First it was everything from dish soap to toothbrushes that promised protection against bacteria. Now the maker of Kleenex says it will sell tissue that kills viruses.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Wednesday that its newest product will be on store shelves in time for the next cold and flu season.
The consumer-goods giant has been working on an anti-viral tissue for several years, and company officials are confident they've got a winner in Kleenex Anti-Viral. Their optimism is rooted in the huge success of anti-bacterial products.
"The consumers immediately understand the benefits. It's very intuitive," said Steve Erb, who manages the Kleenex brand.
Consumers in focus groups loved it, he said.
The tissue serves no direct benefit to the person using it to blow his nose _ and who already has a cold or the flu. Kimberly-Clark, it might seem, is counting on consumers' altruism _ their desire to spare others from getting sick.
"We're not curing the common cold or the flu," Erb said. "We're hoping to reduce the amount of the virus that gets spread. Coughs and sneezes contain plenty of yucky stuff."
Kimberly-Clark said the new tissue is scheduled to begin shipping next month and hit stores around the country by October. The Irving-based company plans a $30 million promotional blitz in the first year, including television, radio and print advertising and coupons.
The product will be more expensive per sheet than Kleenex's top-line tissues. A cube-shaped box of 60 tissues will cost $1.39, and a 120-count box will run $1.99.
Kimberly-Clark patented the design of the new 3-ply tissue, which has a middle layer treated with an acidic anti-viral formula of citric acid and sodium lauryl sulfate.
In controlled tests conducted by Kimberly-Clark and an outside laboratory, the acidic compound killed 99.9 percent of viruses, Erb said. He said the company won approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to sell the product.
To help its marketing effort, the company has recruited Dr. Winkler G. Weinberg, author of "No Germs Allowed: How to Avoid Infectious Disease at Home and on the Road." Company officials said they hadn't decided whether Weinberg would appear in commercials.
Kimberly-Clark officials expect the tissue to cannibalize some sales from regular Kleenex, but they also believe it will help the company grab more of the $1.7 billion U.S. market for facial tissues.
They hope to build on the success of anti-bacterial products, which range from soaps and laundry detergents to hand gels and toys used in daycare centers. Once used only in hospitals and doctors' offices, anti-bacterial soaps are now a multi-billion-dollar business, dominating the market for liquid soaps.
The success of anti-bacterial products has raised some controversy, however. Some scientists fear their widespread use could help spawn strains of resistant bacteria. Also, a study in a medical journal this year raised questions about whether the products offered protection against common germs.
