Sothys Hits Shelves With a New Look

Miami-based Sothys USA has undergone a complete makeover to keep up with the pace of consumer appeal.

By Veronica MacDonald

Sothys recently revamped its skin care packaging to emulate both current trends and establish consistency.

“The packaging changes reflect uniformity,” explained Nancy DeCarlo, marketing and sales, Sothys, Miami, FL. “We have maintained the gold and white colors for all of our skin care items such as regular basic, specialty and prestigious items.”

Not only did the colors change, but different packages are now used as well. The regular basic skin care line changed from white and silver bottles to white tubes and matte gold caps. The line features normal/combination, oily, dry and sensitive skin care items. Despite the packaging changes, the formulations remain the same, Ms. DeCarlo noted. The cleansers are also distinguished from other items as stand-alone products without the use of outer packaging.

“The line continues to use boxes, except the cleansers and lotions, which feature longer, slimmer bottles,” Ms. DeCarlo said. “The line is also more practical in terms of cost. We wanted to differentiate it from the specialized line, which is much more expensive and targets specific skin care problems.”

The specialty line, a collection of products for problem skin, including hydration cream, firming lotions and alpha hydroxy products, now spotlights larger, clear and upscale bottles with matte gold caps. Sothys’ platinum lines, which are serums, now use matte packaging rather than metallic, Ms. DeCarlo said.

Sothys is no stranger to packaging makeovers. In fact, just a few years ago Sothys revamped its makeup line. Sothys’ sun care line will also undergo a packaging makeover next summer, according to Ms. DeCarlo.

“If products work well, the consumer will come back,” said Ms. DeCarlo. “But consumers really do buy from what they see. The way a package looks is important. Skin care needs to be changed every five to six years; people get tired of looking at the same package.”

In addition to new looks, new items are always a hit with the consumer. They not only add the appeal of something new, but also offer something innovative in skin treatment. Sothys has added products to its two body care lines, well-being and treatment, which now feature pink and blue colors, respectively.

“Treatment, a sea sediment and algae-based line called Thalassothys, features blue coloring and contains products such as restructuring firming cream, cryogel and de-stressing bath salts,” explained Ms. DeCarlo. “They all have sea ingredients and are specifically targeted for different parts of the body. The well-being line, which is now pink, is more of a pampering line with items such as body scrubs and shower gel. They are not specific to a problem and promote relaxation.”

The logo, fonts and copy remain the same on all of the new Sothys packaging, with one exception that occurred before the packaging changes were made. Sothys changed the name of a cleanser called Milk to Cleansing Milk to assist customers.

Sothys’ parent company is based in France. Sothys products are only sold where there is a licensed esthetician or a dermatologist on hand and range in price from $15.50-120. The products must be recommended for use, insisted Ms. DeCarlo.

“When you have a treatment at a spa or doctor’s office, they get to know your skin and can recommend the best products for your type of skin,” she explained.