Financial News

Americans are seeking a brighter smile, and research and sales data suggest that they are increasingly turning to whitening toothpastes and even mouthwash to help whiten teeth.

According to research released from Mintel in August 2012, only 10% of those looking for brighter smiles took a seat in the dentist chair for a professional whitening service. What's interesting is that according to the findings, 41% of respondents said they had tried to whiten their teeth in the prior 12 months using toothpaste, while 17% had tried at-home mouthwash and 15% tried OTC whitening strips.

The energy drink category, which has enjoyed double-digit sales and unit growth for several years, faces increasing scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has said it will consider requiring companies to disclose the amount of caffeine in the drinks and add warnings about possible side effects on labeling.

When Albertson's LLC announced last month that its parent company, AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, signed an agreement to acquire 877 stores from Supervalu in a deal valued at some $3.3 billion — a move that will reunite all Albertsons stores under one operator — it recast the rankings of the industry's leading pharmacy retailers.

Homeopathy is hopping. Sales of many of the homeopathy brands represent some of the fastest-growing products across the OTC landscape these days, as evidenced by the number of brands escalating on the top 10 lists across several categories. Overall, sales of homeopathic medicines totaled $1.3 billion for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 22, up 8% according to SPINS, which tracks sales across both the natural channel (excluding Whole Foods) and mass retailers.

Sore throats and dry coughs are more prevalent symptoms associated with the flu. With the severe 2012-2013 flu season to date, that means a healthy amount of lozenge sales. One of the bigger winners across the top 10 vendors is Reckitt Benckiser, which launched Cepacol Sensations this fall. The product line contains a lower amount of numbing medication than traditional Cepacol products, yet still provides either an instantly cooling, warming or refreshing sensation. Sales of all Reckitt Benckiser lozenges totaled $10.9 million, up 67.6%.

Consumers still have a thirst for bottled water. "Bottled water is performing moderately well with respectable growth," said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest. Dollar sales of bottled water were up 7% across food, drug and mass outlets for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 2, 2012, according to SymphonyIRI data. Sicher said he expects bottled water to grow modestly over the next few years.

The generic drug tidal wave became a tsunami in 2012, with some of the world's top-selling pharmaceuticals swamped by generic competition, and health plan payers scrambling to reap billions of dollars in financial savings.

NEW YORK — Royal Ahold may be one step closer to acquiring Harris Teeter, though the Dutch supermarket conglomerate has yet to make a formal bid, according to a story published Friday morning by Bloomberg. 

Citing persons familiar with any potential acquisition pursuit, Bloomberg reported Ahold has contacted JPMorgan Chase, which has been retained by Harris Teeter to evaluate options.