Delivering to consumer expectations - Hamacher Resource Group

The O’Keeffe’s brand is rooted in solving challenging skin issues. Their philosophy is to be the last product a consumer turns to for skin care.

Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as appeared in Inside Beauty for Drug Store News

O’Keeffe’s has leveraged their brand appeal and found success in channels where health, beauty, and wellness items haven’t been a part of the traditional product assortment. They continue to innovate, with three new product introductions over the past twelve months.

The O’Keeffe’s brand originated over 25 years ago when a pharmacist developed a hand cream for her rancher father after being unable to find anything that worked on his cracked and split hands. Today, the O’Keefe’s brand has expanded beyond hand cream into hand soap, foot and body lotions, and lip care.

The O’Keeffe’s brand is rooted in solving challenging skin issues. Rigorous clinical testing and in-depth consumer research help ensure O’Keeffe’s products deliver to customer expectations, which is why the brand can confidently offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

O’Keeffe’s track record of meeting the needs of its customers allowed them to broaden their product portfolio. Eric Renner, national account manager – drug, for The Gorilla Glue Co., owner of the O’Keeffe’s brand, said, “Brand recognition has contributed to the success of this brand in the other skin care segments, but I also believe that the products being unscented – no frills, but very effective – is why many of our customers are repeat buyers. We want our products to be the last skincare products consumers will ever need.”

O’Keeffe’s uses social media primarily to educate consumers on the efficacy of their products and the importance of skin care. They support their retailer partners with television advertisements and in-store displays, particularly during peak season for O’Keeffe’s sales, October through March.

The brand uses technology to anticipate consumer need during those peak months, tracking storms to determine where their retailer partners might see a spike in sales and ensuring those stores have enough inventory to meet demand.

The brand has had success in the home improvement channel – which isn’t a typical place to find healthy, beauty, and wellness (HBW) products – in addition to traditional mass and drug. 2022 YTD O’Keeffe’s units at Home Depot are up 57% vs. YA, and total sales are +125% vs. YA. (Data Source: GG Internal POS YTD ending 2/13/2022). The brand also does well at independent drug where therapeutic skin care products are often more successful.

The Gorilla Glue Company introduced three new products in the past twelve months, starting with Working Hands Cuticle Repair Cream in July 2021, and in November the brand introduced its first soap, O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Moisturizing Hand Soap. The soap is designed to wash away dirt and grime while leaving hands hydrated and moisturized. The brand’s latest innovation was just launched in February 2022. O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet Foot Mask is single-use for extremely dry, rough feet. It is specially formulated to provide visible results in one use. HRG analysts chose Eczema Relief Body Cream, Working Hands Moisturizing Hand Soap, and Healthy Feet Foot Mask for the Drug Store News feature, “Products to Watch,” where the analysts highlight the top five new HBW product releases they believe will succeed.

With a name like “Working Hands,” it’s obvious O’Keeffe’s hand cream and soap are targeted for those who either are in a profession where their work exposes their hands to tough conditions that dry out the skin, or are washing their hands often, making it hard to keep hands hydrated and moisturized. Renner said they also work with dermatologists to ensure the hand, foot, and body creams work on the dry and sensitive skin that can sometimes be an issue for those managing diabetes.

On the horizon for O’Keeffe’s is an expansion of different sizes for some of their legacy products and the introduction of a cherry flavor lip balm.