Consumables

MCLEAN, Va. — Mars has added two key hires to its digital team as it accelerates its digital innovation and growth efforts.

Sandeep Dadlani will become Mars’ chief digital officer, overseeing the company’s digital transformation agenda while improving effectiveness and efficiency of its existing tech platforms. Dadlani succeeds chief information officer Vittorio Cretella, who has been with Mars for 26 years and is set to retire, effective Sept. 1.

My daughter and I were experimenting in the kitchen the other evening — cooking up what was sure to be a masterpiece. Reaching into the lazy Susan in the spice cabinet, I had a eureka moment.

To be honest, this is not the first time that this fleeting thought has crossed my mind. But it resurfaced with a vengeance when my daughter commented about the lazy Susan, “This is so cool. Everything I need is just a quick spin away from being right in front of me.”

VEVEY, Switzerland —  Nestlé’s U.S. confectionery business could soon be in new hands. The company on Thursday announced that it was exploring strategic options for the division, including possible selling it, in efforts that it expects to complete by year’s end.

At the Drug Store News/Mack Elevation New General Market Summit, Mack Elevation managing director Dan Mack told attendees, “The New General Market is a mindset — it’s not defined by demography or skin color or religion or sex or sexual orientation — it’s driven by a mindset of inclusion.”

CHICAGO — IRI on Tuesday announced that Crossmark has selected IRI as its preferred data provider.

“IRI’s robust tools and technology as well as its strength in retail partnerships make it an ideal resource for Crossmark,” stated David Newman, chief insights officer for Crossmark. “We are confident that leveraging IRI tools will ensure Crossmark delivers on our client promise to provide a smarter way to faster growth.”

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health, in partnership with Drug Store News and Mack Elevation, is hosting an innovation summit Tuesday, bringing together leaders from such major healthcare, technology and consumer brands as Facebook, Under Armour, Google and IBM, among others, for a discussion about emerging trends that are helping reshape the healthcare industry.

Supplements are providing the perfect complement to drug store retailers’ bottom lines. Including meal replacement bars, energy shots, protein shakes and diet aids, sales of dietary supplements and nutrition-packed products across the supplement aisle continued to grow at a healthy 4.7% clip with more than $13.4 billion in sales across total U.S. multi-outlets for the 52 weeks ended April 16, according to the latest IRI data.