Putting Feet First

Soldiers in World War I were taught the secret of survival--warm feet and dry socks.

We in California know it’s a great pedicure and a pair of Manolo Blahnik sandals.

One company in Vernon Hills, Ill., got the message and launched a line of foot beauty products called Foot Fetiche. “The foot is becoming such a focal point in fashion,” says Mary Kay Staten-Long, vice president of marketing for Lake Consumer Products Inc., which manufactures the line. Previous foot products, she says, were “either cutesy or very medicated.”

The vitamin-supplements and feminine-needs company added foot products to its list, targeting consumers from their middle 20s and up who get regular pedicures. (Would that be most of us in this fair land?)

“Women take care of their feet and want them to look good for a very, very long time,” she says.

The company’s first obstacle was convincing retailers to put Foot Fetiche products with beauty supplies and not medicated corn pads.

For information, call (800) 537-8658 or (800) 635-3696.