In this Issue

VoicePort arrived in Boston for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Total Store Expo this year with a new name for its suite of pharmacy technology offerings. The company rebranded its PharmaPhonetics property as CLARO Pharmacy Solutions — a name change aimed at highlighting the growth the company’s offerings have seen since starting out in 2003, according to VoicePort VP North American business development Alphonse J. Sasso.

According to Medline chief marketing officer Stu Schneider, it’s time for retailers and consumer health companies to start looking at the current diabetes care market like an iceberg. With more than 37% of Americans diagnosed as prediabetic, the current market for diabetes management and monitoring is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Ateb’s recent announcement that more than a million patients were enrolled and having their medications actively managed via its Time My Meds medication synchronization platform is big news, but the company isn’t about to rest on its laurels. Rather, Ateb is looking to use what it has learned from these patients to help pharmacies improve both their business and their patients’ outcomes.

In the retail and CPG industry, few terms get thrown around quite as much as “omnichannel.” But regardless of how it is defined, the in-store experience is still a major part of the customer engagement equation.

The allergy space will continue to heat up significantly in 2017 as marketers pollinate the airwaves with advertisements promoting their latest brand introductions. GSK Consumer Healthcare will have its hands full defending the Flonase franchise, now the No. 1 allergy remedy on the market. Not only is there another nasal corticosteroid on the market — McNeil Consumer’s Rhinocort launched earlier this year — but Flonase faces increasing private-label and brand competition.

The keys to providing an omnichannel experience are being able to provide customers with consistency and a clear value, according to Procter & Gamble’s associate director of brand marketing for personal health care, Phil McWaters, whose company has been looking closely at the intersection of big data, cognitive science and behavioral economics.

The mounting costs of health care and the rise of high-deductible health plans are biting deep into Americans’ pocketbooks as payers shift more of the cost burden onto their members. Meanwhile, public and private plan payers are demanding more cost-effective modes of front-line care and shifting the focus to wellness, disease prevention and successful outcomes.

The foot care category is still dominated by Bayer Consumer’s Dr Scholl’s, which generated $291.9 million in sales for the 52 weeks ended June 4, on a 6.8% decline, according to Nielsen data as provided by Implus. Store brands gained 7.4% in that time frame to $65.6 million, and Implus gained 47.5% with the Airplus brand to $40.7 million.