Move over Coppertone and Hawaiian Tropic. There's a new sunscreen brand in town, and it's literally named after the town.
After the City of Miami Beach negotiated a contract last year to license its name out to a sunscreen line, Miami Beach™ Suncare has now officially hit the shelves.
The line features a SPF 15 gel, a SPF 30 lotion, a SPF 50 spray, and two version of sunless bronzer that use the "SoBe" moniker. The bottles, which range from 5 ounces to 6.75 ounces depending on the product, retail for $14.99 on the line's official website. The creams are scented to smell like Miami Beach, which means they carry whiffs of salt water, sea foam, sea kelp, and sand.
Back in October, Miami Beach commissioner approved a plan to license the Miami Beach name out to Destination Brands to start the line. In return, the city gets three to nine percent of total sales, depending on how much is actually sold. One percent of proceeds will go to suncare education and beach cleanup. Miami Beach lifeguards will also get 500 bottles of sunscreen each year to divvy up.
Lifeguards are also part of the marketing push. The website features random quotes from actual Miami Beach lifeguards. Not really about the product, but about how much they love Miami Beach in general.
"Miami Beach is a beautiful, vibrant paradise," Jason Casanova is quoted as saying on the site. "It is my home."
Though, not all residents were happy with the deal.
"What is wrong with these people?" North Beach resident Mimi Rodriguez told the SunPost last year. "How commercial can they get? The beach has always been above this kind of commercial pandering. Does the city really need the money? That is the only reason I can come up with for these kind of crude marketing deals."
City officials are more upbeat.
"The Miami Beach line of sun care products makes perfect sense and is an intuitive and intelligent partner," said Steve Adkins, Chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, in a press release for the product. "Everyone associates Miami Beach with sunny weather, blue skies, warm waters, fun and pleasure and these products truly represent the destination with its line-up of beautifully branded bottles."
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