In this Issue

The proof a category is hot can be measured not only by the number of players looking to participate in that category, but also by the heft of new entrants. Such is the case with aromatherapy, and this year, a major player in the VMS space is “getting their sniff on.”

Drug Store News spoke with Troy Talarico, VP sales Fusion Diet Systems, regarding the consumer diet aid trend favoring meal-replacement offerings over quick-fix solutions.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)

DSN: What are the factors driving the growth in sales of diet aids and meal-replacement solutions across retail pharmacy?

Nutrex is introducing a new pre-workout product called OutLift that is differentiated by having no proprietary blend (full disclosure ingredients) and contains no “banned” ingredients. Fully-disclosed labels means the formulation of the product isn’t hiding within a proprietary ingredient. “It’s 10 clinically-dosed ingredients,” said Raul Gil, Nutrex research VP sales.

Sales of diet aids are rocketing across retail right now thanks in no small part to the 38% of Americans who made weight-related resolutions for 2017. Of course, it won’t last long. As many as 25% of New Year Resolutionists lose their conviction in the first week. And less than half will still be weight-loss focused at the mid-year mark.

Sports nutrition is a category beginning to emerge as a viable destination center within mass outlets, as evidenced by growth behind brands like Premier Nutrition. For the 52 weeks ended Oct. 30, Premier Nutrition generated $160.9 million in sales on 85% growth, according to IRI across total U.S. multi-outlet.

Nature’s Bounty launched a line of aromatherapy products under the Nature’s Origin banner. The line includes an essential oils kit designed to attract new shoppers, as well as a “Travel with Scents” that has four scents packaged in a branded tin and diffused in easy-to-carry inhalers. The lineup features three diffusers, including one that can be in continuous operation for up to eight hours and fill a room of up to 400 sq. ft. with the optimal scent. A second diffuser can be in continuous operation for up to four hours for a suggested room size of 50 sq. ft.

Overall, sales of multivitamins are relatively flat — 0.2% annual growth toward a $1.8 billion base. But according to the latest consumer survey from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 3-in-4 adults use a multivitamin. So, have sales of multivitamins plateaued, or are there pockets of opportunity out there?

It probably won’t surprise anyone that I was NOT one of the hundreds of millions of people who got swept away in the whole Pokémon Go thing last summer. If you would have told me a year ago that you were looking for Pikachu, I probably would have said, “God bless you.… Now what are you looking for?”