Why did we update our beloved Vitamin E-Stick Lip Balm?

First, let’s be clear: we haven’t changed the formula beyond some minor shifts to the ingredient order. It’s still the same great Vitamin E-Stick Lip Balm hundreds of thousands use every day to keep their lips hydrated and moisturized. What we did change was where we sourced the tubes, their design, and how the Vitamin E-Stick is “put into” the tubes.

Molded vs Hot Fill

Reviva’s Vitamin E-Sticks utilize a Beeswax and Candelilla Wax base. During manufacture, the waxes are melted and blended with our other ingredients. This mixture is then cooled into large “wax” blocks of vitamin e-stick raw material.

Previously, these blocks were then melted again and dispensed into “lipstick style” molds that were then sent through a chiller tunnel to cool and solidify into e-sticks. Once chilled, the e-sticks were extracted from the molds and inserted into the tubes. It was these lipstick molds that gave our Vitamin E-Sticks their distinctive bullet-shaped lipstick profile.

Molded sticks are labor intensive

When our Vitamin E-Sticks initially debuted, small batches were made and then slowly poured into molds – which were then extracted and assembled – all by hand. As the E-Stick popularity grew, this quickly became impractical. So, we outsourced the e-stick production, as it was unreasonable to procure the lipstick manufacturing equipment for this single product. Our original manufacturing partner was located very close to Reviva. However, as Vitamin E-Sticks popularity exploded, even this partner was overwhelmed.

So, over the years, Reviva has worked with several suppliers – providing them the instructions on how to make our e-sticks. We source the tubes and ship all the materials to and from these contract manufacturers. Our Vitamin E-Stick is one of the few items Reviva doesn’t package ourselves – though our team still labels them and loads them into our 12-packs.

Sourcing “molded” tubes was challenging

For years, Reviva desperately wanted to source our e-stick tubes from a manufacturer in the United States. Sadly, we weren’t able to find a suitable supplier of tubes for the molded e-sticks that actually manufactured in America. And so, we were stuck sourcing our e-stick tubes from overseas. Sourcing tubes internationally often presented challenges; from lead times, to logistics, to quality control. These issues were exacerbated during the pandemic. Hence, we doubled down on finding a supplier in the United States.

The hot fill tube compromise

Reviva’s quest often seemed quixotic; until we finally found a tube manufacturer in the United States. The catch, they only produced tubes for hot filled lip balms. But they did have a euro-style tube that was reminiscent of our lipstick style. So, after some testing and extremely minor formula tweaking to accommodate hot filling instead of molded sticks – Reviva decided to make the switch.

What is hot filling?

The operation of hot filling is very similar to the molded process. Large blocks of raw product are first manufactured. And then, when a production run is scheduled, these blocks are melted again. However, with hot filling the wax isn’t poured into molds but instead is dispensed directly into the tubes. Then after it cools, the sticks are wound up just a smidge and a hot wire slices off and flattens the top (for a clean, flush finish) and the tubes are capped and packaged. This method saves time and streamlines the process. The tradeoff, you can’t have the lipstick bullet shape. It was a decision we agonized over. However, since the process actually provides a slightly “larger” e-stick amount, we ultimately decided it was the better option.

The Vitamin E-Stick tubes are finally sourced in the U.S.A.

Being able to source our e-stick tubes and manufacturing entirely in the United States is a win win for Reviva and our customers. Now that we’ve switched the process we’ve eliminated many of the bottlenecks that previously hampered E-Stick inventory availability. Moving forward, after our initial trial run, we’re confident Reviva will no longer have to worry about inventory issues for our Vitamin E-Sticks.

Moreover, the U.S. sourced tubes close far better than their overseas counterparts. This is something we were cognizant of when evaluating the tubes. We had received some negative feedback about the “old tubes” opening in pockets, purses, backpacks, etc.  So, we paid close attention to making sure the tubes shut well and stayed closed. And here’s where the hot fill process also offers a slight benefit. Since the stick is trimmed flat to the interior tube – if you retract the e-stick into the tube after each use – even if it were to open – the stick would still be mostly protected.

We’re confident that the majority, if not all, of our Vitamin E-Stick fans will happily embrace the new tube and the new hot fill look. Reviva’s Vitamin E-Stick still uses the same great formula that both moisturizes and soothes lips while protecting against the environment along with wind damage. And finally, our E-Stick tubes are made in the U.S.A. too!