At-home Skin Care Devices: The Next Billion Dollar Market, According to Recently Published Kline Report

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Youth and Beauty

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new report from worldwide consulting and research firm Kline Company reveals key findings on the booming market for power-operated devices designed for acne elimination, anti-aging treatment, and daily cleansing. In At-home Skin Care Devices 2011: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities, Kline’s research pegs the market at close to $1 billion at the retail level for 2011, with exceptional growth expected for the next five years. Kline’s report is the first of its kind to take an in-depth look at the market for this emerging class of products.

“We knew this market was really taking off, but even we were shocked by its sheer size,” said Karen Doskow, Industry Manager for Consumer Products at Kline. “Clearly, these devices are finding a very receptive and growing audience of savvy consumers looking to save time and money by avoiding regular trips to the doctor for those in-office procedures that were once commonplace in more robust economic times.” With more consumers staying at home, either due to job losses or by virtue of the work-at-home/telecommuting trend, Doskow says the direct sales channel, which includes home shopping networks, infomercials, and e-commerce, is the primary means of distribution, with about 60% of the total market share.

While sonic cleansing products, led by market leader Clarisonic, top the list as the highest growth segment, acne treatment devices are the fastest growing. Meanwhile, anti-aging devices are expected to grow by a very healthy 50% this year alone, benefiting from consumers’ demand for products to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots. Kline’s recent Professional Skin Care research revealed that anti-aging is the number one skin care concern for consumers, with topical product sales in this category comprising more than 40% of the market. “This dynamic provides a perfect opportunity for device and topical product manufacturers to pair their products together to meet consumers’ anti-aging needs,” Doskow said.

At-home Skin Care Devices 2011: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities also points to strong opportunities for manufacturers to develop mass market product options for price-sensitive consumers and to diversify their product lines to appeal to a wide range of age groups, from teens to mature consumers. “It’s incredible how marketers are targeting teens with colorful and easy-to-use products such as Neutrogena’s Wave amongst other market entrants,” adds Doskow.

Kline’s At-home Skin Care Devices 2011: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities covers the market for facial-related, power-operated devices with 19 key brand profiles and sales channel data derived from the direct, luxury, and mass distribution trade classes. For more information, visit www.klinegroup.com.

About Kline

Kline is a worldwide consulting and research firm dedicated to providing the kind of insight and knowledge that helps companies find a clear path to success. The firm has served the management consulting and market research needs of organizations in the chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries for over 50 years. For more information, visit www.KlineGroup.com.

Vera Sandarova
Senior Marketing Executive
Phone: +420-222-316-282

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Talking tofu in Seattle: trust me, you want some

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Youth and Beauty

Let’s talk tofu. I used to wrinkle my nose at the thought of it, just like many of you. “Bland!” I’d cry. “Boring!” I’d insist. “Soybean curd? Forget it!” But that was back before I knew better.

To live in and around Seattle, and to ignore the tantalizing textures and downright deliciosity that is tofu, is a mistake you should not make. Why? Because there’s so much more to tofu than those little white cubes floating in the miso soup served with your sushi combo. And more ways to eat it than you might imagine: fried and chilefied for snacking, knotted into tofu-noodles, softly floating in scintillating stews and ginger-syrup sweetened as a silken dessert.


Who says tofu is boring? Not me! And you won’t either, if you try this hotpot at Seattle’s Northwest Tofu, chockfull of treasures including tofu noodles and 5-spice tofu. [photo/Nancy Leson]

“Tofu is a misunderstood ingredient,” says Asian food authority Andrea Nguyen. “You could probably write country-song lyrics about it.” With her next cookbook, “Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home,” due out next spring, she hopes to change that.

Tofu is made from fresh soy milk, in a production process similar to that of cheese. Nguyen likens the difference between tofu prepared at home — or bought from a fresh-tofu house — to the difference between creamy fresh mozzarella and commercially available shrink-wrapped brands: night and day.

Lucky us, then! Seattle supports myriad fresh tofu sources: small storefront operators whose products are widely available at area supermarkets and Asian-food groceries, including Uwajimaya, 99 Ranch and Viet-Wah.

Among them is Northwest Tofu, a family-run factory and Chinese cafe at 1911 S. Jackson Street in the Central District — and the answer to a tofu-lover’s prayers. I’m with Jean Nakayama, owner of Seattle’s century-old Maneki restaurant, who’s crazy for the cafe’s salt and pepper tofu. Those savory cubes are fried so light, crisp and custardy, eating one is like biting into a cumulous cloud as it wafts over Shangri-La, though you’ll also want to try the tofu hot-pot, whose aromatic ingredients include meaty-textured 5-spice tofu.


Salt and pepper tofu, light as a cloud and available in the cafe at Northwest Tofu. [photo/Nancy Leson]

Regulars like Nakayama are hip to the “secret” alley access. Here you’ll find neighbors lining up for tofu (except for Wednesdays, when they’re closed). And if you’re lucky, you’ll get a peek-a-boo view of owner Yong Huang in a steamy corner of his workshop, deftly creating delicate soft-tofu skins, a house specialty.


Anna Chen, wife of Northwest Tofu owner Yong Huang, making soft-tofu skins, a house specialty. [Seattle Times/Ellen Banner]

Wiley Frank, sous-chef at Lark and co-owner of the Thai food caterer and pop-up restaurant Shophouse (soon to pop up Mondays at La Bête on Capitol Hill), is another Northwest Tofu regular. Whether he’s dining with his family in the cafe, or buying tofu to add to his Shophouse curry, it’s the care that’s taken here that brings him back week after week.

Nearby at Thanh Son Tofu (118 12th Ave.), a Vietnamese deli off 12th and Yesler, regulars grab plastic produce bags and load up on just-fried tofu cubes. At $3 per pound, it’s an inexpensive snack: My spicy favorite comes clinging with lemongrass and dried chilies. In the adjacent production facility, vats of boiled soybeans are transformed into blocks of compressed cakes. Soy milk — still warm! — is sold in half-gallon jugs, or cooked until the curds resemble pudding; try the savory green version steeped with pandan leaf, delightful with a spoonful of the coconut cream provided alongside.


Fried tofu, sold by the pound at Thanh Son Tofu. I’m partial to the lemongrass and chile version (right). And I’m not the only one: the last time I was there, they’d just run out (waaaah!). [photo/Nancy Leson]

In Rainier Valley, you might seek out Chuminh Tofu (6754 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S.), offering fresh tofu pressed into blocks labeled soft, medium, firm and extra-firm, or fried into cubes for snacking or stir-frying. Owner Tanya Nguyen plans to open a vegetarian take-out deli this month, at 1043 S. Jackson Street in Little Saigon.

Rachel Yang makes her own tofu at her Wallingford restaurant Joule, where it’s subtly smoked and served with honshimeji mushroom confit. Yang’s go-to tofu for home use is Pulmuwon, an organic commercial brand. With a long history in Korea, it’s now produced in the U.S. (and available at H Mart in Lynnwood). Its fine texture and “clean, nutty flavor” is a plus, says the Korea-born chef.

As for those of you who’ve yet to step up to the tofu challenge? Buy it, you’ll like it, she suggests, offering this baby step for counteracting the “bland” factor: Soak sliced tofu in soy sauce for a half-hour before using it in a recipe.

And speaking of tofu recipes, stay tuned. I’ll post one for this beauty in a bit:


This tastes as good as it looks. [photo/Nancy Leson]

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Health Overhaul to Make Insurers Label Plans Like Cereal Boxes

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Youth and Beauty

Health insurers will have to provide
descriptive labels similar to those found on food products under
a consumer-information provision in the 2010 health overhaul the
U.S. began rolling out today.

The draft rules will make insurers such as Indianapolis-
based WellPoint Inc. (WLP), the largest U.S. health insurer by
enrollment, detail coverage costs, deductibles and payments for
common services, including delivering a baby. The new plan
descriptions will be in the form of an eight-page summary
available in March 2012, according to the draft rules.

“We’re making it easier for consumers to find the health
plan that’s right for them,” said Donald Berwick, the head of
the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on a
conference call with reporters. “This will create a more
competitive market where insurers are motivated to improve their
products.”

Berwick’s agency is implementing the 2010 law that calls
for labeling similar to that used by food companies. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates the law will let 23
million uninsured people buy health coverage from private plans
by 2017.

Consumer protections in the health-care law are designed to
force insurers to compete based on price and service and to not
exclude sicker, more costly patients, Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said. The rules were announced
in a statement today from the Health and Human Services
Department in Washington.

Start Date Concern

WellPoint was reviewing the rules and deferred immediate
comment to America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s
Washington-based lobbying group, said Kristin Binns, a
spokeswoman for the company.

The insurance industry called the new rules an
administrative headache that would be difficult to implement.
Plans will have to provide the new descriptions by March 23,
2012, a date Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America’s Health
Insurance Plans, said was too soon.

“Some health plans could be required to create tens of
thousands of different versions of this new document, which
would add administrative costs without meaningfully helping
employees,” Zirkelbach said in an e-mail.

The government estimates the costs to the industry to be
$73 million a year in 2012, decreasing to $58 million annually
in 2013. The spending will come from updating computer systems
and printing and sending out notices, the government said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Drew Armstrong in Washington at
darmstrong17@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Adriel Bettelheim at
abettelheim@bloomberg.net.

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Couture Colour Honored In Good Housekeeping’s 2011 Anti-Aging Awards

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Youth and Beauty


NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — After nearly a year of researching, testing and evaluating, Good Housekeeping has revealed the winners of the magazine’s Second-Annual Anti-Aging Awards, selecting Couture Colour LUXEBLEND™ Creme Hair as silver winner in the Permanent Hair Color category.  The winners are featured in Good Housekeeping’s September issue, now available on newsstands nationwide, and at http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/anti-aging-awards.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110817/NY53927LOGO)

SILVER WINNER, “Couture Colour was a close second overall, and a panelist favorite for thorough gray coverage; rich even color; fade resistance; and making hair shiny.  ”It stayed true to color and didn’t fade.  I loved the way it made my hair feel.  It was amazing!” said one tester.  Its shine-enhancing secret: a one month supply of pequi oil treatment derived from the Amazonian pequi fruit, instead of the usual conditioner included in a permanent haircolor kit.  And, indeed, Couture Colour did edge out Revlon in the lab’s shine-retention evaluation.  Plus, testers were relieved that the dye didn’t have a noxious smell.  ”I love the scent; I never knew a haircolor existed that didn’t have a chemical scent,” reported a panelist.  (Good Housekeeping, September issue, page 91)  

The scientists in the Beauty Lab of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute evaluated hair products that promise gray coverage or make anti-aging or age-defying claims, in all price ranges, performing laboratory tests, gathering scientific data, and receiving feedback from testers’ real life experience.  In all:

  • 73 products were tested on 579 volunteers, ages 35+, as well as on 736 hair swatches.  
  • 1,055 questionnaires were tallied
  • 2,716 lab measurements were taken
  • 17 winning products were selected in seven categories ranging in price from $4 to $53

To determine the winners of the Anti-Aging Awards in hair-care, before-and-after evaluations were conducted using state-of-the-art equipment, including:

  • the Instron, a mechanical measuring device fitted with a comb to record the amount of friction experienced when it moved through a wet or dry hair swatch.
  • a swatch wash station that delivers water at a controlled temperature and flow rate
  • a Samba HVASS device, which measures shine
  • an Accelerated Weathering Tester, which assesses how likely hair color is to fade in the sun.

“Our readers look to us for recommendations on products that perform as promised and are worth the money – from smart phones to shampoo,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping.  ”Our Anti-Aging Awards are unique because, as with all of our product evaluations, they are backed by scientific testing – the winners have literally been proven to work.”

“As a new brand, we are honored to be included among the top hair care brands in Good Housekeeping’s study.  Couture Colour’s mission is to bring a luxury experience to the at-home colourist.  We hope this will encourage consumers to try Couture Colour and see the difference.”  Shari Glazer, Founder of Couture Colour.”

For the complete results of Good Housekeeping’s Anti-Aging Awards, as well as anti-aging hair-care and color tips, visit http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/anti-aging-awards.

Availability:

Couture Colour LUXEBLEND™ Creme Hair Colour is available on www.CoutureColour.com, $30.

About Good Housekeeping

Founded in 1885, Good Housekeeping (www.goodhousekeeping.com) magazine reaches 25 million readers each month.  In addition to the print title, there is The Good Housekeeping Research Institute, the consumer product evaluation laboratory of Good Housekeeping magazine.  Founded in 1900 and continuing today with the same mission, the Research Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of consumers and their families through education and product evaluation.  Only products evaluated by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute can be accepted for advertising in the magazine, and thereby become eligible to display the Good Housekeeping Seal, the hallmark that provides assurance to readers that the products advertised in the magazine are backed by a two-year limited warranty against being defective, with specified exceptions. Readers can also interact with the brand on the digital front, with Good Housekeeping mobile (m.goodhousekeeping.com). In addition to its U.S. flagship, Good Housekeeping publishes 15 editions around the world.  Good Housekeeping is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com). Once it completes its acquisition of Lagardere SCA’s 100 titles in 14 countries outside of France, Hearst Magazines will publish more than 300 editions around the world, including 20 U.S. titles. Hearst Magazines is a leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation and reaches 88 million adults (Spring 2010 MRI).

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Army Improperly Tested Body Armor Plates

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Youth and Beauty

PHOTO: US troops from the Battle Co., 1-32 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team accompanied by Afghan National Army soldiers inspect the Mullah Omar mosque in Sangsar village in Kandahar province, the heartland of the Taliban in southern Afghanista

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The Army improperly tested new bullet-blocking plates for body armor and cannot be certain that 5 million pieces of the critical battlefield equipment meet the standards to protect U.S. troops, the Defense Department’s inspector general found.

The Pentagon report focused on seven Army contracts for the plates, known as ballistic inserts, awarded between 2004 and 2006 and totaling $2.5 billion. The inspector general’s audit, carried out over a two-year period ending in March, found the tests were incomplete, conducted with the wrong size plates or relied on ballistic test rounds that were inconsistent. Due to the demands of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tests under certain temperatures and altitudes were scrapped altogether.

“Consequently, the Army cannot be sure that ballistic inserts meet … requirements,” the report said. “As a result, the Army lacks assurance that 5.1 million ballistic inserts acquired through the seven contracts provide appropriate protection.”

The inspector general said it did not conduct its own tests so it couldn’t say whether the plates were defective.

In response, the Army said Tuesday that it had initiated improvements to the testing system before and during the inspector general’s audit. The service also said “all inspector general recommendations to improve the testing processes have been implemented. … The Army continues to work with the test community for test improvements to provide the best body armor possible to the soldier.”


PHOTO: US troops from the Battle Co., 1-32 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team accompanied by Afghan National Army soldiers inspect the Mullah Omar mosque in Sangsar village in Kandahar province, the heartland of the Taliban in southern Afghanista

PHOTO: US troops from the Battle Co., 1-32 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team accompanied by Afghan National Army soldiers inspect the Mullah Omar mosque in Sangsar village in Kandahar province, the heartland of the Taliban in southern Afghanista













The Aug. 1 report was the fourth in a series by the inspector general in response to a request from Rep. Louise Slaughter. Since January 2006, the New York Democrat has pressed the military about the effectiveness of body armor after The New York Times reported that 80 percent of Marines serving in Iraq who had been shot in the upper body had died because of inadequate body armor.

The body armor used by most U.S. troops comprises a ballistic vest with two large, hard ceramic plates that protect the upper body from bullets and shrapnel. The equipment has been crucial for American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for nearly a decade. During testing, the plates are attached to a clay block that substitutes for a soldier’s body. A projectile is shot at the plates at a certain velocity to determine whether it can provide protection.

The 51-page IG report said the Army program manager for soldier equipment could provide only “limited assurance” that the plates met requirements. The inspector general found that for all seven contracts the program manager did not have a consistent way of measuring and recording velocity of the test rounds. Two designs were approved without valid tests.

The Army said it had created a database for test information, standardized the protocol for ballistic testing and continues to scan body armor plates before deployment and during a soldier’s tour of duty to ensure there are no internal cracks.

“The Army conducts rigorous and extensive testing of body armor to ensure that it meets U.S. Army standards and is safe for use in combat,” the service said in comments included in the report.

In an interview, Slaughter said she planned to write to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Secretary John McHugh, calling their attention to the inspector general’s report. Both Panetta and McHugh are former House colleagues of Slaughter, a 13-term congresswoman.

“This needs to be told,” she said, remembering the dead and wounded from the nation’s wars. “At the least, we should have some confidence that this part is taken care of, that in the future more diligence is taken.”

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