In this Issue

Despite declining sales, three category trends — sparkling water, natural sodas and low-calorie sodas — are keeping some fizz in carbonated soft drinks. Mintel’s research shows that American consumption of carbonated soft drinks fell to the lowest level since 1996; increased prices kept the category level.

Recent strategic business initiatives are granting wholesalers more generic drug purchasing power than ever before.

Over the last few years, some major deals in the world of drug wholesaling have taken shape. While the business arrangements among the three top wholesalers differ slightly in terms of ownership, benefits and risks, one thing is for certain: all of the agreements will translate into growth opportunities for the companies involved and will help them improve their generic drug sourcing practices.

To put it in Facebook terms, the pharmaceutical industry by and large has yet to friend American consumers.

A new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics concludes that fewer than half of the top 50 global pharmaceutical manufacturers “have some level of healthcare social media engagement.” This, despite the fact that “increasingly, patients are turning to social media as an essential forum for obtaining and sharing information related to their health,” noted Murray Aitken, the institute’s executive director.

YouTube is transforming the beauty space. Incorporating YouTube into Web and commerce initiatives and leveraging YouTube’s independent beauty personalities can unlock significant opportunities for brands, especially niche players, according to recent research by Pixability.

Retailers were preparing for the imminent launch of Chattem’s Nasacort Allergy 24HR nasal spray (triamcinolone intranasal) last month, clearing out quite a bit of shelf space for the new allergy remedy.

(For the full category review, including sales data, click here.)

Mintel projects the pet products category will grow an average of 3.8% over the next five years to nearly $13.7 billion by 2017.

(For the full category review, including sales data, click here.)

Where is pharmacy automation headed, and how will it be put to use by pharmacists and the companies that employ them?

Prevention. That’s currently one of the predominant themes in cough-cold. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. With the economy still undergoing a slow recovery, 90% of workers recently reported they would opt to report to work sick vs. calling out, according to the fourth annual Flu Season Survey from Staples.