Category Captain: Sun Care: Merck Consumer Care
Seasonality and regional variances influence how the sun care category is managed and demand a comprehensive go-to-market strategy for retailers to maximize sales, gross margin and shopper loyalty. Merck Consumer Care, maker of Coppertone, has taken on these challenges to help its retail partners succeed.
Working with Edgewood Consulting Group, Merck delivered a category leadership strategy based on several quantitative shopper studies conducted over the past 24 months, which ultimately focused on shopper-centric differentiation.
Major retailers that have implemented the Merck team’s recommendation have reaped the results. For example, in the drug channel alone, the sun care category is up 7.4 percent. Coppertone is driving these results, with the brand up almost double, at 13.2 percent.