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Single application packages perfect for kids and outdoor workers

Arvada, CO (May 30, 2002) - Rocky Mountain Sunscreen, the official supplier of the U.S. Ski Team and whose products were featured predominantly at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, is pleased to announce the introduction 1/3 oz. SPF 30 Sunscreen Packs. The small packages, containing a single application of sunscreen, are perfect for kids and workers who spend most of their days outside.

"We found that many of our customers wanted a convenient way to carry and apply sunscreen," said David Erickson, president of Rocky Mountain Sunscreen. "Our packs are the perfect solution for parents who want to protect their kids from harmful sun rays or outdoor workers who are exposed to extensive UV radiation on the job and need a convenient way to get sunscreen protection."

Rocky Mountain Sunscreen products are certified by the AMC Cancer Research Center. The company is quickly becoming one of the top sunscreen manufacturers in the nation. Established in Colorado in 1992 as a high quality sunscreen company, today Rocky Mountain Sunscreen is available in thousands of specialty shops, several major retailers and through direct distribution.

Arvada sunscreen product a big hit with U.S. ski team

By David Kesmodel, News Staff Writer, February 6, 2002

When Rocky Mountain Sunscreen sought a deal several years ago to become the official sunscreen for the U.S. Ski Team, the firm's odds looked about as good as the U.S. hockey team's bid for gold at Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980.

Arvada-based Rocky Mountain Sunscreen enjoyed its own little miracle in August 2000. It was able to secure a four-year contract with the ski team despite having scant cash to throw the squad's way.

Today, the company's sunscreen and lip balm can be found in red-white-and-blue bottles in the Rocky Mountain region in stores such as King Soopers and City Market. A percentage of every sale goes to the ski team.

How did the company, with only seven employees, pull off the deal?

"First, they kind of wanted a lot of money," said president David Erickson. "We said, "Call Coppertone." They came back after a few weeks and said, "Would you still like to talk?" From what we understood, a lot of their athletes loved our product."

So the parties arranged a licensing deal in which Rocky Mountain Sunscreen had to pay no fee -- just provide the ski team with royalties on sales. The ski team gets an unlimited supply of sunscreen and lip balm as part of the deal. And it should be well-protected -- Rocky Mountain Sunscreen's greaseless, odorless sunblock is among only a handful certified by the AMC Cancer Research Center in Lakewood to screen out potentially cancer-causing rays.

"The certification was one of the factors that went into selecting them. Their product is very high quality," said Kent Bianca, licensing and merchandising director for the U.S. ski team. "And we think it's a natural fit. With skiing and snowboarding, we're talking about an environment that's very unhealthy for the skin."

Neither Erickson nor Bianca would say what percentage of each sale goes to the team. The contract, good through April 2004, includes an option for Rocky Mountain Sunscreen to extend the deal another four years.

Rocky Mountain Sunscreen is the first official sunscreen and lip balm provider for the ski team to use red-white-and-blue packaging. Others simply put a team emblem on their bottles.

"(The packaging) certainly has helped our sales," which rose 32 percent in 2001, Erickson said -- a boost especially evident after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Rocky Mountain Sunscreen also will supply sunscreen to more than 600 Red Cross volunteers at the Olympics. When volunteers see fans baking in the sun, they'll offer a free glob of sunblock.

A lot of folks don't know that snow reflects 90 percent of ultraviolet radiation. Water reflects 40 percent," said Erickson.

Erickson, who co-founded the company with vice president Judy Lapinski in 1992, thinks the deal with the U.S. Ski Team can help Rocky Mountain Sunscreen expand from being a mostly regional firm to a national one.

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