In this Issue

What can retailers do to create a better proposition for the New General Market? Where are the opportunities? How can retailers and brands work together to cultivate New General Market consumers and foster their success? How can they innovate with purpose and meaning with the common goal of connecting with the New General Market consumer?

Protein bars have been flying off the shelves in mass outlets lately. Sales of nutritional bars were up 3.4% to $2.4 billion for the 52 weeks ended April 16, according to IRI across total U.S. multi-outlets.

Most brands still have a long way to go to live up to the promise of personalized, 1-to-1 relationships with customers that the Internet was supposed to facilitate, according to Evan Neufeld, VP of intelligence at benchmarking firm L2.

The Makeup Show NYC kicked off in May, with an address from director of artistry James Vincent. As a makeup artist with decades of experience working in every facet of the industry, Vincent offered a firsthand account of the trends that are fueling social media, driving sales and shaping product development.

Retailers and their suppliers are squandering opportunities to grow their businesses together strategically, a former Target executive told attendees at the third annual New General Market Summit, hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation. “The discussion between retail and CPGs has been reduced to one issue only: How much money are you going to give me? How much cost reduction can we get?” said Daniel Duty, founder and CEO of Minneapolis-based Conlego Consulting.

The first time Method co-founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry tried to sell their eco-friendly cleaning products into Target, the then-buyer told them the products had a “snowball’s chance in hell.” At the New General Market Summit, co-hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation in April, Ryan acknowledged that while lucky breaks may have played a role, there were three key elements in Method’s business strategy that took them from that first meeting to more than $100 million in Target sales in 2016.

In April, Drug Store News and Mack Elevation co-hosted the third annual New General Market Summit. The one-day thought leadership event examined the changing face of the American shopper — driven not only by the growth of multicultural and millennial consumers but also by the influence these consumers are having on all consumers — and how the best brands are able to connect on an emotional level, as well as build community and advocacy with an ever-more diverse consumer.

Coming from a diverse neighborhood gave her ‘street smarts,’ but Rite Aid’s head of pharmacy tells Drug Store News her most important leadership lessons came from two pillars of the Philadelphia community — her mom and dad.