In this Issue

NEW YORK — One of the more well-known skin care oils found at mass hails from South Africa. Bio-Oil is infused with the PurCellin Oil and is formulated to help improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks anduneven skin tone. According to IRI, sales of Bio-Oil rose nearly 8% to $20.9 million for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 11 at U.S. multi-outlets.

There may still be room for substantial growth in multivitamins — like in gummy vitamins.

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

Fifteen years of ExtraCare data is influencing everything from how the company builds stores to how it communicates with customers.

CROMWELL, Conn. — Earlier this year, i-Health identified a niche need within the probiotic segment — an adult-strength chewable version of its probiotic brand, called Culturelle Digestive Health Probiotic Chewables, for those consumers in search of alternatives to the tablets and caplets.

The new product launch has contributed to an overall brand lift of 44.5% to $61.6 million in total U.S. multi-outlet sales for the 52 weeksended Aug. 11, according to IRI.

CROMWELL, Conn. — i-Health’s Estroven has been dialing up sales tracked within feminine pain relievers. The core brand generated $16.2 million within the last 52 weeks ended Aug. 11 across U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI. The company’s launch of Estroven Energy has generated another $3.9 million. July brought more innovation to the category with the launch of Estroven Weight Management, a supplement specifically formulated to deliver on a core benefit of helping peri/menopausal women manage their weight.

Like politics, retailing is local. That inescapable fact is behind the ongoing build-up of Health Mart’s local marketing and patient care initiatives as McKesson shifts more store support muscle to the more than 3,100 independent pharmacies allied with the Health Mart network through its Local Marketing Support Program.

Sales of body care products have been on the downslide in recent years, according to research, likely because of consumers turning away from nonessential purchases amid a weak economy. However, times appear to be changing.

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

There are many ways a pharmacy operation can measure success; the most basic is to fill more prescriptions today than yesterday.

Ryan Merrell, head of marketing for Spence’s Pharmacy, a Health Mart pharmacy in Logan, Utah, is among many independent pharmacies who are using McKesson’s Physician Outreach Program to do just that by benchmarking total prescription share against their local market and helping to identify and build relationships with high prescribers in their areas — in real time.