specifically designated for retail in the dollar stores. According to Albazi, dollar store consumers are demanding safe, efficacious products made in the U.S. She explained: “Chase has been aware of dollar store successes with low cost aerosols over the past two decades. Over the past 10 years, we have seen a large surge of aerosols made in China. Our testing of these products revealed inconsistent or non-existent efficacy. This was not surprising since meeting national brand equivalency with a $1 price point was nearly impossible to achieve for most aerosol products….especially when acquisition costs from China were factored in. Since the 2008 U.S. economic debacle, dollar store sales have surged upward. More financially secure consumers became regular shoppers in addition to those of lower or fixed incomes. Chase decided it was time to do our part in offering this new price-savvy customer a better low-cost product made in the U.S.A with materials made in the U.S.A.” Chase’s line of 18 products branded as Chase’s Home Value and KillZone has now been presented to more than 50 retailers and wholesalers nationwide. Products include household cleaners, polishes, disinfectants, insecticides, and women’s and men’s shave creams. According to Albazi, the disinfectants, insecticides and bathroom cleaner are the same U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered products currently offered for national brand equivalent (NBE) private label. The other products are as close to NBE as possible while staying within cost limitations. Some products have a lower net fill and/or smaller overcaps. Others, aside from the EPA-registered products, while not NBE, are still efficacious for most consumer needs. Albazi said there were no additional regulatory challenges associated with the dollar store aerosol products than traditional aerosols. However, twelve of the items have bilingual labels (English and Spanish). The six EPA-registered items (disinfectants and insecticides) are labeled in English only because there is too much information required to fit in two languages. Dollar store retailers have specific requirements for their products, however, in that costs for nearly all aerosols must allow for significant margins when retailed at one dollar. Chase intends to compete with cheaper, imported aerosol products via consistent quality, efficacy, shorter lead times, shorter transit times at a lower cost, lower minimum order quantity, and most importantly, by offering products made in the U.S. Albazi believes that dollar store retailers represent a viable market for U.S. fillers. “Our changing demographics with aging baby-boomers means more people are living on fixed incomes,” she emphasized. “In addition, U.S. consumers in general have become more cautious with their spending habits—not buying more than what they need short term—but with a value benefit. U.S. fillers can benefit by bringing the manufacture of millions of aerosol units back to the U.S. for the domestic market as well as the global market, which still prefer products made in the U.S. That volume also helps create jobs in our country. Chase is committed to manufacturing Albazi Silly String knock-offs a cause for concern In 2008, a report titled On Products Containing Ozone Depleting Substances: A Guide to Customs Officers & Inspectors in the Nordic Countries noted that, based on tips, Environment Canada discovered an illegally imported Chinese product called “Party Crazy String” containing CFC-12 in 2002. Further inspections revealed similar products in several dollar stores, including “Carnival Fun Streamer” made in Taiwan and containing HCFC-22; “Party Streamer” made in China and containing CFC-12; and a counterfeit “Silly String” containing HCFCs. Some CFC products were marked “CFC free,” and, according to the report, some of the Chinese exporters had links to organized crime in other areas. More recently, an industry insider told SPRAY that some newly imported “string spray” products from China contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). We contacted Tom Revelle, Brand Manager for Silly String Products, to confirm the report. “While we haven’t heard of this specific case of an imported spray streamer containing CFCs, we’re certainly not surprised,” Revelle said. “In fact, we’ve long questioned the compliance of many of the cheap, imported spray streamer products that show up in the market. Because the Silly String brand is so closely associated with the category as a whole, our biggest concern is that a black-eye on the category will cause some consumers to question the quality and compliance of Silly String Spray Streamer. So this is a real concern to us. “We’re proud of the fact that Silly String is made in the U.S. and is safe, nontoxic, non-flammable and 100% compliant with all applicable regulations, and we know that our retailers and consumers take comfort in that as well. “While we would hope that all overseas manufacturers of spray streamer products would take the same care with their products as we do with ours, the truth is that many don’t,” Revelle concluded. “So it ultimately falls on retailers to do their own vetting and on consumers to be aware of the inherent risks of cheap, unbranded products that are made overseas.” 16 Spray December 2015
Spray December 2015
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