It sells 135 lip balms each minute, has distribution in over 25 countries, is the fourth largest brand in the USA, manufactured over 80,000,000 units in 2011 and this year celebrates its 75th anniversary. The success of Carmex is impressive, yet the brand’s growth and global accomplishments stem from humble origin: a kitchen stove in Milwaukee, Wisconsin against the backdrop of the Great Depression.
It was losing his job in the 1930s that kick-started Alfred Woelbing entrepreneurial streak. Woelbing had been working as a buyer of cosmetics and toiletries at a department store when he found himself out of work. Armed with plenty of product knowledge, Woelbing went about creating a homemade lip balm called Lyptone. After selling Lyptone off to a New Jersey firm, Woelbing continued to invent and develop various household products including a silver polish called Shynebright and lighter fluid.
However, it was in 1937 with his second go at creating a lip balm where Woelbing inadvertently struck gold, and Carma Labs was born. My grandfather originally created Carmex to treat his own cold sores and dry chapped lips,” says Paul Woelbing, President of Carma Laboratories, Inc. and grandson of founder Alfred. Woelbing found that you can’t keep a good product to yourself, and slowly the demand for his balm, which he was making in his own kitchen and hand pouring into glass jars, began to grow.
When he decided to try to make a business out of selling the product he did several interesting things,” recounts Paul. First, he wanted a product name that would be easy for customers to remember and that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for because it somehow related to a medical condition. He took ‘Carm-’ from his business’ incorporated name of Carma Labs and ‘–ex’ which was a popular prefix and suffix in the 1930s and created Carmex which is a completely meaningless name in the same way that Kodak is. He then selected the colour yellow for the label because it was bright and he liked it.”
Alfred Woelbing.
While the resource shortage during WWII saw Carmex slow production – most lanolin, a key ingredient in the balm, was redirected to the US Army – it didn’t stop it. Following the war, Woelbing was back in the kitchen making Carmex and looking for distribution.
The nature of the pharmacy industry then was quite different to the large chain stores of today. Woelbing drove to each drug store and met with the business owners in a bid to get them to sell Carmex. In the 1930s during the Great Depression pharmacies consisted mostly of small, family owned businesses. He would demonstrate the product to the owner and then ask them if they would like to buy a dozen jars,” says Paul. Sometimes they would say ‘yes’ and sometimes ‘no’. If they said ‘no’ he would offer to give them a dozen. In the box he included a self addressed and stamped postal card. He explained that if the Carmex didn’t sell they could simply throw it away at no cost to them. However, if it did sell all they had to do was check the box on the back of the card to order more and fill in their address so he could send them more. He would also give the person at the cash register a free jar to try and by being friendly try to convince them to set the box of Carmex close to [the] register, thus stimulating an impulse purchase.”
The ’40s and ’50s saw Carmex’s popularity boom and in 1957 Woelbing moved the business into a factory in Wisconsin to continue increase production. Despite its new facility, some remnants of the earlier production cycle remained, with Woelbing continuing to pour Carmex into the jars by hand.
The 1970s were a decade of great progression, with Woelbing’s son Don joining the business and introducing assembly lines to its operations. Three years later, Carma Labs outgrew its factory and relocated to the suburb of Franklin, Milwaukee, where the factory remains today - albeit having undergone several expansions.
Carmex HQ.
By this stage Carmex had reached an impressive level of success, and one so without advertising, with Paul Woelbing putting the brand’s accomplishments down to several things. First, Carmex is a good product,” he says. What it promises to deliver is the least of what customers get. My grandfather never compromised on the formula and quality of the ingredients. He also –without realising it – created a very ‘modern’ product in that it touched on a variety of sensory factors rather than just functioning for a specific purpose. It moisturises …the menthol and camphor are antibiotic and antiseptic, but also provide the cooling and tingle that is such a significant part of the experience. The fragrance he developed is distinctive and memorable. This combination of a multisensory experience with a superior functioning product results in our customers having an emotional response unique in the world of lip balms.”
Fifty years after it began, the distribution for Carmex was primarily in the Midwest. But rapid and worldwide expansion was on the horizon and it came in the form of an American expat living in Australia. My mother is from the USA and she was a huge fan of the Carmex lip balm brand,” recalls Amanda Miller, marketing manager for Biccari Holdings P/L the Australian distributors of Carmex lip balm products. When she first moved to Australia she saw that there really was nothing like Carmex on the market. Many of her friend’s children would suffer from terrible fever blisters and burnt dry lips from sun exposure. Her friends would continually try product after product to help soothe and heal their children’s lips but nothing worked like Carmex. This is what first sparked the idea.”
It was Miller’s grandfather, a sales rep in Wisconsin at the time, who contacted Carmex to get a meeting. He met with Alfred Woelbing personally to find out if he would be interested in his products being sold in Australia,” says Miller. They settled on a handshake and the rest they say is history!”
This was the beginning of Carmex’s international distribution, which would later grow to include to 25 countries. It’s interesting to note the similarity between the family-oriented Carma Labs and Biccari Holdings P/L who they gave their first international licence to. We have been the exclusive Australian distributors of Carmex lip balm products for the last 25 years,” says Miller. It has always been a family business, and we have worked hard to establish the Carmex lip balm brand within the Australian retail market. We’re not simply distributors, our point of difference is that we really focus on marketing the brand.”
Back in Wisconsin, sales were steadily increasing and Woelbing retired from making sales calls, but not from the 40-mile drive into the office each day. Here he focused on the brand’s next development: new packaging. While the round glass jars were a hallmark of Carmex lip balm, in 1988 another application device was added to the assembly line and Carmex became available in aCarmex® Original Flavour Lip Balm Tube . The willingness to change and move with the times paid off. In 1990 Carma Labs sold an estimated $10 million worth of Carmex, which is more than 11 million units. In 1993 it was estimated Carma Labs had a 9 per cent share of the entire US lip balm market.
Carmex distribution centre.
A few years later Carmex’s innovation paved the way for more success when it swapped its original glass jars for plastic. Then in 1999, Carmex launched its Carmex® Original Flavour Lip Balm Stick SPF15 as awareness of sun protection became paramount. This packaging launch coincided with the Australian Slip Slop Slap” sun awareness campaign going global,” notes Miller.
Woelbing’s commitment to Carma Labs was unfaltering, with his daily visits taking place until he suffered a stroke at the age of 96. Stepping up to run the company were Woelbing’s son Don and grandsons Eric and Paul (who is the current President), as Woelbing reduced his visits to once a week. Sadly, Woelbing passed away in 2001 at the age of 100. He left two generations of his family to run the business he started 67 years earlier, and they would go on to oversee further expansion of the brand.
Woelbing men.
In 2002 the lip balm industry surged in growth and it was reported that sales had gone up by 8 per cent on the previous year to $US281 million. At the same time Carmex released a Mint formula then added Cherry and Carmex® Original Flavour Lip Balm Stick SPF15 sticks to its offerings in 2006. And if crossing over to American pop culture is any measure of success, Carmex hit the big time in 2008 when the Woelbing family featured on "The Faces Behind the Brands" segment of Oprah. Carmex is an iconic brand and always seems to be appearing in the press,” says Paul. It has a loyal following of celebrities and make-up artists around the world and has been featured on shows such as Sex in the City and South Park.”
Locally, Carmex has continued to evolve too. Up until 2008 we only sold the cult classic iconic Carmex jar in Australian pharmacies,” says Miller. The jar achieved the number-one selling lip care item in Australian pharmacies and has maintained this rank to this day.” The squeeze tube and the Click Stick range were launch in Australia in 2008 and current retailers include pharmacies, Woolworths, Safeway and Coles supermarkets, Big W and Target stores.
Last year was a notable one for the brand in Australia as Biccari Holdings released the brand new Carmex® Moisture Plus Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm into the market. It’s the first ever Carmex product specifically designed for women, taking lip care from day to nighttime,” says Miller. It coincided with Carma Labs’ redesign of its iconic jar that now has a concave base. The new jar uses 20 per cent less plastic which saves 35 tonnes of waste annually - representing 35 tonnes saved in freight shipping which drastically reduces the amount of fuel needed to transport the jars.
As Carmex celebrates 75 years, Paul Woelbings reveals his plans to expand the business his grandfather built. Carma Laboratories continues to expand and evolve the Carmex brand while never loosing site of the brand’s core strength. More and more unique lip balms are in development and Carmex daily lip conditioner is currently launching in the US market. The company recently launched a line of Carmex skincare in the US - moisturising body lotions and creams; bringing their experience in hydrating and protecting skin to the entire body.”
In Australia, Carmex is celebrating too. This year we celebrate 25 years of Carmex lip balm in Australia when my parents obtained the first ever international distribution rights for Carmex lip balm,” says Miller. The brand in Australia has evolved significantly since then being the number two pharmacy brand, with the number-one jar and number-four tube selling items in the pharmacy lip care market.”
When reflecting on the relationship between his family business and its Australian contingent, Paul is heartfelt. My parents talked very warmly about the business relationship between Joan, Gunther and Amanda Miller and our family for a number of years before I started working at Carma Labs in 1991,” he says. Like many of our business relationships, they turn into long friendships. We have been together for at least 25 with Biccari Holdings which makes Australia our first international market. We want to sincerely thank Australia for taking a chance on a new product and embracing Carmex so warmly. It’s a very important relationship that we appreciate and do not take for granted.”
Looking to the future, Miller is excited about the brand’s opportunities. Consumers can continue to expect quality lip balms which do what they say they will, says Miller. Shelf space is limited, so we need to make sure that we launch products which are new, innovative and add something different. This gives consumers more choice, and offers retailers a way to differentiate their offering.”
The home of Carmex, Milwaukee.
