“As a global skin care company, expanding our reach into Canada is fundamental to our mission,” Steve Gallopo, Crown Laboratories' VP of Global OTC Sales and Marketing, tells the press.
“Our goal,” he says, “is to offer a portfolio of safe and effective scientific solutions for life-long healthy skin.”
Crown Laboratories starts expansion into Canada with sensitive sun care
For now, the Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen products Baby and Sensitive SPF 50+, and Sensitive Face SPF 30+ Lotion are being sold online in Canada via Amazon.com. It’s not the brand’s full product line, which comprises nearly 20 SKUs across 7 sun care lines (active, baby, face, kids, sensitive, sensitive face, and sport), but it's a start.
And brand partners like Toronto-based dermatologist Dr. Julia Carroll are glad to see Blue Lizard on the market in Canada: “For my patients, I know that using sunscreen starts with finding a product they really like at an approachable price point,” she says in last month’s press release about the new distribution.
“I am thrilled that Blue Lizard is finally launching in Canada,” says Dr Carroll, “It's a great option with cutting-edge formulas for people who need an effective, easy to use, and safe SPF for their daily routine.”
Bringing Blue Lizard up-to-date and on-trend for today’s sun care consumers
Crown Laboratories has been in business and making Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen since 2000. Over the years, the manufacturer has taken on investment (from Hildred Capital Partners, Greenspring Associates, and Montreux Equity Partners) and grown by acquisition, purchasing Vita Liberata and Bellus Medica in 2018 and Xycrobe Therapeutics in 2019.
In early 2019, the company also announced a total brand update—including new product formulas—for Blue Lizard.
As Jeff Bedard, CEO and President of Crown Laboratories, told the press at the time, “Blue Lizard sunscreen formulas (Active, Sport, Kids) have been updated to remove Oxybenzone and Octinoxate, that some research suggests are potentially harmful to coral.”
The reformulations were made to align with then-forthcoming sun care legislation, so Bedard took care to note that, “our new formulations are fully compliant with pending reef-safe sunscreen laws in Hawaii and Key West. We are confident that our products will continue to deliver superior sun protection for every skin type and outdoor activity.”
The following month, in March 2019, Blue Lizard teamed up with Sesame Workshop on consumer sun care education and not long after that partnered with the non-profit children’s TV producer on packaging designs to reinforce that education. “The Sesame Street and Blue Lizard line features Elmo on the mineral-based baby sunscreen and Cookie Monster on the mineral-based kids' product. Both products are available in color changing Smart Bottle or Smart Cap tubes, which turn pink (Elmo) or blue (Cookie Monster) in harmful UV light and, in turn, help teach children about the importance of re-application,” explains a 2019 press release about the partnership.
