Sometimes an older, established brand needs rejuvenation to reinvent itself for renewed success in the market. Assisted by Hersol Manufacturing Laboratories and select packaging and ingredients suppliers, Rejuvenesse, an established line of CAMs and healthcare products, recently rebranded. Abby Vorster shares Claudi Ten Cate’s story about how she brought new life to this old brand.

Rejuvenesse has been on the market for the past 25 years. This well-respected and successful healthcare brand originally consisted of 24 diverse products focused on stomach concerns, joint and bone health, cholesterol and feminine health to name a few. In February, the brand officially changed ownership, yet Ten Cate stepped in as brand manager over a year ago to rejuvenate Rejuvenesse, bringing this well-known brand back to its former glory while moving with the times. ‘We’ve rationalised the brand down to 18 products to retain listings at various retailers and returned to Hersol as the original manufacturer,’ she explains. ‘As a contract manufacturer, the company played a significant role in the rebrand, appointing key suppliers to support my vision for the changes.’ Ten Cate has a strong background in consumer science and nutritional and functional food. She is also passionate about health and wellbeing, which is evident in the new range of Rejuvenesse products. ‘The changes essentially focused patient care, consumer safety and regulatory compliance. While certain products were reformulated, raw material substitutions were required on others as a result of dwindling supply and quality issues,’ she adds. ‘Thanks to Hersol’s extensive expertise in the changing regulations and what will be required of CAMs and health products going forward, the company guided the brand on how to be compliant.’ Rejuvenesse products are based on supportive healthcare so there are no claims on the packaging. Another key compliancy change was the updated patient information leaflets (PILs) with the necessary disclaimers and font sizes now required by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). Also a SAHPRA requirement, all of the products include a description of the key active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) on the packaging to educate the consumer on why it’s been included in the product. ‘Ultimately, we’re empowering the consumer to make an informed choice about what they are purchasing.’

Packs with a punch
Rebranding is a slippery slope so Ten Cate opted for a complete brand overhaul, changing the product’s packaging and labelling with the help of trusted and reliable suppliers. She developed the new identity for Rejuvenesse and turned to graphic designer, Janine Terblanche of the Little Blue Owl House, to bring her ideas for attractive, bold and unmistakable packaging to life. Ten Cate hand-drew the logo, based on the unfurling of a koru fern, which was then refined by Terblanche. The circular shape of the koru, a leafy plant native to New Zealand and a traditional Mauri symbol, conveys the idea of perpetual movement and is symbolic of change. The logo symbolises the brand’s payoff line – ‘as life unfolds’ – ensuring the brand promise is aligned with the brand delivery, which Ten Cate says is to ‘support consumers throughout life as it unfolds and brings with it some surprises’. The labels are printed with a gloss varnish by Java Print. Britepak, a specialist in producing packaging for pharma and CAMs applications, prints the cartons and PILs. The cartons are interior printed with a series of luxury finishes on the exterior to create shelf appeal. These include a matte laminate on the white and a UV varnish on the colour, as well as a debossed logo to add texture to the packaging. To grab consumers’ attention, the brand name on the front of the pacl has been foiled as well as the logo that appears on the side of the pack. There are 10 product families in the range of 18 products and each is colour coded. This is carried throughout each product from the secondary carton and labelling of the primary pack right to the actual tablet, capsule or effervescent tablet that is ingested. The unique colour coded tablet coatings are achieved using the innovative FlexiCoat technology from Sensient Colors. The FlexiCoat formulation is spray dried onto the tablets in a single application in Hersol’s state of the art coating equipment that delivers fast, flexible and consistent coating performance. FlexiCoat matches packaging colours and appearance and improves consumer appeal. For the products packed in capsule format, the various colour coded capsules are supplied by Solo Chemicals. This Johannesburg based company also supplies pharma APIs, antioxidants, ingredients for sports and animal nutrition, probiotics and prebiotics, nutritional lipids and oils and herbal extracts.

With compliance comes trust
Though Rejuvenesse products like the Serenex and Cholesterex ranges and Spirulina already have a notable support base amongst consumers and healthcare professionals, Ten Cate wanted to offer more in terms of safe, quality and effective products. This is the main reason why the manufacturing of Rejuvenesse has returned to Hersol to be produced in line with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Hersol’s bid to obtain full GMP-accreditation is ongoing while still holding onto its CAMs GMP status from the MCC. The company has developed a strategy to become the best contract manufacturer in the market in terms of service delivery, quality and its ability to develop effective products from concept to market in a short space of time. In addition to extensive manufacturing capacity enhancements, Hersol installed a world class microbiological laboratory in 2017 for analytical development and validation, including stability studies. This is also where all raw materials and ingredients, such as those supplied by Enna Industrial Ingredients (Enna II), are tested to validate their quality and efficacy. An example is Pomanox from Probeltebio which Enna II supplies to Rejuvenesse. This patented natural extract obtained from fresh pomegranate grown in Spain has proven cardiovascular health benefits. With vertical integration, quality control and full traceability at the heart of how Pomanox is produced, Enna guarantees Probeltebio’s product is of a high quality and free from organic solvents, synthetic chemicals and radiation. This strict protocol doesn’t only apply to Hersol’s suppliers – it applies to all its customers too because the company insists everything it manufactures is done according to legislation and within the standards prescribed. Ten Cate says this disciplined focus helps Rejuvenesse keep its promise to the consumer that all its products are compliant. ‘With Hersol’s guidance, we have gone above and beyond to ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of Rejuvenesse which includes stability testing the products for two years. We want consumers to trust the brand because it offers safe and effective products and we want to ensure these products remain on shelf once the regulations have been promulgated,’ she concludes. There is no official date for the Rejuvenesse relaunch, yet phase one of swapping out old stock for new commenced on 1 June. This means you can already see the first 13 products of this rejuvenated CAMs brand on shelf in major retail pharmacy outlets and other pharmacy and wellness stores nationwide. •

Britepak – www.britepak.co.za
Enna Industrial Ingredients – www.ennaii.co.za Hersol Manufacturing Laboratories – www.hersol.co.za
Sensient Colors – www.sensient.com
Solo Chemicals – www.solochem.co.za