INAGRA's NATIONWIDE LAUNCH OF RESTORE PSYLLIUM LAXATIVE

INAGRA's NATIONWIDE LAUNCH OF RESTORE PSYLLIUM LAXATIVE will be supported with 30-second national television commercials airing during "Good Morning America" beginning in early September. Restore currently is available in PayLess and Fred Meyer drug stores in the northwest U.S., and will debut nationally in drug and mass merchandise outlets by the time the ads appear, InAgra forecasted. Restore is the first OTC product launched by InAgra, an alliance formed between DuPont and Stolle Medical Products, an R&D firm, in 1989. The TV spots, which are being handled by Cincinnati-based Mann Bukvic Associates, each are expected to reach 4.29 mil. adults, 3.5 mil. of which fall into Restore's target audience of adults 35 years or older, InAgra estimates in promotional materials to the trade. The Cincinnati-based firm also is planning a national free- standing insert in Sunday newspapers that will drop at the end of September. Expected to reach 54 mil. adults, the FSI will be mentioned at the end of the network TV commercials. Cable television ads will begin airing in October and run through the end of 1993 on CNN, Lifetime, Discovery and TNT, InAgra said. "Each spot will end with a tag for a retailer of InAgra's choice," the company told the trade. A four-color, half-page print ad for Restore is slated to appear in the November issue of Woman's Day, "again targeting the laxative user population of women 35+," InAgra reported. The firm also may advertise on regional radio based on retailer interest. InAgra said it has set aside approximately $ 2 mil. for advertising and promotional efforts for the rest of 1993, and is presently working on an ad budget for 1994. InAgra said it will price Restore at a "20% discount to the top-selling national brand," Procter & Gamble's Metamucil. The firm put the size of the OTC laxative market at $ 750 mil. A 13-ounce size of regular Restore and a 10-ounce size of sugar free Restore carry a suggested retail price of $ 5.99. Nineteen-ounce regular and 15-ounce sugar free sizes are retail priced at $ 8.99. In the fall, InAgra expects to make available a shrink-wrapped double pack of the 19-ounce regular and 15-ounce sugar free sizes, and may launch 23- and 29-ounce "jumbo" sizes of Restore in the first quarter of 1994 depending on consumer demand. Product packaging for Restore pictures a rising sun and urges consumers to compare Restore to Metamucil and Sunrise Smooth. Restore initially will come in orange flavor, which InAgra asserted has a "surprisingly good taste similar to orange juice." The taste of the product is further enhanced, the firm maintained, by a "unique psyllium modification process" that gives Restore a smooth texture compared to the granular texture in most psyllium- based products. Better taste and texture, InAgra suggested, may even improve the compliance of "consumers who follow a fiber therapy diet plan." InAgra hopes to eventually add another citrus flavor (lemon/lime). In a promotional ad, InAgra said it is "dedicated to providing nutritious, good-tasting, affordable and convenient products that promote good health." The company said its goal is to become "a leader in the emerging field of 'nutraceuticals.'" In addition to Restore, InAgra makes soups, beverages, frozen desserts, bakery products, meat products, snack chips, salad dressings and flavored syrups. InAgra said in a corporate profile that it has been researching nutraceuticals that "contain specially produced milk and egg products with high levels of antibodies that enhance the body's resistance to common diseases." Clinical studies are under way, according to the firm, that are "documenting reductions in cholesterol and hypertension along with the control of diarrhea and arthritis symptoms." InAgra noted that it is "flexible in our approach to product development -- always eager to 'partner' projects and willing to work with [other companies] in customizing new products."