General Merchandise

NEW YORK — A household cleaner, a shampoo for kids and a cheese snack product earned top honors in a consumer-voted awards program published by Better Homes and Gardens.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Bic Flex4 razors now is the official sponsor for the Tough Mudder series, the nation’s fastest-growing and most-recognized endurance series, according to the company.

Founded in 2010, Tough Mudder events were constructed by British Special Forces to offer a 10- to 12-mile trail-running experience. Courses are designed to test participants' fitness, strength, stamina, mental grit, teamwork and toughness in a one-day challenge, according to the company. Events are not timed and are won by all those capable of completing the course.

DENVER — Shoppers ages 50 to 54 years lead the charge when it comes to purchasing health and beauty products online (52%), and shoppers ages 45 to 49 years are purchasing more food and beverage products online (29%) than any other age group, according to The Checkout, an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, released Thursday.

WAITSFIELD, Vt. — Verilux is gearing up to launch new lighting products this spring.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — Automated retail kiosks operator Redbox has agreed to purchase assets from NCR's entertainment line of business, including DVD kiosks, certain retailer contracts and DVD inventory.

NCR, which will be paid up to $100 million for the assets by the Coinstar subsidiary, said the business move is part of an effort to focus on other targeted industries.

In line with the assets purchase, Coinstar said it will also will enter into a strategic supplier arrangement where it will purchase product and services from NCR.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Zak Designs has introduced new mealtime products ideal for college students.

The new Back to College line, includes durable dinner plate, individual bowl and 24-oz. tumbler, along with a 14-oz. double-wall travel tumbler and 25-oz. Tritan water bottle.

Each of the items are available in Muppets characters or Hello Kitty, Zek Designs said.

NOVI, Mich. — The Chain Drug Marketing Association last month recognized several members at the association's 86th Annual Trade Expo in Kissimmee, Fla.

CDMA awarded Powhatan Pharmacy Member of the Year; Today’s Optical was awarded Associate Member of the Year; Guardian Drug Company was named Store Brand Supplier of the Year; and Rochester Drug Company was named Store Brand Member of the Year.

FAIRFIELD, N.J. — TeleBrands has launched Sticky Buddy, a new reusable sticky roller that is designed to remove hair, crumbs and more without ruining fabrics.

The company said it recently secured the exclusive intellectual property rights for the roller, which was invented by Tylor Ross of South Bend, Ind. The roller also features little "rubber fingers" that help users reach deep into carpets to remove ground-in messes, TeleBrands said.