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NC Brands Introduces New Line

Combined SeaKlear/Natural Chemistry line offers fewer sku’s for dealers, ease of use for customers

Chemical manufacturer NC Brands had two hot tub chemical brands in need of updates. Instead of touching up both Natural Chemistry and SeaKlear, the company combined them into one complete line called Natural Chemistry.

“We took the best of the best technologies from SeaKlear and Natural Chemistry to create this all-star family line,” says Jamie Novak brand manager at NC Brands.

They are keeping some of the legacy SeaKlear and Natural Chemistry products as-is, such as SeaKlear’s chitosan clarifier and Natural Chemistry’s Spa Perfect, but consolidating sanitizers and balancers, Novak says.

Knowing a facelift was in order, Novak and her team went to dealers to see what they were looking for.

“Before we made this decision, we spoke to a lot of dealers,” says Chris Marcano, national director of training and education at NC Brands. “ ‘This is what you’ve been doing, but what would you want? What are you willing to change, what would you change?’ ”

That kind of interaction keeps dealers like Tom Landi, owner of Landi Pools & Games in Vineland, New Jersey, loyal to NC Brands. “I’m very happy they get the dealers’ input,” Landi says. “They just don’t come out with something and say, ‘Here’s what you have.’ They care about the brick and mortar, they care about our stores, our presentation, our look and what would excite our customers.”

The new line streamlines options for dealers in several ways. The combined line means fewer sku’s, especially if you were already carrying SeaKlear and Natural Chemistry. There are also fewer sku’s because NC Brands created some dual-purpose products. For instance the broad-spectrum enzyme weekly maintenance product is enhanced with a phosphate remover. The defoamer now contains SeaKlear’s chitosan clarifier technology.

“We love that,” Landi says. “We can bring in more inventory of one sku and not have to bring in three or four others. One product doing multiple things is also better for the homeowner because it’s fewer bottles…and less confusion. Now it’s going to be harder for them to make a mistake.”

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The line is divided into four, color-coded categories — sanitize, which is teal; balance, which is purple; maintain, which is blue; and remedy, which is tan. “We wanted to make the packaging simple and easy for the consumers to understand,” Novak says. “There is a lot of confusion with which chemicals to use when and we wanted to help the process.”

In addition to the color coding and new look of the packaging, NC Brands also switched up the wording and messaging on the bottles. When space was available they point consumers to the spa experience and lifestyle.

“We wanted to incorporate some wellness and lifestyle language on the sides of the bottles,” Novak says. For the clarify product, “we talk about how this product contains recycled shells from the seafood industry that otherwise would’ve ended up in landfills, highlighting that people can do good and feel good with this product line.”

New POP and displays help reinforce that message. “We wanted it to be unlike anything in a retail store before,” Novak says. “So [the display is] wood paneling that matches the bottles. It all ties together extremely well.”

Consolidating the two lines means NC brands can streamline sales and marketing efforts, providing custom marketing support.

“[NC Brands] is excited when they do something new,” Landi says. “They show that, which then excites us.”

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