Personal Care Companies Face Significant Challenges But Exceptional Opportunities MIDLAND, Mich., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Business executives seeking lessons on how to succeed in highly competitive markets need to look no further than their bathrooms. Personal care companies-makers of skin care and hair care products, cosmetics, deodorants and antiperspirants-face myriad challenges. These include short product lifecycles, fast-evolving trends, regulatory scrutiny, patent-protected applications, formidable competition for market share, and high costs for complex chemistries and scientifically based innovations. The ability to succeed, and in fact to survive, depends on regularly formulating and testing new attributes to differentiate products in a crowded marketplace. Complicating these business challenges are regulatory requirements that require extensive testing and data to substantiate certain marketing claims such as therapeutic benefit claims related to sunscreen protection in suntan lotions and anti-dandruff attributes in shampoos. Product labeling is also regulated, requiring that ingredients be correctly labeled. These are a few reasons why personal care manufacturers look to Dow Corning Corporation for more than just products. The US-based company has leveraged its global presence and expertise as well as 60 years of experience to offer a wide range of solutions to help customers achieve their business goals. "Companies from many parts of the world come to us not only for quality performance-enhancing material and technology-based innovations, but also for regulatory expertise and market knowledge," explained Brian Chermside, global industry director of Dow Corning's Life Sciences business. "We work closely with our customers, consulting with their formulators to optimize costs and innovate new products, with their marketers to strengthen product positioning, and with their quality assurance and quality control people to ensure regulatory compliance on a regional and global basis. When needed, we also help them prevent infringement of protected patent application. Even Shine Can Be Measured As an example, one personal care company wanted to develop a hair conditioner with a strong shine claim, so company executives needed a way to measure shine in order so they could compare formulations. "They were aware of our expertise in creating and measuring shine, techniques which are highly advanced in the industry," explained Erik Gyzen, global marketing manager for hair care at Dow Corning. "They needed help determining which of the formulation variants provided the most intensive shine properties. We were able to provide customized tests, utilizing a shine box and gloss-meter tests, to make that determination. " "One interesting aspect of this was that we were able to support the shine measurement system on a global perspective by providing testing in the U.S., Europe and Asia," Gyzen said. Shine has become a critical attribute for consumers because it gives the appearance of healthy, youthful, silky-soft hair that is well groomed. Silicones incorporate shine without adding weight. Helping Companies Monitor Personal Care Product Trends Understanding market trends is critical to developing products that consumers want. Dow Corning experts work with customers to identify and address high-potential future demand. One significant trend has been consumer demand for multifunctional benefits in products. As a result, antiperspirant properties have been incorporated into deodorants, moisturizers have been blended into sunscreens, and shampoos now also condition hair. Consumers seek a single regimen that will address a wide host of needs, ranging from rejuvenation and youth to beauty, health and protection benefits. Traditional benefits such as conditioning and tangle-free properties in shampoos are beneficial but no longer differentiate personal care products as scientific innovations move the industry forward. Today, consumers demand even more advanced products that work to reverse damage caused by UV radiation, protect skin from UVA rays, and offer antioxidant ingredients -- such as vitamin A and green tea extracts -- that help to neutralize free radicals from anti-aging benefits. These features have given birth to new terms like "cosmeceuticals" for over-the-counter products with therapeutic claims. Consumers now also want their experience with a personal care product to meet the full complement of their sensory expectations, including not only how it looks, feels to the touch and smells but also its texture and appearance after applied. These are highly subjective criteria, and each varies to a certain extent by geography. For example, while Americans prefer face creams that feel light to the touch, Norwegians favor richer, heavier variants. "In the crowded marketplace, we find that consumers select products based on several benefits, including convenience, value for money, beauty features, and therapeutic attributes, as well as various combinations of these," explained Vince Ungvary, Dow Corning's marketing manager for Asia. "We're in constant dialog with personal care companies because, ultimately, we must design the technology to deliver on the creative vision of both the company's marketer and its scientist who formulates the product," he said. Testing Supports Marketing Claims For some companies, the solution they need from Dow Corning utilizes its testing capabilities to substantiate a marketing claim that can differentiate and justify a higher price point for the product. Dow Corning performance enhancing materials make it possible for personal care products to deliver high-demand ingredients like vitamins, alpha and beta hydroxy acids, antioxidants, and even Dead Sea minerals. "Our testing services allow personal care companies to list these as active ingredients with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Cosmetic and Fragrance Trade Association," Ungvary continued. "This enhances the perceived product value and increases profitability through support of premium pricing." "Whether we're testing for accurate claim substantiation, regulatory compliance, toxicology or environmental factors, we help customers deal with ever-changing business and regulatory environments," he said. Consumer Interest In Colorants Increases Dow Corning experts help customers identify consumer preferences and to recommend solutions to give their products a competitive advantage. For example, conditioning has been recognized as a key differentiator in hair care products, so personal care companies turn to Dow Corning for new ideas and strategies for delivering on this benefit, as well as for other solutions to address consumers' needs. Market research reveals a long-term trend involving purchases of colorants that are increasing more than twice as fast as the hair care industry overall, as older consumers color their graying hair and trend-focused consumers strive to stay current with the latest look. While the hair care industry grew 1.7 percent per annum between 1997 and 2002, colorants increased by 4.4 percent. Younger consumers have especially shown a strong interest in intense hair colors. They like to express themselves by changing their hair color, and they want the new look to have a long-lasting effect. At the same time, they're adamant that these products be safe and offer protective ingredients to prevent damage. Science rides to the rescue, as today's innovative products offer prolonged hair color retention without loss of conditioning performance. They have become fast sellers in the hair care market despite their premium pricing. Hair follicles are delicate, so teasing and aggressive combing can damage hair, as can chemical treatments like colorants and permanents. For that reason, hair care brands incorporate ingredients like silicone to protect hair. Color retention and a wide choice of colors are also important in other personal care products, such as cosmetics. "As examples, women want foundations and eye shadows that have lasting color retention and are smudge-proof," Ungvary went on. "Beyond color attributes, they select cosmetics products that give them a certain look and silky feel and texture." Other Trends Affect the Personal Care Industry One of the hottest personal care product trends is in the area of fragrances. Fragrance intensity and extended fragrance release have become important criteria in consumers' selection process. Traditionally, they almost exclusively smelled like flowers, while today's novel choices range from lemon grass to rain. By incorporating trend-setting features, personal care manufacturers can compete more effectively for hotly contested shelf space. "Some companies ask Dow Corning scientists to create fully formulated products; others ask us to work on certain areas of their formulation to address specific customer goals," Ungvary continued. "To create formulations that provide differentiation, we monitor market research to identify emerging opportunities and anticipate future consumer demand with regard to distinctive product attributes. "Consumer demands and styles vary by country, by age group, and by culture," he said. "For that reason, attributes must be tailored to local preferences. At the same time, companies may be able to identify a preference in one country that can be transplanted and become a trend-setter in another geography." Dow Corning cross-segment, innovation-oriented solutions range from delivery systems technology, such as controlled release of antiperspirants and sunscreens in lotions, to drug delivery in pressure sensitive adhesives (or "patches") and wound care therapies. These technologies, along with cosmeceuticals, give personal care companies a competitive edge and provide high-potential areas of business growth. Pharmaceutical companies find they can extend the life of drug patents by reformulating for a new delivery system that can help them realize millions of dollars in sales. Dow Corning (http://www.dowcorning.com/) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning's sales are outside the United States. DATASOURCE: Dow Corning Corp CONTACT: Americas: Amy Rosborough, +1-989-496-8288, or Europe: Karen Heenan-Davies, +-44-6-723-498, or Asia: Liliana Ng, +-852-2835-0387, all of Dow Corning Corp Web site: http://www.dowcorning.com/

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