Going Tananas.

• Author: Jones, Clay
• Position: Solar Pharmaceutical Corp.'s tanning lotion - Made in Indiana

As the ozone layer diminishes, Hoosiers on their way to sunny destinations are stopping first to buy suntan lotion. One hard-to-miss, unusually packaged Indiana product they may find is Tanana, a tanning lotion from Solar Pharmaceutical Corp. of Tell City.

Tanana recently returned to store shelves after a four-year hiatus. Two Evansville businessmen, John Durnin and Mark Mattingly, bought the rights to the product last year, in large part because they were impressed by the banana-shaped packaging. Tanana originally was introduced in 1985 by the Tannies Corp., and it quickly hit sales of more than $1 million through distribution in 44 states. Three years later, Tannies had to stop production because the national roll-out proved too costly.

Before Tanana reappeared this year, the new owners spent 18 months reformulating the lotion to keep its quality in line with other sun-care products. The only real similarities between the new and old Tanana are the name and banana packaging.

The new product line features four different sun-protection factors--4, 8, 15 and 30--plus a zero-SPF product for dark tanning. There also is a lip balm in the product line, and new products in the works include...