Product's value more than price
Cincinnati Business Courier, January, 2007
By Andrea Tortora
When you hear about a new product, do you ever find yourself saying, "Now why didn't I think of that?" That's what happened in our newsroom this week when reporter Lisa Blank Fasig shared news of a new product called +Repelle™.
Packaged in a Chapstick-like container, +Repelle protects the skin from discoloration that can be caused by hair dyes. See Fasig's story, which begins on the front page. Millions of women have been smearing petroleum jelly along their hairlines to get the same result, but several former Procter & Gamble Co. employees figured out a cool way to tweak that practice. They call themselves Ingenuity Products, and the name couldn't be more appropriate.
By putting the gel in an easy-to-use applicator, Jeff Goldstein, Chuck Lieppe, Shelly Zimbler and former KAO Brands executive Dave Tubesing designed a product many will likely be glad to buy.
And the group's past work experiences helped get +Repelle national distribution at a nice price point. It will be available in Walgreens stores this February, at $4.99. The other thing I like about the thinking behind +Repelle is the way its creators have lined up two markets. You have the color-at-home folks (men and women), as well as thousands of salons. And then there's the crossover effect. If my trusted hair stylist uses a product on my head and I likee the results, I often buy some for use at home, often at a decent markup.
Now that's true Ingenuity.