In this Issue

There is a paradigm shift under way in the men’s grooming category, and electric shavers, as well as the retailers that sell them, are feeling the effects of this revolution.

(Click here to read the full Category Review.)

MCLEAN, Va. — The biggest launch in M&M’s brand history, M&M’s Caramel Chocolate Candies features a creamy, caramel center covered in milk chocolate, enclosed in a candy shell. Caramel is the fastest-growing flavor segment in food, growing 15% in 2015, according to Mars. Hank Izzo, VP of research and development of parent company Mars Chocolate, said the brand regularly plays around with size, shape, color and texture. But, caramel has been especially of interest to the company in recent years. “Caramel is extremely trendy,” he said.

As pharmacist-provided clinical services continue to expand, the role of the technician also is expanding. Immunization delivery is now an expected offering in most community pharmacies. To support the additional responsibilities of the technician, Drug Store News has partnered with VaxServe to develop a set of immunization resources specifically for pharmacy technicians.

As we ship this issue to the printer, it has been less than 24 hours since Drug Store News hosted its 18th annual Industry Issues Summit. What began almost two decades ago as a closed-door discussion between a handful of retail merchandising executives and a few vendors in a small hotel meeting room has since evolved to become one of the signature thought leadership and networking events on the industry calendar.

AARP’s Project Catalyst — an initiative aimed at sparking healthcare innovation focused on people ages 50 years and older — in a report from April projects that by 2020, 117 million Americans will need some sort of caregiving assistance. At that point, the size of the market for the 45 million unpaid and 5 million paid caregivers is estimated to reach $72 billion, with RAND estimating opportunity costs around caregivers to be $522 billion every year, based on income unpaid caregivers lose in time spent on eldercare.

In 2017, there will be three growth categories within the OTC sector that will continue to post dividends to retail pharmacy’s bottom line across the self-care aisle. We’re calling them the old, the now and the future.

(Click here to view the full Category Review.)

Health-and-wellness trends are taking the CPG and retail industries by storm, and that is no less the case when it comes to the confectionary industry specifically.

As consumer dietary habits have shifted in recent years, confectionary companies in particular have had a tougher task of finding ways to drive growth in the candy aisles. Candy sales have been trending down, with consumers opting for better-for-you snacks.

The bright spot for candy manufacturers and retailers has been novelty and seasonal confections.

DSN has named Thrifty White Pharmacy its 2016 Pharmacy Innovator award winner. DSN publisher Eric Savitch and editor in chief/associate publisher Rob Eder presented the award to Thrifty White president and CEO Bob Narveson, COO Tim Weippert and key members of the company’s pharmacy leadership team at an exclusive reception at Minneapolis’ Butcher and the Boar restaurant.