Design Consultancy
Inovus Ltd
Kevin Johnson
07768 824 249
kevin@inovus.co.uk
www.inovus.co.uk
The Challenge
The market for suncare products in the UK is obviously seasonal, but it is also unusual because an own-brand product is the market leader – Boots Soltan dominates the market and is credited with creating (and owns the legal rights surrounding) the Sun Protection Factor scale used by both branded and own-label products. In 2004, the UK suncare market was worth £89.7million (Euro131.8million), down from £98.3million (Euro144.4million) in 2003 due to bad weather and price wars between retailers. The own-label market had decreased by 13.1%, but Superdrug had felt a sharper decrease of 24.6%.
The Brief
Superdrug commissioned roster agency Inovus to create a “best in class design” for its own-label suncare range, Solait. It needed to develop a bold, signature look that would effectively create mass on- shelf presence and compete with the established national brands.
The design also needed to communicate trust as well as the benefits of the product’s revised moisture-enhancing formulation. Solait ultimately needed to challenge Boots’ dominance with a statement brand.
The Design
In this market, finding an appropriate colour is vital for achieving relevance and shelf presence. Almost all other retailers’ own-brand products, including Superdrug’s, had always followed the lead of Boots’ Soltan, using yellow as a core colour. Inovus’s decision to use red broke the unwritten rules that this was not a good colour for suncare, with its connotations of pain, danger and burning. The design uses the idea of lens fl are – the stream of brightly coloured circles seen when looking at the sun through a lens to create a brand mark with a warm friendly glow. The design clearly communicates the SPF number as well as the newly introduced UVA scale, so customers are clear what they are buying.
The Results
Solait re-launched in summer 2005 after a design investment of £15,000 (Euro 22,000). Superdrug saw its overall suncare sales grow by 40.9%, outstripping market growth of 23%. Solait itself increased sales by 49% on the previous year. By 2006 the overall own-label market was continuing to grow by 30.2%, Solait continued to beat this with growth of 60.8% on 2005, outstripping market growth here by 30%. Superdrug’s share of the own-label suncare market now stands at 10.6%, having been at 7.1% prior to the re-launch.
