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RSSRecord, The; Bergen County, N.J.
By JENNIFER V. HUGHES
Take a look at consumer product companies in New Jersey and you'll literally find everything from soup (Campbell's) to nuts (Skippy peanut butter, under Unilever).
That diversity is reflected in the wide variety of plans for 2007 from new products to healthier ones.
Here is a sampling:
Johnson & Johnson
* Based in New Brunswick
* 14,000 New Jersey employees; 116,000 worldwide
The effects of the late December $16.6 billion acquisition of Pfizer Inc.'s consumer health-care unit will continue to reverberate in 2007. One of the products that was under the Pfizer name is Clean and Clear. The brand is one of several in the skin care line that will be releasing new products this year.
"Out of the eight skin care product companies under the J&J umbrella, more than two dozen new products will be introduced in the first part of 2007," said Monica Neufang, company spokeswoman.
Other companies with new products include Aveeno and Roc. Neufang said the merger will bring brands with a strong brand loyalty and presence to Johnson & Johnson.
"The company has a reputation for science and research and we can bring that powerful knowledge to bear on skin care," said Neufang.
Neufang said she does not see consumers from one brand cannibalizing another from the J&J stable, since buyers tend to be loyal to a brand for a variety of reasons. Roc buyers are "determined age fighters," she said, while Clean and Clear users tend to be from a much younger demographic.
One change to the Aveeno line will be that all the products will incorporate sunscreen. Another change is to the brand's self- tanning line. Instead of buying a bottle for a light tan and one for darker, the line's dispenser will allow the user to choose how dark they want their skin to be, Neufang said.
"The skin care line has seen a double-digit growth in the past seven years," said Neufang, who pointed out that the increase was from new customers, not from acquisitions.
Schering-Plough
* Based in Kenilworth
* 7,400 New Jersey employees; 32,000 worldwide
The Dr. Scholl's for Her line, launched in 2006, will see several new additions this year, including a Foot Serum and an Advanced Foot Repair Cream, said spokeswoman Jennifer Samolewicz.
While the market for pampering lotions is crowded, the company decided to put a toe in the water, so to speak.
"Dr. Scholl's has been around for more than 100 years we are foot care experts we had the technology and we saw the need, so we thought it was a good area," she said.
The company is also releasing products that are more in line with what consumers might associate with the company: Callus and corn cushions and corn removers. Another product has a twist of the new with the old: Dr. Scholl's for Her Sole Expressions inserts. The 3- pack inserts includes one in a leopard print.
"Women want things that help them feel good," said Samolewicz. "Everyone wants to feel fabulous wearing stylish shoes, but they don't want to sacrifice style for comfort."
Campbell's Soup
* Based in Camden
* 1,500 New Jersey employees; 22,000 worldwide
Although the company won't be announcing specific plans for new products until May, spokesman John Faulkner said the trend will continue toward healthier products with less fat and sodium.
The company has three different lines of soups the traditional red label cans, Chunky and the premium Select line, as well as Healthy Request versions of all three. In 2006, the company introduced or revamped a total of 32 soups to make them lower in sodium, Faulkner said. That includes about 10 soups that are kids' favorites, where the sodium levels were knocked down 25 percent, he said.
All told, out of the company's 200 different brands and varieties of soups, about 20 percent are now available in low or lower sodium, he said.
"We think soup is a terrifically healthy product," Faulkner said. "It's low in calories, typically low in fat ... it fills you up and is a good source of vegetables. The knock has always been sodium and the sodium is there for taste. We're finding ways to replace salt with lower-sodium sea salt.
"Customers like the taste and are getting the lower sodium levels they are asking for," he said.
Wyeth
* Based in Madison
* More than 600 employees in New Jersey; 50,000 worldwide
The company makes the Advil line of products and expects its September 2006 release of Advil PM to continue to be a strong seller.
"It's a natural fit," said spokesman Fran Sullivan, even though there are other night-time sleep/headache aids on the market.
Analgesics made big headlines in December when the Food and Drug Administration recommended stronger labels on over-the-counter painkillers warning about possible kidney and liver damage from overuse.
Sullivan said the news had little impact on the company as it adopted the FDA's suggested changes in the summer of 2006.
He also said he did not think the news would affect sales.
"I think people view these products as safe and effective," he said.
"If anything, the new warning label will make it safer."
Unilever
* Based in Englewood Cliffs
* Soon to be 1,500 employees in New Jersey; now 200,000 worldwide
In October, Unilever announced it would close its Connecticut office, centralizing the worldwide headquarters in New Jersey. Unilever's brands are diverse from Breyers ice cream and Hellmann's mayonnaise to Q-tips and Dove.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Stalzer said 2007 will bring more changes along the lines of 2006's Eat Smart/Drink Smart campaign, where special logos adorned packages of food products with lower fats, sodium and sugar.
The logos are now on products ranging from Ragu pasta sauce to Skippy peanut butter, she said. From 2005 to 2006, the company was able to reduce 15,000 tons of trans fats, 10,000 tons of saturated fats, 2,000 tons of sodium and 10,000 tons of sugars from 16,000 products worldwide, she said.
"We know that consumers want to eat healthy and by launching this program that is helping them do that," she said.
(c) 2007 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
