In this Issue

Parents and school nurses alike have expressed plenty of concern about super lice and how to treat these pesticide-resistant hair vermin safely, and most importantly, effectively. A number of OTC manufacturers have responded with product launches and offerings that effectively address ridding households of lice infestations.

With more than 12 million outbreaks estimated to occur annually among preschool and school-aged children in the United States, lice infestations are a big deal. And pharmacists play a key role in helping parents select safe and successful treatments.

According to a whitepaper published earlier this year by TyraTech, makers of Vamousse, lice resistance to permethrin and synergized pyrethrins has limited the efficacy of OTC products containing these pesticides and engendered their misuse and overuse.

Feminine hygiene products, once relegated to back aisles near diapers, are hidden no longer. In fact, the entire category is being treated more like a beauty business than a commodity. Some chains even cross-merchandise feminine wipes or cleansers near beauty aisles.

Once again, millennial shoppers are driving the change. They aren’t afraid to talk about periods or other feminine issues that were once unmentionable. There are blogs about waxing and menstruation, and Refinery 29 Snapchatted about how to empty a menstrual cup.

Adult bath products offering a Zen-like experience are bubbling to the surface in mass stores and helping to perk up sales, along with Epsom salt soaks. Consumers are favoring products with a purpose over simply fragrant bath additives. That explains the 26% climb in volume of Dr. Teal’s, which offers a Pure Epsom Salt Soak, along with body wash and foaming bath. It is the No.1 selling SKU in the bath category.

A slew of at-home spa devices offer drug store retailers the opportunity to build incremental sales — while giving shoppers the chance to pamper themselves privately. Although visits to medical spas are up, not all women can spare the time or money for frequent visits. That’s fueled growth of the do-it-yourself gadget business. Today, chains can sell LED lights to fight acne or wrinkles, or to spur follicle growth — and they can do so even at price tags approaching $100.

The New General Market is not about demographics — it is a cultural shift and a change in the consumer mindset that has been brought on by the growth of multicultural and millennial consumers and the impact they are having on ALL consumers. It is changing the rules for how brands market. For this virtual roundtable, DSN talked to leading CPG executives about how to better engage the New General Market.

Probiotics are one of the better-selling categories within the VMS space, as evidenced by the number of growing probiotic brands on the top 10 mineral supplement brand chart, which is where IRI captures many of the probiotic SKUs. While market-leading mineral supplement brands Nature Made and Nature’s Bounty certainly include probiotics, i-Health’s Culturelle brand is the best-selling pure-play probiotic brand with $123.1 million in sales on 8.9% growth across total U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI.

The Vitamin Shoppe for the past year has been steadily redefining the brick-and-mortar experience for natural health shoppers via its latest store prototype, the Brand Defining Store, currently in nine locations with another five to open soon. “We’re always looking for innovative ways to enhance our customer’s wellness journey, and our BDS stores are one of many examples of how we’re increasing consumer engagement and improving the customer experience overall,” Jason Reiser, The Vitamin Shoppe’s COO, told Drug Store News.