefit of the Air Brush Tanning System is that its portability allows salon owners to generate business right from their reception counter. They simply ask their tanning bed customers if they would like to augment the performance of their tanning bed session with an Air Brush Tanning Facial ($10).
"We hear from salon owners that these tanners frequently come back for a full body application once they see the results of a SunMist facial," he adds.
The Air Brush Tanning System comes complete with compressor, airbrush, marketing materials, training video and 1 gallon of each of the three solutions for $1,995. The system is shipped overnight and the salon owner actually can be in business 15 minutes after opening the box. When it's time to re-order solutions, each is available for $350 per gallon.
Puppa says salon operators who offer Air Brush Tanning achieve very high margins. Businesses typically charge between $25-$50 per application. A gallon of the solution produces approximately 70 to 80 full-body applications, and an investment of $350 for a gallon of solution will produce somewhere between $1,750-$4,000 of revenue.
In the crowded, competitive marketplace of indoor tanning, ancillary services can help a salon stand out. Mystic Tan's Cooper believes sunless tanning will one day be a billion dollar industry.
"Sunless tanning is here to stay, due in part to the health benefits, but also driven by the superior tanning results that can be achieved," Puppa says. "If a business does not offer this service, you can be sure that their competition down the street will be tanning their customers with one of these systems."
