Introduction and Successful Background in the sunscreen product category, and RADX Radiation Therapy, for Steve and Lisha Finley.

 

We think that “who you are” is as important, or moreso, than what you do. Our entry into the business is descriptive. In creating our first product, a sunburn relief cream, the goal was to come up with something that would out-perform Solarcaine, what was then, the industry leader with maybe 90% market share. In meeting with formulations people the question arose: “how much do you want this to cost, and how much do you want to sell it for”? Our answer was: “Let’s create the most effective product we know how to make, let’s make sure it’s significantly better than “brand x”—so much so, that people will go out of their way to find it when they need their 2^nd container, and we’ll worry about the pricing.”

 

We began in 1981 with introduction of Burn-Off. A Texas company, we challenged immediately, and out-sold, Solarcaine, the then-reigning brand for sunburn relief. We were the first ever to create and market aerosol aloe, and were responsible for making popular the “green” and “blue” aloe products every sunblock company makes today. Anyone who’s been in the business 20 years or more remembers “The Green Stuff”. That was ours.

Moving to Sunblock, we were the first sunscreen company in history to go above SPF #15, 20, 25, 30 and 40. We were the first drug company in the U.S. to go completely paba-free with formulations: 1984, years ahead of competition. We were the first to create a true waterproof system, in the mid 1980’s. Having sold formulations to Johnson & Johnson, we were 5-6 years ahead of all major pharmaceutical makers in the industry, techonology-wise.

We made the Inc. 500 (top 500 privately held companies in America) in 1986 (#94), the first “suntan” company to do that and one of only a handful of small pharmaceutical companies to do that. We sold the company in 1987. The category buyer at Wal-Mart told me we were the only company in the category for 5 years running, who never late-shipped, short-shipped or back-ordered them. Important information on a small company, since selling to the majors, supply is a serious issue.

 

We re-entered the business in 1990 and launched the nation’s first “sports only” sunscreens. During the ensuing years, we added multiple brand names to our original Saurus Pro Sport, now called SolRx, and signed a license with Ironman Triathlon to make sunblock under that name, and following that, a global license with Nissan Xterra to produce Xterra brand sunblock. (this after spending 7 years making Ironman sunblock, licensed from Ironman Triathlon, until we dropped the license in favor of Xterra).

We also made Block & Tackle, Golf, Slopes, WaterBlock, and obtained the Rubber Ducky trademark to make Rubber Ducky children’s sunblock.

Having developed some new highly waterproof technology, we contacted AMA testing labs in 1991 and asked them to create for us a true 8 hour waterproof test that would exceed any standards the FDA might set, if they had such a test. The test was created and we submitted our SPF #30. It went through at SPF #35.83—what was more interesting was that at the beginning of the test, it rated the same: the first and only formulation ever to go through a waterproof test with 100% function and zero washoff. General Manager of AMA Labs told me the owner exclaimed “that’s impossible: we made an error”, and they re-ran the tests, ending up with the same results, on different people, and we rank #1 today in waterproof technology.

Neutrogena offered us $1 million for our waterproof system.

In 1996, we introduced the SPF #44 product and it also went through the test with 100% function/zero wash-off, rating 44.83 after 8 hour on the wearer, 6 hours of which were in the water..

We continued with “sports only”and made 8 brands of sunscreen, 7 for sports, one for children and one specialty line called RADX, for patients with cancer.

The introduction of RADX is a long and interesting story: the summary is that we had been making for years, Marine Sting to treat jellyfish and Portuguese Man-of-War stings. When Steve’s brother was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer and submitted to a severe battery of radiation, he sustained burning and major irritation, called radiation reaction.

Upon request, we produced another batch of Marine Sting, sent it in and it wowed the doctors so much at both MD Anderson and Johns Hopkins, that one of the nurses there suggested the cancer community was lacking something like this “if only you could name it something that sounds like cancer and get rid of the jellyfish on the label”. RADX came from that conversation. We can tell you that as a small company battling the billion dollar drug companies, all of whom in our opinion and those of many we encountered along the way, had inferior products to RADX, it takes major effort and commitment, and many years of financial losses, to put RADX in front of the cancer patients and their oncology nurses. The efforts continue today.

 

Vendor permits (DSD locating near cancer treatment centers) have been assigned to us by Walgreen, Rite-Aid, McKesson, Long’s, Target, Wal-Mart, and several are progressing through the approval process with several majors. CVS.com has included RADX on their website and runs special pricing for RADX, for all cancer patients. At issue here is that, since RADX is a specialty item, the first of its kind, there is not a department that buys or markets this, so each chain is dealing with it differently. Further, not many people just go into a store looking for products specifically for cancer patients, so we and the pharmacies are working to stock RADX in the retail stores nearby the cancer centers—not something the mass marketers are used to.

Of interest to anyone familiar with mass markets: we didn’t present any of these majors: simply sent product, story, explanation, and they called back and approved us. In 29 years in the business, I’ve never seen, nor heard of obtaining approvals like this; confirmation that we have a major potential success with RADX, and from the testimonial e-mails we receive, the product can make a significant contribution in the life of a radiation patient.

 

New spray on sunscreen was introduced in April, 2007, and quickly sold out. Spray-Dry SPF #35 also went through the AMA labs 8 hour waterproof test, with an SPF rating of 35 after 8 hours, 6 hours of which were in the water. We think Spray-Dry is the the industry’s only 8 hour waterproof spray sunscreen, and utilizes our WaterBlock waterproof system.

For 2005, we elected to upgrade formulations once again, adding the widely recognized “UVA” blocker, Parsol 1789 to 3 of our formulations.

 

Our entire sunblock line is Paraben-Free. New RADX formulations due in for summer 2009, are all Paraben-Free.

Saurus SPF #30 lip/nose product in jar, with waterproofing system, is now Paraben-Free.

 

 

New for spring 2009, a Zinc sunscreen. We’ve stayed away from that for years because zinc is pasty feeling, and leaves either white, or white sheen on the skin. We brought in some Z-cote, a pretty clear version of zinc, blended it with some of our chemical sunblocks, added Waterblock waterproof system and produced a zinc sunscreen we feel is the best in the business. In Fall, 2008 we sent it through the 8 hour waterproof test and it wowed the test panel and ourselves, coming in as SPF #40! We’ve introduced spring 2009 as an 8 Hour Facial Clear Kote—Dry Zinc SPF #40, and then summer 2009 in a tube for application onto body. Unfgragranced.

 

New for 2010 will be SolRx continuous spray aerosol sunblock in our 8 hour waterproof formulations. Using Bag-on-valve technology, we insert the product into a polybag, which is molded to the valve stem, then inserted into the can. There is no propellent!! Propulsion is accomplished using only pressurized air, and none of the air mixes with product, so when you spray, only product comes out. With no harmful chemicals to impact the ozone, SolRx

Continuous Spray-Dry is simply air and waterproof sunblock.

 

We bring 28 years’ successful sales and marketing in the sunblock category. With our first company, we had several years’ successful selling into the mass category, including 5 years’ successful sales to Wal-Mart. We’ve kept the lines short, so there is no “fat” in there. A lean, solid company, privately held, we don’t need products in the line just for the sake of more items. Our philosophy is “If we can’t make it better than brand x, we don’t make it at all”.

From a consumer’s standpoint, this is super: products that will do what they say—no big hype, no supermodels or sports endorsements, just thousands of people around the world who wear these products regularly and don’t sunburn.

 

Our goals are pretty simple: We make, and will continue to make, the most effective waterproof sunblocks in the world. We have altered our company business model for 2008 and forward, acknowledging that as a small company, we cannot possibly market the various brand names and trademarks we’ve created, so seek to for relationships with other successful people, to expand business. We have taken the multiple brand approach, put several brands “on the shelf” and are manufacturing only RADX for the cancer patient group, SolRx sunblock, Rubber Ducky children’s SPF #44 sunblock and Slopes winter sports sunblocks.

 

Requests from customers in numerous international markets have produced a 10-country international distribution group, and several are in discussions with us now. We’ve actually customized labeling in UK and Australia (and Canada—distributor there in place and awaiting formal Health Canada approvals for importation), and are in position to offer dual labeling for any/all international distributors who need this in order to accommodate languages. RADX is now approved in Jordan, Dubai, and will get TGA approval for Australia, thereby admitting it into NZ, targeting 2010.

For 2009, we expect to be manufacturing under contract, in-country in Australia.

If you have an interest in joining the business, please reach Steve.

Thanks,