Looking Fit 2/2005: Supre, Inc.

Supre, Inc.
Success By Design

by Matt Morgan

Supre’s guiding principle is to provide the necessary elements for skin beauty and body rejuvenation. This is achieved through natural ingredients that nurture well-being. And that’s just what’s inside the bottle. The company has developed a reputation for innovative package design and marketing support that continually place its products among tanning’s elite lotions.

“If a salon wants a product that is designed to attract the attention of the consumer, Supre is the way to go,” says John Alexander, vice president. “Also, when you add the quality ingredients with the incredible fragrances, a product sale is usually inevitable.”

Supre’s owner, Bruce West Jr., “not only has incredible drive, he also has a great creative mind for package design and fragrance,” he says. In fact, West also owns a full-service creative and advertising agency called Signal, and the two companies have a very close working relationship.

“Having Signal as a sister company is a tremendous asset in the marketing and development of all Supre products,” Alexander says. “Bruce, with the input of Supre employees and the team at Signal, has created some of the best marketing and advertising campaigns the industry has ever seen.”

The first collaboration of Supre and Signal was for the creation of the concepts and packaging for Supre’s Hempz tanning maximizers, introduced to the industry in January 2001. The launch proved to be a major turning point for the lotion manufacturer.

“Even though Supre already had strong recognition in the industry, the Hempz brand really moved Supre into a premier position,” he says. “Every year since, Supre sales have continued to soar.”

“Hempz became the No. 1-selling family of products for most distributors that first year,” he continues. “Hempz Moisturizing lotion, introduced the following year, quickly became the top moisturizer in the industry.”

The latest Hempz product is the ultrarich, ultra-conditioning Body Butter, new for 2005. The lush body cream is rich with the moisturizing and skin-protecting properties of hemp seed oil and extract. Formulated with shea butter and soothing botanical extracts, it smoothes over even the driest skin to moisturize and condition.

Body Butter is just one of 19 new products—including three new lines, six line extensions and two packaging revamps—that Supre offers salons in 2005. Of those, the company is most excited about Freak™, Tempt™, Hippie Chick™ and Vibe™.

“These products were given great reviews this past November at the ITA show in Orlando,” Alexander says. “There has been more talk about these products and their appeal to the marketplace than last year. Distributors had the opportunity of having all products in their warehouses the first 10 days of December.”

Freak—available in regular, hot and hemp-enriched formulas—contains a strong level of tan maximizers combined with some of the most up-to-date skincare ingredients to yield a deep, dark tan while encouraging skin protection and conditioning. A new skincare element called D-Factor increases moisture and aids in the delivery of other key ingredients to the skin. Derived from yeast enzymes, DFactor also helps provide a healthier, younger-looking appearance to skin.

Regular and hot Tempt has captured the seductive powers of pheromones and combined them with skin-firming extracts from the larch tree, which helps skin look and feel younger and healthier. Shea butter, sweet almond oil and natural botanical extracts infuse moisture, leaving skin soft and supple.

The dark tan maximizers of Hippie Chick—in regular and hot—bring out a natural, golden tan, while plumeria extract and rice milk enrich skin with moisture. A touch of shimmer leaves skin radiant and looking refreshed and rejuvenated. Botanical skin-firming extracts help tighten skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Not to be outdone by the new potions on the block, two existing marquee products—Vibe and Colour™—have been given renewed life with new packaging.

Vibe hot bronzer is completely redesigned to provide a hotter, darker tan. This skin-stimulating bronzer has Biotan technology and Unipertan to stimulate microcirculation, plus a new 10-ounce size to stimulate value.

“This is one of the hottest-looking products for 2005,” Alexander says. “Not only is the popularity of the product still there but now a totally new repackaged look only will boost sales more.”

Colour is re-introduced with a streamlined product mix and stronger formulas. The tan maximizers are enriched with Beta-Color Complex™ to precondition skin for a deep, rich, brilliant tan, and fortified with vitamins A, E and C. Natural marine extracts help skin appear firmer, smoother and younger.

Repackaging products is nothing new for Supre. It breathes new life into older products, bringing them up to date with the look of newer releases.

“There are products that have great market share in the industry but get a little tired-looking after a while,” Alexander says. “Case in point: Rayz, Extreme and Jam that were repackaged for 2004.”

The revamp uncovered a new market for this trio of products. The entire Rayz package was reworked, save the name, formula and fragrance. Extreme received a modernization while keeping much of its look, including its trademark tube. Jam went to an oval tube, kept the logo look but put it on a different background.

“Our sales in these families exceeded our expectations in 2004, and continue to grow,” he says.

To make Supre products even more tempting to salons, the company offers an aggressive rebate program. “Supre is paying up to $4 per bottle to tanning salons,” Alexander says. “Any tanning salon can get all the details from their tanning distributors.”

Beyond unique packaging and quality formulations, it is Supre’s staff and support network that provide acceleration to the company’s success machine.

“It’s great to have all the Supre staff work with the company as if each one of them actually owns a part of it,” Alexander says. “We strive to instill this kind of attitude and working relations with all employees—and have succeeded in doing so. The old expression ‘90 percent attitude’ plays a significant factor at Supre.”

To supplement the staff’s knowledge, salon owners soon will be able to visit Supre’s Web site, www.supre.com, which is set for a relaunch early this year.

“It will be a very user-friendly Web site and filled with education,” Alexander explains. “It also will feature all the new products. The Web site will be designed both for consumer and salon usage. The only way to enter at the salon level is by using an authorized password.”

One of Supre’s goals is to help salons make more money, and the staff believes it has laid the groundwork to accomplish it.

“Because of Supre’s salon rebate program, a timely launch of 2005 products, and striking packaging and displays, salons should easily double or triple their Supre sales in 2005,” Alexander says.