In Irvington, a company marketing some of America”™s most familiar brands in “recession-proof” household products has launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign for a novel over-the-counter defense against allergies.
Prestige Brands Holdings Inc., a 98-employee company with headquarters at 90 North Broadway, this month nationally launched its Chloraseptic Allergen Block for adults and Little Allergies Allergen Block for children. Applied around the nostrils, the topical gel blocks airborne allergens on contact to help prevent nasal allergy symptoms. The products retail at about $14.99 in drug stores, mass merchandisers and supermarkets.
“We”™re spending multimillions to promote it,” said Dean Siegal, director of investor relations and communications at Prestige Brands. “We”™re doing TV, radio, Internet and magazines. Certain products lend themselves so well to promotion over the Internet. I think this is one of those.” Among the new-media sites targeted are pollen.com, parenting.com, Walmart.com and zootoo.com.         Â
“Allergens in the air have a negative charge,” Siegal said. “The gel has a slight positive charge” that attracts allergens before they enter the nose. This is a unique product because it”™s a whole new way to look at the age-old problem. There are no other products on the market like this.” Lacking any drug ingredients and their potential side effects, the gel can be used with other prescription and over-the-counter allergy medicines, he said.
 The allergen-snagging product was invented by Ashok Wahi, a professional engineer in New Jersey who was driven to find relief for his daughter”™s cat allergies. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” Wahi said. “Because of my daughter”™s allergies, I wanted to develop a product that would help enhance my daughter”™s ”“ and all allergy sufferers”™ ”“ quality of life.” Wahi in 1995 founded Trutek Corp. in Somerville, N.J., to market his patented methodology utilizing the natural electrostatic charge of airborne particles. Siegal said Wahi sold his original product, called NasalGuard, over the Internet.  Â
Prestige Brands”™ new products enter a U.S. market whose myriad treatments vie for the buying habits of an estimated 40 million allergy sufferers. Allergies are the fifth leading chronic disease in the nation among all ages and the third most common chronic disease among children under 18, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
The Irvington company”™s line of over-the-counter health care, household cleaning and personal care products include long-established brands that are American household names, such as Comet, Spic and Span, Chloraseptic, Murine, Prell, Compound W, Compoz, Chore Boy, Cutex and Denorex. (Like the Allergen Block products, the 75-year-old Spic and Span”™s creation was driven by necessity, the invention of a Michigan housewife, Siegal noted.) The company”™s 15 major brands accounted for about 94 percent of net sales in 2008 and 12 of those brands ranked either first, second or third in market share. Â
Those products are relatively invulnerable to swings in the economy, company officials have noted during the current promotional blitz. “Fortunately we are in the consumer staples business,” Siegal said. “Even in a slower economy, people are still going to clean their sinks with Comet and they”™re going to treat their warts with Compound W. These are things that people continue to use. I think consumer staples have been somewhat of a safe haven during hard economic times.” And rather than switch to lower-priced generic products, “For the most part, consumers are willing to pay a little more for the brand names they know and trust. We are a brand-conscious culture,” he said.
The company has seen some fall-off in sales this year compared with last year. Overall net sales were about $72.9 million in the second quarter, compared to about $78 million in the second quarter of 2007.
Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. was formed with the merger of three companies ”“ Medtech Products Inc., Prestige Brands International and The Spic and Span Company. It was acquired in 2004 by GTCR Golder Rauner L.L.C., a private equity firm based in Chicago, Ill., that currently manages more than $8 billion in equity capital. Prestige Brands went public in early 2005. GTCR recently put up for sale its approximately 15 million shares, or 30 percent, of common stock in the company.
