Burt's Bees is looking to gain sales from younger women with a whimsical new brand of natural products that focus on fragrance as a key selling point.

The Durham company recently launched its güd (pronounced good) line of shampoos, lotions and other personal care products, which come in scents with quirky names such as Orange Petalooza and Floral Cherrynova. They boast colorful packaging as well, which includes an umlaut over the u in güd that's designed to resemble a smiley face. The brand slogan: güd happens.

"The (fragrance) names are intended to be mash-ups," said Garrett Putman, güd brand manager. "We wanted things that were kind of modern, complex, that you didn't know what they really meant other than they sound like they would smell really good."

Burt's Bee's, a division of consumer products giant Clorox, expects the lineup of 32 new products - eight different categories, each of which come in four fragrances - to be in 18,000 stores this summer. They first hit Target stores right after Christmas and are now in about 8,500 stores nationwide, including Harris Teeter, Kroger, Walgreens and Ulta stores.

Burt's Bees, which is best known for its lip balms, lotions and other products made from mostly natural ingredients, touts that it's No. 1 in natural personal care products and can be found in 40,000 U.S. stores.

The company has 360 workers at its headquarters in downtown Durham and a warehouse and distribution center in Morrisville. The güd line is produced in South Carolina.

"We would love for (güd) to be a strong No. 2 brand in the category," Putman said.

The company's strategy is to capitalize on a surging market for natural care products with the güd line, which the packaging prominently declares is "from Burt's Bees."

"We felt Burt's Bees is that endorsement that really brings people into the franchise," said Nick Vlahos, vice president and general manager.

Market growth for natural personal care products slowed during the recession but last year rose 14 percent, according to market research data provided by Burt's.

Clorox doesn't break out Burt's revenue, but company officials say sales are up by double digits over the past 52 weeks.

The güd brand targets females ages 16 to 28 who may not have been interested in natural products in the past but are turned on by fragrances.

To reach that younger audience, the company's marketing efforts are focused online and on social media.

And, to broaden their appeal, güd products are priced 15 percent to 20 percent cheaper than comparable Burt's products. The suggested retail price ranges from $4.99 to $11.99, with the majority priced at $6.99.

"For a natural brand, it is entry-level pricing," said Target spokesman Evan Miller. "We know the products work great. ... The bright packages really capture your attention, (along with) the catchy names and fun slogans on the packaging."

Target has an exclusive deal that makes it the only retailer selling one of güd's four fragrances, Pearanormal Activity, through November.

Burt's raced to the market with güd. The company started focusing on creating a new brand on Jan. 18, 2011, and was shipping products 11 months later. By contrast, Burt's can take 18 months or more just to launch a new lip balm.

"The organization really backed a new way of working and a new way of thinking to do it," said spokeswoman Mariah Eckhardt. "So there was a kind of isolated team pulled out to work on it that didn't go through the same process we (typically) go through."

One of the first things the team did was seek out an advertising and branding agency. Among the agencies it invited to compete for the new account was Baldwin&, a 16-person Raleigh agency that has worked with Burt's in recent years.

Baldwin&, which went on to win the account, suggested the name güd in its initial pitch for the business.

The agency also concocted fanciful copy for the packaging, such as the line that appears on the hand cream: "For hands so hydrated, the left will high-five the right."

"Every time you come across this brand, we want you to smile," said David Baldwin, Lead Guitar - his official title - at Baldwin&.