Mintel: Cough-cold remedy sales on the rise

CHICAGO Sales of cough-cold remedies will total more than $3.6 billion in 2009, up 1.7% from last year, thanks in large part to the H1N1 pandemic, market research firm Mintel announced Thursday. And drug stores and supermarkets could see sales increases well into the double-digits through the remainder of the cold-and-flu season, Mintel projected.

“The U.S. cold, cough and throat remedy market saw a 13.4% spike in sales during 2005, when the avian flu dominated media stories,” stated Diana Nhan, senior market analyst for Mintel’s Global Market Navigator. “Already, swine flu has received equivalent media exposure, and many Americans are worried about the virus. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar trend-busting increase in U.S. cold, cough and throat remedy sales for 2009 and the early part of 2010.”

Americans dedicate more funds towards treating cold-like illnesses than people in the U.K., China or Russia, Mintel stated. In the U.S., all OTC medicine sales account for 0.22% of GDP, compared to 0.2% in Russia and approximately 0.17% in the U.K. and China.