pHisoderm's Relaunch

In late 2002, Chattem Inc. (Chattanooga, TN) relaunched its well-known pHisoderm product line and added three new products. Packaging for the Clear Confidence line was updated to achieve a contemporary, unisex look, explains Gail Jenkins, pHisoderm brand manager. “We kept our signature green and coupled it with new colors.”
In addition to updating the line’s color, Chattem chose a few new packaging styles. For its 5-Minute Blemish Masque, she chose a 2-in. plastic tube with a matte finish and offset printing. “The tube should appeal to teens, who are always looking for the next gimmick, yet it has an upscale look,” Jenkins says. “The flip-top cap for standing the tube up adds further appeal.”

Swab Plus and Cebal supplied swabs and tubes, respectively, for the redesign.

Bertrand Daru, marketing manager for Cebal Americas, which supplied the tube and cap, says the 50-mm dispensing cap is a Cebalcap, fully oriented to the front panel. “Cebalcap is unique in that the cap will always be aligned with the tube’s front panel, which is great for brand reinforcement.” In addition, it is a snap-on nonremovable cap, guaranteed to stay in place.

Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the line is one product’s departure from the standard tube. Its Clear Swab 2% salicylic acid acne treatment is placed in unit-dose swabs that users snap on one end to dispense the product from the other end.

Richard Crady, executive vice president, marketing and sales for Swab Plus (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), which manufactures and fills the swabs for Chattem, says snapping forces air into the swab and the formula moves toward the other end. Once the flow starts, it can move against gravity and won’t leak. “The swab allows contamination-free, convenient, precise application of product,” Crady says. Made of polypropylene, the swab is very durable, he adds. Chattem supplies pHisoderm’s acne treatment in windowed boxes of 24.

For marketing purposes, AdProps (Atlanta) produced the color comprehensives to support the product launch.