Portland, OR-based Informal Education Products’ new catalog, New Survivalist, targets a similar audience as the company’s Museum Tour title, says founder Marilynne Eichinger. But whereas Museum Tour sells educational toys, the newly launched New Survivalist sells healthy-living products for adults.
“We call it New Survivalist because it’s talking about the kind of things we need in the 21st century to survive, and we feel people need to be balanced in their lives,” Eichinger says. “People who are feeling secure feel relaxed, and that reduces stress.”
The 400 products in the 32-page debut issue include aromatherapy guides, dehumidifiers, body-fat monitors, and solar-battery chargers. Early strong sellers, says Eichinger, include a $29.95 set of three “oxygen shot” inhalers to boost energy in nonasthmatics and organic alternatives to hormone replacement therapy for women.
The catalog mailed in late September to 600,000 names, 20% of whom came from the Museum Tour house file. The target markets of the two books, says Eichinger, are “the same in that it’s educated people who, even when they buy things for their children, buy things about nature, and people who care what people do with their lives.”