In this Issue

Before you got into the association management business, you worked in government and even ran for Congress in 1980. What led you to politics, and what are one or two of the most important things that experience taught you?

I was 27 years old when I ran for Congress, so I was in my formative years. I learned that I could compete with anyone, despite my blue-collar background. However, I realized I don’t have all of the answers, and probably never will.

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?”

Consumer Suzanne Lee grew up in upstate New York, but moved to Ontario many years ago. Recently, upon visiting her hometown, she stopped at a local drug store for her favorite skin care product. She was surprised to find it wasn’t sold there.

(To view the full Beauty Trends Report, click here.)

Perhaps because of their parents and grandparents, millennials are taking a shine to the use of dietary supplements as a strategy toward being healthier, according to the 2016 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. Overall, as many as 170 million U.S. adults, or 71% of the population, take dietary supplements.

There is perhaps a latent opportunity for retailers to create a new destination center out of three existing categories that would appeal to a new millennial mom — products boosting preconception health; products supporting a pregnant woman’s health; and products supporting lactation and breast feeding following her pregnancy.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)

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.

Drug Store News caught up with NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson for a recap of 2016 and a look ahead at what to expect from a Trump administration.

DSN: What is the RxImpact scorecard for 2016? How did the industry do on the key pharmacy and patient access issues?