BreeZe Products

by Matt Morgan

“Private-labeling has been a major part of BreeZe Products,” says Brooke Bennett, director of private-label sales. “That’s one of the reasons why we’ve grown. We offer new products every year, and we try to work with salon owners. Year after year, it’s gotten bigger and bigger.”

The company’s ultimate goal is for salon owners to make more money and have better profit margins from BreeZe products than they can achieve with any other lotion company in the industry, according to company President Mike Lemle, a 17-year veteran of the indoor tanning industry.

BreeZe differentiates itself in private-labeling by its high-quality products, reasonable price-points, and a willingness to work with the individual needs of its salon customers.

“We want to make products that salon owners want, allowing them to create products with the desired fragrance and design that they’d be proud of,” Bennett says.

BreeZe offers a complete turnkey operation for its private-label options, enabling the company to be a one-stop shopping market for salon owners and operators. The cost for the service includes a one-time setup fee for artwork, label design and four-color vinyl labels. Private-label products can be produced in batches of 800, 400, 300 or 200—or less.

“We offer small batch sizes and innovative pricing with both our private labels and our own products,” she says. “Small batching offers the customer a chance to not have to order so many at a time.

Especially in the slow season, nobody wants to have to order 400 bottles if they don’t think they’ll sell it. We work with our customers, so over the summer if they don’t have enough money to purchase products, we allow them to do smaller order sizes. That saves them money so they can still make money.”

The company is able to private-label anything that carries the BreeZe label, including its UVtanning lotions and sunless spray solutions.

But that’s just the beginning. If a salon has its own formulation or a special fragrance it wants to realize, BreeZe will do its best to create the product.

“If you want a new product, if you want a different formulation, if you want a new fragrance, we really work with you,” Bennett says. “If it’s possible for us to do it, we’ll do it for you. So if you want to try a bronzer with a different fragrance, we can do that. The possibilities are limitless.”

Two talented and experienced on-staff chemists—Bob Dowdell, vice president of research and development, and Jennifer Sunday, head of quality control—are in an ongoing search for innovation.

“We offer a constant stream of new products for the salon owners in each one of our categories so they have something new and exciting that they’re able to market,” she says.

In Demand

Similar to the mainstream lotion market, bronzers are the most popular of BreeZe’s private-label products. “Bronzers, bronzers, bronzers—that’s what people want,” Bennett says.

The company’s white bronzer contains DHA for streak-free color. “Our bronzers are going to have even coverage,” she says. “It’s a lot similar to what people are getting from the UV-free spray.” Private-label anti-aging products are gaining interest from salons as well, she says.

BreeZe’s Anti-Aging Bronzing Intensifier is formulated with premier age-defying Matrixyl, which supports and refurbishes deteriorating collagen, dramatically optimizing wrinkle reduction. A vegetable-based amino acid, glucose tyrosinate, replaces L-tyrosine for melanin stimulation and can be used with DHA and erythrulose.

Also, there is growing demand for privatelabeling the company’s sunless products, including Tinted DHA Spray Solution and Clear DHA Solution. They contain a blend of DHA and erythrulose in an optimized ratio to maximize their synergistic activity. The solution base includes aloe vera gel and moisturizing ingredients to assist in preventing skin dryout, as well as white-tea complex, a highly effective antioxidant.

The flexibility of private-labeling sunless solutions allows salons to expand opportunities in their markets.

“Some customers just buy a gallon and have it sit in the back of their salon, but other people are starting to put labels on it and sell it to other salons,” she says.

Under Control

BreeZe private labels give the salon owner more of an upper hand as far as where his or her products end up and how much profit the salon can make. They also give salons an additional marketing tool.

“Private-labeling is the one sure way to stop diversion,” Bennett says. “It’s a way to control your product to make sure it’s never sold where you don’t want it to be sold. It’s not going to be put on the Internet; you’re not going to find it at a flea market.

“Also, it’s a way to get larger profit margins on your products,” she continues. “You can basically price your products however you want. You get a better price anyway when you order it through private label.”

BreeZe’s price model has salons doubling the return on investment with every batch.

There is a one-time cost to begin the privatelabel process, but the salon’s cost goes down considerably thereafter. “You no longer pay the direct-to-salon cost,” she says. “You’re saving money, and then you can also have whatever profit margin you want with your products. You have control over that.”

Since private-label lotions are specifically tailored for the salon, the sales staff can get excited about them. And it’s well known that salon employees sell what they like.

“Whatever you offer is generally what customers are going to go for,” Bennett says. “And once they try it, they’re going to love it. Once you do that, the product will sell itself after that.”

Marketing is an additional benefit to private-labeling. Wherever the bottle of lotion goes, it’s advertising the salon, she says. Also, BreeZe has the capability to develop Web sites and print material that strengthen the impact of the salon’s private-label products.

“Private-labeling is the wave of the future because you have a high-quality product and it’s adverting you,” Bennett says. “It’s making money for you.”