In this Issue

The average household spends $3,400 on packaged goods, but the average grocery banner only captures as much as 20% of that, according to a recent IRI report. “With the overall market not growing, retailers and manufacturers need to find new sources of growth by capturing a bigger piece of the existing pie,” wrote Web Fletcher, principal at IRI Shopper Analytics and lead author of IRI’s “Delivering Growth Through High-Value Customers” research, which was published in July.

Drug Store News recently spoke with Phillip Dritsas, SVP and general manager, consumer division and specialty markets for Mission Pharmacal, about the opportunities for Dr. Smith’s products in both the baby and adult categories.

DSN: Can you tell us more about trends in both ends of the baby and adult category?

While consumers may be growing more health-conscious with their food choices, it seems there is still room for life’s little indulgences. According to new international research on snacking motivation from Mintel, Americans cited treating themselves as the top reason to snack (50%), and more than one-quarter (28%) agreed that taste is more important than health when choosing a snack.

“The formula for growth is simple. There’s really only three levers you can pull — find new buyers, get your buyers to spend more and/or raise prices,” said Chris Morley, president of fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, and retail at Nielsen. “But talk to most retailers and FMCG companies today, and they’ll tell you that growth is increasingly hard to find.”

Generic medications made up 89% of dispensed U.S. prescriptions in 2016, but only 26% of total drug costs. The use of generics brought savings of $253 billion in 2016, bringing the 10-year savings from generics to $1.67 trillion, according to the ninth annual “Generic Access and Savings in the U.S.” report compiled by the QuintilesIMS Institute for the Association for Accessible Medicines (formerly the Generic Pharmaceutical Association).

Aging baby boomers have been a prime market for OTC analgesics, but the oldest members of society don’t have a monopoly on aches and pains. A new marketing campaign for Prestige Brands’ Anacin seeks to address this fact by aiming squarely at the millennial generation.

Boiron, long known for its Oscillococcinum flu relief and Arnicare pain relief solutions, is planning to capitalize on new opportunities in the baby care aisle this fall. Drug Store News recently discussed the new products the manufacturer of homeopathic remedies will be introducing at NACDS Total Store Expo with Boiron’s Gary Wittenberg, VP of national accounts.

One OTC category expected to emerge in the coming year is hearing aids, which, when paired with in-store hearing aid service centers, will become a powerful solution set. Earlier this year, CVS Pharmacy opened seven hearing stores-within-stores in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, with plans to expand significantly by year’s end.