NEW YORK Soap maker Dial has tapped into mass-market demand for anti-aging shower products with a new body wash containing cranberry extracts and antioxidant pearls. The product, called Dial Antioxidant Body Wash, will hit stores this month.
Henkel, which owns Dial, spent $8 million on ads for the effort -- the largest for the brand this year. (Henkel spent about $5 million in 2008 advertising its body wash brand, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.) The company claims that Dial Antioxidant Body Wash is the first mainstream offering with cranberry extracts and antioxidant pearls to fight aging skin.
Brands like Tom’s of Maine and Ulta already offer specialty beauty products, but Dial’s introduction is notable because it is bringing these benefits to mass-market food and drug channels, said Mintel senior beauty analyst Krista Faron.
The new body wash costs $4.59-5.49, and comes in 12-, 18- and 24-ounce sizes. Dial has also created an antioxidant glycerin bar soap and a foaming hand wash (which hits stores in July) to complement the line.
Unilever tried a similar approach when it expanded Dove Body Wash with the Nutrium line. The original version touting skin nourishment benefits was introduced in 1999, and Unilever later offered an antioxidant version of Nutrium.
“The trend is not entirely new. We’ve seen it in the specialty channels before. But the fact that it’s coming to the mass market shows it’s gaining momentum,” Faron said.
Continue to next page →
