CHATTEM INTRODUCING NIGHTTIME PAMPRIN HOT LIQUID DRINK POWDERS

CHATTEM INTRODUCING NIGHTTIME PAMPRIN HOT LIQUID DRINK POWDERS into the menstrual relief market in September in two flavors -- Hot Chocolate and Apple Cinnamon. The two line extensions begin shipping on Sept. 1 and should appear on-shelf by late September or early October, Chattem said.

Both Nighttime Pamprin flavors contain 650 mg acetaminophen and 50 mg diphenhydramine HC1 per one-packet dose. The nighttime products, however, do not contain 25 mg pamabrom, a diuretic ingredient usually included in Pamprin menstrual relief products. Packaging for Nighttime Pamprin bills the product as "pain relief and sleep aid in a warm, soothing liquid."

Nighttime Pamprin is prepared by mixing the flavored powders with 6 ounces of hot water. The product is priced at a premium to the Pamprin line; four-count boxes carry an average wholesale price of $ 2.52, Chattem said.

Promotion for the product will begin in January 1994 with an FSI for the nighttime formula; direct mail coupons will be sent out in the first quarter of 1994. Product-specific national TV spots will run for 24 weeks during 1994 on a television ad budget of $ 3.75 mil., Chattem said.

Chattem decided to introduce the first hot liquid menstrual pain reliever after concept and at-home market research indicated that consumers associated hot liquids with cramp relief. The company did not include pamabrom in the formulation, Chattem said, due to concern over nighttime diuretic use and to the regulatory restrictions on nighttime analgesic combinations. Sterling Health's competing product, Midol PM, contains 500 mg acetaminophen and 25 mg diphenhydramine per caplet.

Chattem said it will ask retail outlets to stock the nighttime powders next to the Pamprin product family rather than in the sleep-aid category. The Pamprin line currently consists of Pamprin, Pamprin Multi Symptom Extra Strength Formula, Pamprin Maximum Strength Cramp Relief Formula, and Pamprin IB. Chattem also markets the premenstrual analgesic, Premesyn PMS.