Immunity boosters thrive

Traditional cough-cold remedies weren’t the only benefactors of a robust illness season last year. Sales of immunity boosters were also up.

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

Sales of Alacer’s Emergen-C liquids topped $100.8 million for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 11 across U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI data, representing an increase of 22.1%. Reckitt Benckiser’s Airborne multivitamins, meanwhile, reached $101.2 million on 18.2% growth.

“Customers are looking for [these immunity boosting] products when they’re sick,” said Kimberly Weld, VP sales and marketing, America, for PharmaCare. “What we are seeing from retailers is that they are expanding that proposition,” she said, because of the value-add equation. “It’s a niche product [that] won’t cannibalize whatever symptom reliever consumers [are buying].”

PharmaCare recently boosted its homeopathic presence with the introduction of its own dietary supplement immune-system booster, Sambucol Soft Chewable Throat Lozenge.