“We currently need more storage to meet demand for our products,” said company President Kat Wright. “With the purchase of a larger property, we will be able to increase our sales and efficiency.”
Washington Twp. Board of Trustees recently approved rezoning the 2.17-acre site to allow office, light assembly and packaging, storage, shipping and receiving of skin care products.
Located to the northwest of the intersection of Ohio 725/Miamisburg Centerville Road and Normandy Lane, the property is where Furniture by Otmar has made and sold furniture since 1980. That company said Tuesday that it will consolidate operations there in May to the Hamilton County location it opened in 1960 in Montgomery.
That storefront will offer the same goods and services as the Washington Twp. location, officials said.
Otmar opted to consolidate operations to Montgomery location because “we are looking to focus on core competencies,” officials said. A couple of Furniture by Otmar employees are retiring, but everyone else will be relocated to the Montgomery location.
Frownies was launched in Cleveland in 1889 by Margaret Krosen, her daughter Alice Laumer, and granddaughter Peggy Wright. It is now run by Kat Wright, Peggy Wright’s daughter-in-law, and Helen Morrison, Krosen’s great-great-granddaughter, who serves as director of brand strategy.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Wright said Frownies facial patches “predate the era of cosmetic injections and surgeries that alter natural beauty.”
The company’s products, which have been sold by word of mouth, mail-order marketing, retail stores and on QVC, are distributed worldwide through ecommerce channels.
Once referred to as “Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret,” Frownies has gone viral on TikTok with more than 3.4 million “likes” and more than 255 million views.
It employs 19 people in its current location at 97 Compark Road, but anticipates adding another 10 employees in the next three years, Wright said.
Frownies creates, formulates, packages, markets and distributes products in small batches until the product is tested in the marketplace and determined to be successful she said. Next, it hires a team outside of its facility to produce in larger volume.
Consolidating operations to the Miamisburg-Centerville Road property gives Frownies more space — 28,500-square feet for light packing and assembly and a 6,144-square-foot warehouse for storage.
The added space also allows management to be under the same roof as employees and incoming shipments, Wright said. It also will make the entire operation more efficient and cost effective, she said.
Frownies “explored and considered” alternate locations in Warren County, but intends to make the Washington Twp. site its family-owned business headquarters for decades to come, Wright said.
“Building on a legacy of the land and soul of the building fits with our commitment to our legacy,” she said.
About the Author
