• by Les Luchter , July 20, 2023

Kenvue, a 135-year-old newborn, ventured out on its own early Thursday morning (7:30 am ET) as the consumer health spinoff from Johnson & Johnson held its first-ever quarterly earnings call following a May 8 IPO.

Yet, like a young person who starts living independently at college while still financially supported by their parents, J&J continues to own 89.6% of Kenvue stock shares.

Both Kenvue and J&J reported their second quarter consumer health business rising $5.4% year-over-year to $4 billion.

This duplication can be expected to change soon, though, as J&J announced a coming split-off of its spinoff as early “as the coming days.” During J&J’s own earnings call an hour after Kenvue’s, the former’s chief financial officer Joe Wolk said J&J shareholders will be able to choose “to exchange all, some, or none” of their shares of their stock for shares of Kenvue stock.

“We are ready to take on the next phase in our journey to becoming a truly independent company,” Kenvue chief executive officer Thibaut Mongon told analysts, as he extolled the successes of the new public company, which he hailed as the “the largest pure-play consumer health company in the world,” with 1.2 billion customers worldwide

Both Kenvue and J&J pointed to strong quarterly performances by Tylenol and Motrin pain relievers, driven by higher incidents of cough/cold/flu this season, as well as to the success of Neutrogena suncare products

Yet, despite lower incidents of allergies, both Zyrtec and Benadryl have also been gaining share in the U.S., Mongon said.

He noted that the suncare category still has much growth potential, stating, “It’s estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, yet today a majority of Americans do not use sunscreen on a regular basis.”

Kenvue this year has launched Neutrogena Purescreen+ Mineral UV Tint, he noted, a product that comes in “four shades that blend smoothly to complement skin tones” and are “30% less whitening than the leading mineral sunscreen, which is one of the biggest frustrations consumers have.”

Mongon also touted that Band-Aid, for the second straight year, was named “America’s Most Trusted Brand” in any category by research firm Morning Consult.

For its self-care products, which include pain relievers and allergy medications, Mongon promised that Kenvue will “deliver a consistent cadence of innovation and marketing programs to drive growth on our priority brands.”

For instance, he said, the company just launched Tylenol Precise, a topical analgesic that leverages “our extensive skin health expertise” in the pain relief category. This is an example, he explained, of how Kenvue’s “synergies across segments deliver innovative health solutions.”

In its skin health and beauty category, meanwhile, Mongon said that with supply chain issues getting resolved, “we are planning a return to normal…with a reactivation of marketing campaigns.”

Other brands mentioned by Mongon included successes for Nicorette in smoking cessation and Immodium in digestive health. 

One part of Johnson & Johnson’s consumer health concerns has not transferred over to Kenvue, and that’s good for the newbie -- since the concern involves the ongoing lawsuits related to J&J’s use of talcum in Johnson’s Baby Powder and other products.

The pharma/medtech giant took the unusual step of having its worldwide vice president of litigation Erik Haas speak to the analysts on its earning call. Referring to a negative ruling handed down in one case this Tuesday, Haas declared that “we intend to appeal based on the erroneous rulings by the trial judge that prevented us from sharing with the jury critical facts that demonstrate that plaintiff's exceedingly rare form of mesothelioma was not caused by baby powder.”

A click on Johnson’s baby products on Kenvue’s website took Marketing Daily to a still-existing website from Johnson & Johnson Consumer, where a search for baby powder told us that particular product had been “discontinued.”