Who is bonne bell

For those of us who grew up then, it was more than lipstick. It was a social necessity. So how has this 75 year-old family-owned firm remained an industry leader in the company of the corporate powerhouses in the cosmetic world?

Innovative ideas? Quality products and good timing? But what has really kept Bonne Bell a leader is its ability to stay cool and understand its target market — teenage girls. The simple fact is, teenage girls like make-up. There are a few other things to know about this group.

They are growing. Census estimates predict the number of children in the U. And, they spend money. A single brand can appeal differently to the family man, with promises of security and stability, or the working woman, with efficiency and quality. And trends are nearly impossible to anticipate. In the traditional manufacturing town of Cleveland, Bonne Bell is one of the oldest and most successful family-run businesses. But instead of large steel beams and machine parts, the Bells deal with big vats of sweet smelling pink wax and glitter powder.

The company was founded in , after the senior Jesse G. Bell moved his family across the country. Bell, and son of the charismatic Jess Bell. And, as it is with many family businesses, every member of the Bell family can recite the story of Jesse G. Bell and his trek to Cleveland to start the cosmetics company. Back then, cosmetics were sold door-to-door out in the field.

Bell saw an opportunity. He could go to any community, no matter what the economic level, and sell. With that as its core product, Bonne Bell survived the Great Depression. Until then, Bonne Bell was just another in a growing line of adult cosmetics firms. Formula RX, which was later shortened to , marked a turning point for the company. But it was more than that. Ten-oh-six was, in fact, a harbinger for the direction the company would eventually move.

The family-owned Bonne Bell Company is shutting down forever and laying off nearly employees. Established in and named after founder J. Bell's daughter Bonne Bell Eckert , Bonne Bell is of course most famous for its super-affordable, pre-teen- and teen-targeting Lip Smacker.

You know it, right? Lip Smacker, the first flavoured lip gloss, launched in I've actually never owned a Lip Smacker, although the Tootsie Roll flavour looms large in my mind. My first memory of Bonne Bell cosmetics, though, is of the flavoured roller-ball glosses my cousin Marcia had in the mids.

Please tell me I'm not confusing them with Maybelline's Kissing Potions! Oh, how I coveted those. Ski Team in the s and backed many amateur and professional sports events. Beginning in the company has sponsored 10K marathons in 15 cities and many charitable races, but scaled back many of these efforts in the mids. In Bonne Bell had its main offices at Detroit Ave. In , the company's founder, Jesse Bell-himself a long-time running enthusiast-was name the honorary chairman of the Moondog Marathon, which is expected to make its Cleveland debut in May