• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, January 7, 2010 10:40 AM

Procter & Gamble plans to introduce 30% more new products this year than last and hopes to maintain premium prices with tempting product features, Ellen Byron reports. As reported previously, stalwart brands such as Olay and Tide will lead the charge.

One of the first products to hit shelves will be a wrinkle-fighting body wash from Olay's Total Effects line of anti-aging face creams that will cost $5.99 at retail for an 8.4-ounce bottle. It will be heavily advertised and the company is "betting that vanity will overcome the appeal of saving money," Bryon writes.

There are five Olay five sub-brands, differentiated by price and features. Total Effects is the best-selling line and has built a huge following, the company says. But some experts caution that too much brand extension can be confusing. "When presented with so many choices, it's hard to understand why one is different than the other," says Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail. "Or [shoppers] get to the shelf after they saw an Olay ad for a product, but can't remember exactly which one it was."

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »