Brand success in pain relief: Q&A with David Biernbaum
Australian Dream is one of those hot external analgesic products that has been growing by greater than 20% across all channels. Drug Store News had an opportunity to dig a little deeper regarding the Nature s Health Connection s Australian Dream product with David Biernbaum of David Biernbaum and Assoc., who represents the product.
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DSN: What is the story behind Australian Dream? What's driving the growth?
David Biernbaum: There's three things. No. 1 is a tremendous advertising campaign. ... We have tremendous spokespersons doing the advertising. For example, we use Chuck Woolery. The core market [for Australian Dream] is men and women over the age of 50, and so Chuck Woolery has been a tremendous spokesperson for the brand. In addition, we have Dennis Miller. [And] we have a true $6.6 million ad spend. It's a combination of radio and TV. We also do quite a bit of digital and social media marketing, as well. And we do a lot of paid search for pain to increase brand awareness.
No. 2 is that the features and benefits of the brand itself, people really appreciate. There's no odor. There's no burn. There's no staining. The product is capsaicin-free; it's menthol-free, paraben-free. It has a very unique, FDA-approved ingredient called histamine dihydrochloride. What that does is it induces vasodilation. It also contains emu oil, which has its own following.
And thirdly, as far as retail success and making profits, our product has an SRP of $29.95 for a 4-oz. jar, and $19.95 for a 2-oz. jar. We're by far the most expensive product in the category, and yet our unit sales keep up with most of the other brands. So for retailers, and for us, it s a tremendously successful brand because of the amazing margins, profits and cash register rings that it creates.
DSN: What's next?
Biernbaum: The line extension is Australian Dream Back Pain Cream, which is formulated for people that just have back pain. It's already doing well at [a major retailer], and it's only been on the shelf for four weeks. And it's not cannibalizing Australian Dream Arthritis Cream. It's reaching a whole new market.