Carmex Lip Balm Celebrates its 75th Anniversary

Carmex Lip Balm Celebrates its 75th Anniversary

The Australian distributor of Carmex®, Biccari Holdings P/L, together with Australian Ambassador Sophie Falkiner, is marking Carmex lip balm's 75 anniversary this year. From its humble beginnings as a home remedy to its current position as a must-have beauty staple with a substantial international fan base, the Carmex brand continues to grow and evolve.

Celebrating Yesterday
The 1930's was an iconic and interesting time in American history. DuPont™ invented Nylon and the first can of beer was manufactured! 1937 also marked the beginning of Carmex lip balm when Carmex founder, Alfred Woelbing, an ex-retail buyer, and long time sufferer of dry, chapped lips experimented over a hot plate in the family kitchen to create a therapeutic lip balm which he named 'Carmex'! Selling to local pharmacies door to door, Woelbing's company, Carma Laboratories, Inc. (Carma Labs) launched with a boom!

By the 1940's and 50s the popularity of Carmex lip balm was on a roll and once lanolin rationing subsided, production really took off. There was a move to a factory in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin although Woelbing continued to pour Carmex by hand into Carmex glass containers!

Woelbing, aged 70, retired as a salesman but remained the Chairman of Carma Labs. Alfred's son Don who took over, introduced assembly line production and by 1976, Carma Labs relocated again to Franklin, Wisconsin where Carma Labs remains today.

During the 1980's, Carma Labs launched the first of its modern packaging changes, the Carmex Squeeze Tube applicator. This decade saw changes and developments in distribution, as Carmex departed the USA shores and became available internationally, firstly exporting to Australia where Biccari Holding Pty Ltd became the Australian distributor of the Carmex brand.

The Carmex ClickStick™ with SPF 15 applicator was launched in the 1990's, as awareness to skin, sun burn and health became paramount. This packaging launch coincided with the Australian "Slip Slop Slap" sun awareness campaign going global!

The international distribution of Carmex is now HUGE, with over 135 Carmex sold every minute in over 30 countries across the globe! Overseeing the business until his death at 100 years old in 2001, Alfred Woelbing's Carma Labs is still to this day a family owned and operated business, with third generation grandsons Paul and Eric continuing the evolution of the Carmex brand!

Celebrating Today
Remarkably, the Carmex Jar remained in its original glass packaging until the mid 1990's, only moving to plastic packaging in 1996! By 2011, in a 21st century bid to go green, Carma Labs has re-invented their iconic jar - the bottom is now more concave, using 20% less plastic in every jar and saving 35 tonnes of waste annually. This also represents 35 tonnes saved in freight shipping which drastically reduces the amount of fuel needed to transport the jars.

In Australia last year, Carmex launched the ultra sophisticated and slim line Carmex Moisture Plus® Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm in clear satin gloss, especially for the woman's beauty market. Marketing Manager Amanda Miller from Biccari Holding P/L comments, "This is a bold and brave marketing move for the Carmex brand. It is however, proof that Carmex is moving with the times, fashions and market trends. Carmex is growing and changing, so watch this Carmex space!"

Ambassador Sophie Falkiner reminisces about her introduction to Carmex; "My grandmother recommended Carmex to me in my early teens. I have been applying Carmex to my lips ever since! " Sophie goes onto to add "I am so delighted to be the face of the Carmex brand at this important time in their history. I truly love the entire range; I adore the retro Carmex jar and its tingle, whilst the new Carmex Moisture Plus is always in my handbag!".

The full Carmex range includes the Carmex lip balm 7.5g jar and the 10g squeeze tube both RRP $5.99, the Carmex lip balm 4.25g Click Stick™ with SPF 15 in Original flavour and Strawberry flavour both RRP $4.99 and Carmex Moisture Plus ultra hydrating lip balm 2g RRP $8.99.

Carmex lip balm is available at all good pharmacies nationally. Some Carmex varieties are available at selected Woolworths & Safeway supermarkets, selected Coles supermarkets and selected BIG W & Target retailers.

Please note Carmex products are NOT tested on animals and are preservative free. For more information visit www.mycarmex.com.au
Become a Carmex fan: www.facebook.com/Carmex-Australia