Cincy Inno

Cincinnati-headquartered Procter & Gamble is closing down its most premium skin care and beauty product.

P&G (NYSE: PG) on Jan. 15 stopped taking new product or refill orders for Opte, a $599 precision skin care system that scans, detects and corrects hyper-pigmentation of the skin.

Erica Noble, a P&G spokeswoman, said the company continues to offer technical and warranty support through its helpline. She said no layoffs were associated with the decision. The consumer goods giant did not provide any details on why shut down its Opte skin care product.

Opte was one of the first products launched from P&G Ventures, a 2015 initiative of the corporate giant designed to act like a startup. The P&G Ventures team works with early-stage brands to accelerate their development and roll out new products.

Opte debuted at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, where it won four "Best Of" awards.

Opte is a personalized handheld inkjet printer. The wand scans skin with a digital camera, capturing 200 frames per second. It then uses an algorithm to detect tonal imperfections and a thermal inkjet printer to print droplets of Spot Optimizing Serum to match the surrounding skin tone. P&G touted the product as being able to fade the appearance of hyperpigmentation and sun damage spots over time.

Opte first hit the market in summer 2020.

P&G is Cincinnati's second-largest public company by revenue, trailing Kroger. In 2021, P&G's revenue was more than $76.1 billion, up about 7.3% from the previous year. The company also is among the largest employers in the region, with Courier research showing P&G as Greater Cincinnati's seventh-largest employer with 9,700 employees.

Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown to become a multinational consumer goods giant. Procter & Gamble is the creator and manufacturer of consumer brands like Always, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Dawn, Downy, Febreze, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Olay, Pampers and Tide.