New Brunswick, NJ
732.524.0400
www.jnj.com
Sales: $7.2 billion

Sales: $7.2 billion for skin, oral and baby care products. Corporate sales: $63.7 billion. Net income: $12.9 billion.

Key Personnel: William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer; Colleen Coggins, worldwide chairman, consumer group.

Major Products: Aveeno and Neutrogena skin care and sun care products, Clean & Clear teen skin care products, Johnson’s and Balmex baby care products, Johnson’s skin and hair care products, Penatan and Natusan baby care products, Piz Buin and Sundown sun care products, Reach toothbrushes, RoC skin care products, Shower to Shower personal care products.

New Products: Skin care—Aveeno Positively Ageless lifting and firming facial skin care, Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser exfoliating cleanser, Neutrogena Ageless Essentials Continuous Hydration Night, Acne Wash and Continuous Hydration Eye, Johnson’s Body Care Forever Fresh Refreshing Lotion; Oral care—Reach Ultraclean toothbrush; Hair care—Aveeno Nourish + Hair Care collection; Dabao cosmetics (acquisition); Baby care—Johnson’s Baby Bubble Bath & Wash. Sun care—Neutrogena Utra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 100+ sunblock.

Comments: Few companies have made more strides in the personal care space than J&J during the past few years. In fact, all three components of its personal care business—skin, baby and oral care—posted double digit gains last year, despite the economic uncertainty.

For example, skin care sales rose nearly 11% to $3.4 billion. The gain was attributed to growing sales of Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Neutrogena, Johnson’s Adult products and the acquisition of Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd.

Baby care sales jumped 11.7% to $2.2 billion, thanks to strong sales outside the U.S.

Oral care sales were up 9% to $1.6 billion, due to a strong performance turned in by the Listerine mouthwash line, according to the New Brunswick, NJ-based firm.

J&J rolled its best-selling Aveeno skin care brand into hair care earlier this year, with the launch of Nourish + Hair Care.

Those gains in personal care more than hold their own when compared to J&J’s total results. Last year, corporate sales rose 4.3% to $63.7 billion. Net income increased 22%.

Furthermore, last year, J&J spent $624 million on research and development within its consumer division—that’s an increase of more than 10% over 2007. In contrast, total R&D expenses at J&J declined 1.3% to nearly $7.6 billion in 2008.

For the first quarter of 2009, however, corporate sales fell 7.2% to $15 billion. Net earnings fell 2.5% to $3.5 billion. However, skin care sales rose 0.2% during the quarter to $842 million, on a 10.7% gain in U.S. sales to $423 million. During the first quarter, baby care sales declined 8.3% to $489 million and oral care sales fell 5.4% to $365 million.

According to J&J, Listerine, Neutrogena and Aveeno all turned in good sales performances during the quarter, and the acquisition of Dabao also contributed to the gain.

With the popularity of Aveeno on the rise, J&J expanded the brand into hair care with the launch of

New this summer is Aveeno sunblock spray with SPF 70.

Nourish + Hair Care. The entire collection is formulated with 90% natural ingredients and pairs an Active Naturals Nourish-ing Wheat Complex technology (wheat germ and wheat germ oil) with botanical extracts to target damaged hair and help strengthen hair to make it less prone to breakage. Unlike other hair care formulas based on wheat protein, Aveeno’s complex uses one large, non-hydrolyzed, water insoluble protein polymer, which won’t break down with use in water, allowing for a targeted, more substantive deposition of the wheat protein and thus greater conditioning, according to J&J.

“During our extensive research into our consumer, we determined a need that wasn’t being fulfilled in the hair care category—effective, naturally based and aesthetically pleasing products that effectively help to repair damaged hair,” Mike Marquis, Aveeno group product director, told Happi.com. “Because Aveeno’s heritage is rooted in the health and beauty of skin, the logical next step was to leverage Active Naturals technology (ingredients powered by nature and proven by science) to offer a solution for hair. The introduction of the Nourishing Wheat Complex exemplifies Aveeno’s overall commitment to health, wellness and beauty, while continuing to lead the way in the innovation of natural ingredients and breakthrough formulations.”

According to Johnson & Johnson data, 70% of women admit to regularly processing their hair and 50% say they have damaged tresses. Aveeno Nourish + hair care was developed with a team of experts, including a dermatologist and hair stylist, with the goal of creating products that help make hair healthy and beautiful.