Poise--Opens Forum on Menopause With Product Launch
Poise, the maker of Kotex brand and other feminine products is set to launch its latest line of feminine care—with a hook to reel in women in the 40-plus age group—who want conversations on menopause but have no forum.
Kimberly-Clarke Corporation, which owns Poise, in deciding what feminine adult product line to introduce into the market, interviewed 8000 women in the US and 3,000 women outside the US, all in the 40-plus age group.
Then it clicked, after more women expressed having similar menopausal concerns, mainly—vaginal dryness, odor, and hot flashes—Poise showed they cared, developing a new feminine-care category with a double-feature benefit. The brand maker has timed its product launch with the “second talk” a conversation on menopause in which the first “talk” involved moms' conversations with teenage daughters and their periods.
On July 23, Poise is rolling out lubricants to address feminine dryness; panty freshness stickers, and feminine wash for odors; cooling towellettes, and roll-on gel for women with hot flashes.
Prices will fetch between $4 and $8 and targets 50 million American women who are or will go through menopause. It expands on the brand’s original theme already in its product line—pads--for incontinence. Urinary bladder weakness and bladder control is another gender related issue affecting the menopausal phase of life and pregnant women.
But introducing a new consumer product, in this tough economy, and where brand loyalty is not easily side-stepped, may become a hard sell. In addition, the feminine line has a controversial edge, not readily endorsed by the health care system.
“Feminine washes are not usually recommended by many doctors,” and products that mask odors are a no-no; “any product that mask vaginal odor could cause people to not treat what is causing the symptoms in the first place,” says Dr. Lauren F. Streicher, a gynaecologist and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Whether this compelling move by Poise will have the sales effect that the brand needs to win over a sizeable demographic, just waiting in the wings, or pioneer a new discourse on menopause, one that will move women from feeling alienated in their experiences to one that is informed and inclusive, there is no question that the brand maker continues to blaze a trail of its own.
Follow Technorati