Germany's Henkel Group tests U.S. market with best selling Fa brand

Drug Store News, April 26, 1999 by Andrea M. Grossman

LOS ANGELES - Brands born abroad are beginning to make their way to U.S. shores. Within personal and beauty care, one of the most recent treks across the Atlantic was made by The Henkel Group when it acquired Dep Corp.-now named Schwartzkopf-Dep--in order to gain a much-needed footprint in the United States.

Henkel, a Dusseldorf-based company with $12 billion in sales for 1998, has, as part of its business, distribution of hair color and cosmetics products in approximately 146 countries, leaving Asia and the U.S. as its primary untapped markets. With the Asian market somewhat unapproachable, Henkel decided this June to approach U.S. consumers with its top personal care brand, Fa. Listed as the No. 1 body wash brand in Europe with worldwide 1998 sales reaching $500 million, according to AGNielsen, Fa hopes to stimulate Americans to a name that has 45 years of brand power across the world.

"Basically, you have ... products that systematically clean and moisturize the body. They all target the same consumer," said David Berglass, Schwartzkopf-Dep senior vice president of sales and marketing. "Fa allows consumers to go from one flavor to another at the same time while enjoying the same benefits of each product," he added, referring to the eight Fa SKUs that consist of a hand soap and body wash in four different flavors, exotic fruits, kiwi mix, aqua and invigorating peach ice tea.

Packaging is sure to stand out on shelves, as well as keep consumers from twisting off caps to sample Fa's smell: scratch and sniff patches appear on each container. Large hand pumps allow easy dispensing of hand soap while crisp, sporty colors should appeal to both women and men. Berglass expects Fa to attract the traditional 34-year-old and over demographic, as well as new consumers, since Fa is being positioned as a product that will appeal to those who use bar soap. Once a new consumer samples Fa, Berglass believes the user will be drawn to its convenience, flavor and fragrance.

"Fa will train new users on using a body wash (instead of soap). There's really not a mass market brand that's doing that," Berglass said.

The company will launch Fa with a national advertising campaign this August. Berglass said Schwartkopf-Dep will become one of the industry's largest spenders in the body wash category by spending roughly $30 million this year. Television spots will emphasize the experiential positioning of Fa, as well as its exotic fragrances. In addition to ads, a variety of promotional support vehicles will simultaneously create Fa brand awareness to consumers.