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In A Tough Economy, People Turn To Lip Balm

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Apr 13, 2009 8:18 pm US/Mountain

In A Tough Economy, People Turn To Lip Balm

Written by Andrea Lopez
Reporting
Andrea Lopez
DENVER (CBS4) ― Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring smiles to faces and make people feel better about themselves. Literally, little things like lip balm packaged in colorful, plastic balls the size of golf balls. A Denver-based company called DGL Consumer Products holds the patent on the design and is noticing that sales are surging during this recession.

Why? When times are economically tough, lip products seem to be one of the things people will pick up and buy to feel better about themselves.

"Lip products and lip sticks and lip balms always move counter-cyclical with the economy," said Thomas Smith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "So, when times are bad people always need to feel good about something in the store when they purchase. So, if they can't afford that blouse or something else that they want, they always usually stop by the lip stick or lip balm counter and pick up a feel-good item before they depart."

Smith jokes that lip product makers, cobblers, and tailors all do well when the economy isn't doing well. Sales have gone up since the economy has gone down.

"From 2008 to 2007, we picked up 57 percent," said Smith. "So far the Twist & Pout lip balm brand is up 239 percent this year. Sports is up and licensing is up about 57 percent also. We expect the business to go from $3 million this year to $5.5 million."

"A ball represents something that has been around for a long time but the way we are able to design this product is it becomes eye candy and people love it," said Owner Noel Ginsburg. "But the real success ... we've put together a team of great people. It's really the team that has made it successful. There is no limit to the color and variety of these products. It's really just the imagination that could limit what we can do. What you'll see from this brand is new products that will expand off of the lip product in the years to come."

The concept behind the lip balm in a ball was so that people could find it more easily. Now there are three distinct lines: Ballmania, Serenlipity (a tinted lip balm), and Twist & Pout.

"The product was invented by a man named Dennis Green," said Smith. "He had this incredible idea of making a lip balm that you could easily find in the bottom of your handbag. So, the whole point is, instead of getting a bunch of tubes like you always have, a woman can plunge her hand into the bottom of her handbag and come up with a lip balm."

But the eye-catching colors may contribute to consumers spending money.

"If a woman passes by a lip balm stand and doesn't need a new one, of course she's not going to pick up one," said Smith. "But with ours she might say, 'I don't have that one.' And so that's the whole idea behind giving something new and fresh every time people come in."

The company expects sales to increase as it plans to come out with a line featuring university teams, Major League Baseball teams, as well as a variety of other products to expand upon the product line (such as a lip clip which will allow you to attach the lip balm to the outside of a handbag or backpack).

In Denver, the products can be found at Dillards or the Artisan Center in Cherry Creek. You can also buy them at Amazon.com. They range in price from $5 to just over $12.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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