SPRAYTechnology & Marketing Commentary Ava Caridad, Editorial Director 6 Spray December 2014 Cynthia Hundley Publisher chundley@spraytm.com Ava Caridad Editorial Director acaridad@spraytm.com Greg Dool Assistant Editor gdool@spraytm.com Montfort A. Johnsen Technical Editor montyjohnsen@att.net Susan Carver Vice President, Administration scarver@spraytm.com Doug Bacile National Sales Manager dbacile@spraytm.com Donald Farrell Production production@spraytm.com Joy Cunningham Reader Service Coordinator readerservice@spraytm.com Circulation circulation@spraytm.com Member: CAPCO Volume 24, No 12, December 2014 Industry Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part may be reprinted without written permission from the Publisher. Spray Technology & Marketing (ISSN No.1055-2340) is published monthly by Industry Publications, Inc. Correspondence for editorial, advertising and circulation to: 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Phone: 973-331-9545 • Fax: 973-331-9547 Subscription inquiries: circulation@spraytm.com Internet: spraytm.com, twitter.com/SprayTechnology Periodical postage paid at Parsippany, NJ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Spray Technology & Marketing, 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Subscription rates: U.S. 1-year $50.00; Canada & Mexico 1-year $60.00. Airmail Rates to foreign countries: $130.00/yr. Single copies of current issues: $12.00. Directory Issue (Buyers Guide) $27.00 (includes shipping). Missing issues: Claims for missing issues must be made within three months of the date of the issue. Printed in the U.S.A. Industry Publications, Inc. also publishes Indoor Comfort Marketing The opinions expressed in this publication are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, a replacement for professional, legal advice. Making spray deodorant sexy again... On Dec. 1, Unilever launched a new 3.8oz. AP/deo format dubbed “Dry Spray,” which promises a formula with no water or alcohol that goes on instantly dry without any visible residue. It lasts for 48 hours and the actuator produces a soft spray with what The Wall Street Journal called “a more sophisticated propellant system.” Unilever is launching “Dry Spray” in all five of its brands: Dove, Dove Men+Care, Degree Women, Degree Men and Axe and hopes it will give sticks and roll-ons, the favored format in the U.S., a run for their money. As SPRAY reported back in March of 2013, Unilever unveiled smaller, “compressed” cans for Sure, Dove and Vaseline deodorant in the UK. Those cans were promoted as lasting the same length of time as previous cans while using only 50% of the propellant, making them half the size (from 150mL to 75mL). They were also touted as using 25% less aluminum and, due to the smaller size, 53% more cans could fit onto a pallet. The sprays released this month will be unique to the U.S. market, however. Unilever spent time making sure the defining properties of each U.S. brand—moisture for Dove, or a strong scent for Axe—were in the Dry Spray formula. Spray deodorants and antiperspirants fell out of favor in the U.S. in the 1970s for using propellants that contained ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Consumers gravitated toward AP/deo sticks and roll-ons, even as new environmentallyfriendly propellants were developed. In Europe and Australia, however, and increasingly in India and Brazil, aerosol AP/deo products are extremely popular with consumers. The U.S., then, affords a big opportunity for marketers with a vision. Consumers are ready to return to spray deodorants, but are going to want something new and inspired. They need a reason to turn away from sticks and roll-ons…and it looks like Unilever found the key. Each brand features its own “breakthrough” lightweight aluminum packaging, said Unilever, and is designed to “maximize both product performance and the overall user experience through ergonomic engineering and a sleek look.” For Degree Men, Unilever even partnered with Pininfarina, the Italian design firm that also works on Ferrari. How’s that for sexy? Unilever has successfully launched Dry Spray antiperspirant in more than 37 countries, and it is the number one selling antiperspirant product globally, according to the company. It has waited to launch in the U.S. market until it felt the brands were well-known enough over here and its formula and packaging were improved. Dry Spray is meant to shake up the flat AP/deo category. Although it does a $3.3 billion business in the U.S., deodorant sales grew by less than 2% last year, compared with the prior year, according to market research firm Euromonitor International; less growth is expected in 2014. It will be interesting to see how AP/deo sales shape up in 2015. Is the U.S. ready to spray under their arms again? We think so… Editorial Director
Spray Dec 2014
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