JERGENS IS UNMASKING NEW FACIAL BRAND

CHRISTINA VEIDERS

NEW YORK -- Biore is a made-up name, like Haagen-Dazs, but the Andrew Jergens Co., Cincinnati, expects the new brand of facial skin care to become synonymous with "clean."

"We're bringing technical innovation to facial cleansing and trying to energize that side of the business," said Jeff McCurrach, director of new business development at Jergens. Company executives were here last week to introduce the line, which is targeted to women 18 to 34 years old, to the trade press and beauty editors.

This is Jergens' entree into the $828 million facial skin care category, and executives called the launch a major initiative for the company, which hasn't introduced a new brand in quite some time. Jergens helped launched the moisturizer body-wash category in 1994. Earlier this year, it revamped its moisturizer products under the Jergens Skincare umbrella.

The company will begin shipping five stockkeeping units of cleansers, moisturizers and a new deep-pore cleanser product to mass-market retailers on May 5. Grocery chains that devote at least 12 feet of space to the segment will be particularly targeted for Biore, said McCurrach, who declined to name any chains that may take on the brand. According to Information Resources Inc., Chicago, supermarkets captured a 22% share of facial moisturizers and cleansers combined for the 52-week period ending Dec. 31, 1996.

The centerpiece of the line is the Pore Perfect Deep Cleansing Strips, which are similar to nasal strips but perform the function of cleaning clogged pores on the nose. The product was developed by Jergens' Japanese parent company, Kao Group Co., and introduced in Japan last April. By year's end, between $7 million and $10 million worth of strips were sold in Japan, according to McCurrach. The peel-off strips utilize a C-bond process to lift dirt and oil from the pores. The process takes between 10 and 15 minutes. A package of six strips sells for a suggested retail of $5.99.

There are also two 5-ounce facial cleansers: a non-foaming gel and a foaming cleanser, both containing sorbitol, a natural plant extract that dissolves dirt and oil. Cleansers will be sold for a suggested $5.99. Two hydrating moisturizers, one available with an SPF-6 formulation, are also in the line and come in 4-ounce sizes at a suggested retail price of $8.99.

Biore has been formulated as preventive skin care for the 26 million women in the targeted age group.