Avon enters supplement space with launch of Espira line
The initial launch includes 11 products categorized into three groups: Restore (ranging from sleeping aid supplements to multivitamins), Boost (plant protein powder to weight management), and Glow (beauty from within products).
According to Elana Gold, chief marketing officer at New Avon LLC, the supplement category is "a natural evolution for us." She told NutraIngredients-USA that "Avon has been taking care of women and their families for 130 years. We have always been committed to providing our representatives with products that empower them and their customers to be the best that they can be. One of our key differentiators is the breadth of our portfolio, and we know Espira is a competitive advantage for our representatives."
Beauty brands expand to supplements
"We are rapidly transforming Avon to become the leading social selling company in North America, and broadening our portfolio into the health and wellness category will be a key driver of our success,” said Avon CEO Scott White.
“We are very proud to enter this critical category with a highly innovative, high performing line of products that is unlike any other on the market today.”
Avon follows a number of beauty brands that have expanded their portfolios to include dietary supplements, particularly supplements with beauty-from-within claims, indicating growing consumer interest in the category.
Last year saw men’s skincare company Zirh and cosmetic company Perricone MD launch dietary supplement lines. Also in 2017, Clorox’s Burt’s Bees launched a line of plant protein powders, and Church & Dwight, parent company of Arm & Hammer, acquired hair growth supplement brand Viviscal.
To ensure that Avon sellers are familiar with the regulatory framework of dietary supplement and the best practices in selling them, Gold said that they will be provided "with the proper training and comliant materials" in the form of "webinars, robust reading materials and relatable videos."
Renewing Avon
The privately owned New Avon LLC came into being when New York City-based private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management purchased most of the the Avon North American Business from Avon Products Inc. in 2015 in a transaction meant to make Avon profitable again.
CEO Scott White joined the company in May 2016 after serving as president for Abbott Laboratories' international nutrition division. Since becoming independent of Avon Products Inc., New Avon LLC has forayed beyond cosmetics and personal care, including categories as diverse as home decor to jewelry, and now, dietary supplements.
