Celebrating more than 40 years in business, Mary Kay is in the pink as one of the top direct sellers of beauty products in the US. It offers more than 200 products in six categories: body care, color cosmetics, facial skin care, fragrance, nail care, and sun protection. More than 1.8 million independent sales consultants demonstrate Mary Kay products in the US and some 35 other countries. Consultants vie for awards each year, ranging from jewelry to the company's trademark pink Cadillac (first awarded in 1969). The company also founded the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation in 1996 to fund cancer research and domestic violence programs. The family of founder Mary Kay Ash owns most of the company.

L'Oreal's success is built on a strong foundation. The world's largest beauty products company, it creates makeup, perfume, and hair and skin care items. Its brands include L'Oreal and Maybelline (mass-market), Lanceme (upscale), and Redken and SoftSheen/Carson (retail and salon). L'Oreal, which owns Dallas-based SkinCeuticals, also conducts cosmetology and dermatology research. With about half of its sales generated outside of Europe, L'Oreal has focused on acquiring brands in those markets. L'Oreal also owns the UK-based natural cosmetics retailer The Body Shop International, which numbers more than 2,550 stores worldwide. The firm's dermatology branch Galderma is a joint venture between L'Oreal and Nestle.

Capital Mercury Apparel is playing the name game. Traditionally a maker of uniforms and private-label clothing, the employee-owned company shifted its focus to concentrate on more upscale, branded merchandise. Capital Mercury, founded in 1960, makes a variety of men's and women's clothing, including shirts, sweaters, dress wear, swimwear, and sportswear. Its Bill Blass Premium, Arnold Palmer, and NYNE brands are sold in department stores, and it makes other labels for Wal-Mart stores. Agreements with the likes of designer menswear labels Robert Stock and Wilke-Rodriguez -- as well as a deal struck with Jones Apparel Group -- have brought the company upscale licensing deals.

The Aristotle Corporation, founded in 1986, and headquartered in Stamford, CT, is a leading manufacturer and global distributor of educational, health, medical technology and agricultural products. A selection of over 80,000 items is offered, primarily through catalogs carrying the brand of Nasco (founded in 1941), as well as those bearing the brands of Life/form®, Whirl-Pak®, Simulaids, Triarco, Summit Learning, Hubbard Scientific, Scott Resources, Spectrum Educational Supplies, Haan Crafts, To-Sew, CPR Prompt®, and Ginsberg Scientific. Products include educational materials and supplies for substantially all K-12 curricula, molded plastics, biological materials, medical simulators and items for the agricultural, senior care and food industries. Aristotle has approximately 800 employees at its operations in Fort Atkinson, WI, Modesto, CA, Fort Collins, CO, Plymouth, MN, Saugerties, NY, Chippewa Falls, WI, Otterbein, IN and Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.There are approximately 18 million shares outstanding of Aristotle common stock (NASDAQ: ARTL) and approximately 1 million shares outstanding of 11% cumulative Series I preferred stock (NASDAQ: ARTLP); there are also approximately 11 million privately-held shares outstanding of 12% cumulative shares of Series J preferred stock. Aristotle has about 4,000 shareholders of record.

Ennis, Inc. formerly known as Ennis Business Forms, Inc., was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Midlothian, Texas. Ennis, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of business forms and business products, and active wear in North America. It operates in two segments, Print and Apparel. The Print segment designs, manufactures, and sells business forms and printed business products, including snap sets, continuous forms, laser cut sheets, tags, labels, envelopes, integrated products, jumbo rolls, and pressure sensitive products. This segment also offers point of purchase advertising for large franchise and fast food chains, as well as kitting and fulfillment; presentation and document folders; promotional products and advertising concept products; and financial and security documents. It sells its products through independent dealers, including business forms distributors, stationers, printers, computer software developers, and advertising agencies in the United States. The Apparel segment produces and sells t-shirts, fleece goods, and other wearables. It operates under the Alstyle Apparel brand name. This segment distributes its products to retailers through its sales representatives and regional distribution centers, as well as markets directly to screen printers, embellishers, retailers, and mass marketers.

Twincraft was born from twins. Twincraft Soap, founded by twin brothers Bob and Dave Asch, makes bar soap for the private-label market. The company provides product development, manufacturing (in Vermont and Guatemala), and packaging services and produces more than 350 million soap bars annually. Twincraft's roster of clients includes specialty retailers such as Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, and Victoria's Secret, as well as personal care industry behemoths including Johnson & Johnson and Unilever. Founded in 1971, Twincraft was sold to Langer, a medical and skin care products firm, for nearly $27 million in January 2007.

Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. company was founded by veterinarians Rory Foster and Marty Smith in 1983. Drs. Foster & Smith is a top supplier of pet supplies such as food, supplements, medicines, bedding, and toys. It sells brand-name items, as well as its own Drs. Foster & Smith branded pet care products through catalogs and its Web site and provides complete pharmacy services. Drs. Foster & Smith also offers information for pet owners on PetEducation.com and operates a retail store in its headquarter town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It has expanded its business by buying Neeps, Pet Warehouse, and liveaquaria.com.

Lafeber Company was founded in the late 1970s by Dr. T.J. Lafeber, a veterinarian who previously operated a pet bird hospital before he began developing bird food products. Lafeber has built a business catering to feathered friends. The firm makes food, toys, and vitamins for pet birds. Lafeber's products portfolio includes brand names Avi-Cakes, Nutri-Berries, Nutri-Start Baby Bird Food, and others. It also makes and markets hand-feeding formula for birds and sells food developed for macaws, lovebirds, cockatoos, and parakeets. The company sells its products through its Web site and in specialty pet and bird stores, such as Petco and Tomlinson, nationwide.

Hill's Pet Nutrition Company's Science Diet pet food is available through pet supply stores and veterinary professionals while its Prescription Diet products are sold only through veterinarians. The firm's cat and dog foods are produced in varieties geared to a pet's dietary requirements, medical condition, and age. Hill's also makes animal treats. Its products are sold in the US, Japan, and more than 90 other countries worldwide. This subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive was founded in 1948, after a veterinarian cooked up a special food to treat a guide dog's kidney problems.

Tweezerman International has the tools for those who prefer to be highly maintained. The company has supplied celebrities and well-known makeup artists with its Slant Tweezers for a quarter of a century. Founded by government activist Dal LaMagna in 1980 with only the Splintertweeze, Tweezerman makes more than 100 types of personal care implements for men's and women's manicures, pedicures, eyes, and facials. Its products are sold through professional beauty suppliers, as well as cosmetic and department stores, drug store chains (CVS and Walgreen), and specialty retailers nationwide. Zwilling J. A. Henckels, the highly-renowned German-based maker of knives and scissors, bought the company in January 2005.

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