Clairol Floorstand Highlights Natural Ingredients in Haircolor

Ecology-minded consumers continue to push the mass cosmetics industry toward environmentally friendly product formulations. Now the trend has hit hair-care products with Clairol Inc.'s Natural Instincts line of haircolors."The focus on 'natural' has affected other consumer products and especially other beauty segments," says Stephanie Storm-Flower, product manager at Clairol. "But the launch of Natural Instincts was big news for our category because it's the first and only haircolor made with natural ingredients."Natural Instincts contains "botani-color complexes" rather than ammonia or other harsh chemicals. Said to protect and moisturize hair while it's being colored, the complexes contain ingredients such as aloe, chamomile and ginseng.Clairol's focus on nature and natural ingredients extends to the floorstand it developed to launch the line in October 1994. Measuring 22 inches wide by 80 inches high by 21 inches deep, the floorstand features tropical plants printed in four colors on the header and base. Additional 3-D elements attached to the base make it look as if large green leaves are growing out toward the viewer.Text on the header touts the benefits of Natural Instincts' botanical formulations, and tear-off cards encourage shoppers to try the product at no charge. Attaching the header to the base are two poles, which support a series of hand-crafted, natural wood baskets that hold the haircolors and separate them according to shade. When assembled, the display holds either 36 or 54 packages with a minimal footprint.According to Storm-Flower, "This is a new type of display for us because we usually do basic corrugated. But we wanted to make a very dramatic statement, so our art department came up with some great, nature-inspired designs. We chose this one because of the basket: it gives a natural look and an almost gift-like quality, and the baskets even tilt forward slightly to draw customers in."The display was manufactured by Harvey Shayew Inc. of Babylon, N.Y., for less than $100 per unit. Nearly 14,000 were shipped nationwide to drug retailers that carry haircolors, and detailed assembly instructions were provided to aid set-up.Reactions from both retailers and consumers were positive, Storm-Flower says. "We sold the floorstand at record levels. A display like this is so attractive and eye-catching that retailers not only will use it, they'll put it somewhere besides the haircolor aisle to attract non-users and increase incremental sales. And so far, the product has done extraordinarily well."

Clairol Floorstand Highlights Natural Ingredients in Haircolor

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