Mad River Science Product to Reach Out to New Market with Strategic eMarketing

Humboldt County’s Mad River Science is working with Strategic eMarketing to bring one of its longtime products to a new market sector. Go Natural is a non-toxic, water-based nail polish that has been successful in the safety kid’s nail polish market, and now owner Norman Polston wants to expand into the salon market.

“I’m not looking for a big splash immediately; this is for the long-term,” Polston said. “We will start with an elegant base and a simple message.”

Polston developed the nail polish about 20 years ago when he was commissioned to create a peel-off polish for a Klutz project. Because children would be handling it, the polish needed to essentially be safe even if ingested, so he found a formula that was non-toxic and safe for children. After completing that project, Polston decided to create a standard nail polish that was non-toxic and reasonably chip resistance. He began gathering distributors in 2000 and the polish is now sold in thousands of retail stores under a number of different labels.

“For little girls and their mothers that are looking for nail polish, it’s the cat’s meow,” Polston said.

However, the safety kids nail polish market is getting crowded, and Polston said the product doesn\’t need to be pushed much further in that area. With Strategic eMarketing, the new marketing push will be to reach out to salons and beauty parlors. Since the Go Natural polish is kind to skin, biodegradable, and odorless, it is a natural choice for manicures and pedicures, plus it really takes the professional touch of a manicurist to coax Go Natural polish to do its best, Polston said.

Mad River Science was created about 10 years ago when Polston moved to Humboldt County. He has partnered with his son, who handles the manufacturing of the Go Natural nail polish in Pennsylvania.