Chain Drug Review, February 4, 2019

18 Chain Drug Review February 4 2019 CATEGORY INSIGHTS O T C DIGESTIVES Greater stress more GI problems O T Cs proliferate NEW YORK Digestive health is gaining importance as a result of increasingly unhealthy fast food diets more stressful lifestyles growing senior populations and greater awareness of digestive conditions Indigestion heartburn and acid reflux remedies as well as antidiarrheal solutions make digestive health one of the most dynamic categories at retail Katie McNichol principal in client insights at IRI reports that the digestive health category overall was flat in 2018 We saw declines in digestive probiotics were offset by heartburn and antidiarrheal segments Private label PPIs are driving growth in heartburn along with Pepto Bismol in antacids and TUMS Peptos growth is being driven in part by a significant price increase unit growth is much more moderate She says that Imodium posted double digit dollar and unit growth and Miralax rounded out one of the key drivers of branded growth in digestive health laxatives Last year GSK Consumer Healthcare celebrated the launch of TUMS Chewy Bites with Gas Relief touted as the first TUMS product created to help fight both heartburn and gas by taking over everyones favorite season summertime This past summer summertime became TummerTime to help spread the word about the importance of treating heartburn and gas In cities across the country such as New York Chicago and Atlanta food lovers could get on demand delivery of TUMS Chewy Bites with Gas Relief just by tweeting says Amy Sharon senior brand manager for TUMS She points out that heartburn is quite common up to 20 of Americans suffer from heartburn on a weekly basis In fact she adds that Millennials have the highest rate of heartburn and gas compared to the general population Millennials are all about their food especially in the summer Yet the foods they love dont always love them back causing heartburn and gas As Americas No 1 antacid providing fast relief we were incredibly excited with TUMS Chewy Bites with Gas Relief and continue to spread the word about heartburn and gas relief and ondemand delivery TUMS Chewy Bites with Gas Relief are available in 28 count bottles in Lemon and Strawberry flavor at retailers nationwide When it comes to heartburn Nexium 24HR is the No 1 choice of doctors and pharmacists Nexium 24HR is an O T C medication indicated for the treatment of frequent heartburn two or more days a week in adults 18 years old and older The active ingredient in Nexium 24HR is esomeprazole In clinical trials Nexium 24HR has been shown to treat frequent heartburn for up to 24 hours when taken once each morning before eating for 14 consecutive days The formulations of the 20 mg O T C capsules Nexium 24HR and the prescription 20 mg capsules Nexium contain the same active ingredient esomeprazole although there are differences in indications and directions for use For fast relief of heartburn associated with sleeplessness Bayer offers Alka Seltzer PM Gummies The product is said to be the only heartburn relief offering that includes melatonin so users can fall asleep quickly The mixed fruit flavored gummies are soft and easy to chew Another important factor in the digestive category is the rise of products containing more natural ingredients This trend is reflected in planned 2019 launches from Avrio Health Heidi Block head of U S marketing for Avrio Health notes the launches are about the all important rise in natural ingredients that support digestion Kiwifruit and ginger root naturally contain digestive ingredients Private label PPIs are driving category growth and Senokot an Avrio brand will be capitalizing on those two food items starting in 2019 according to Block Building off strong year todate in market performance behind a breakthrough new creative campaign and a heritage of natural positioning the Senokot brand will be extending beyond laxatives in 2019 into adjacent digestive health segments Block says adding that the launch of two new Senokot brands will be into national grocery drug and mass retail channels Both new items are at the forefront of the growing naturals trend and Senokot is the only national laxative brand that has a strong natural equity from which to leverage making it the perfect master brand to introduce these innovations Senokot Kiwi Balance which is made from real kiwis harvested in New Zealand builds on the popularity of probiotics and prebiotics Block notes and the compressed chewable tablets are clinically proven to promote digestive health and regularity without bloating or gas Senokot GingerCare she adds capitalizes on the growing popularity of ginger one of 2018 s hottest ingredients which has history in traditional herbal medicine for digestive health to help relieve occasional upset stomach and nausea Ready to ship out in March 2019 both new Senokot products will be available on the shelves with other stomach remedies Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS is another growing area of concern with consumers IBgard was developed by IM HealthScience using breakthrough science that enables peppermint oil including its primary ingredient L Menthol to be delivered to the small intestine the primary site of disturbance in IBS In IBgards site specific targeting SST peppermint oil is delivered in the form of solid state microspheres that are pH triggered to act beyond the stomach and release in the lower gut IBgard is a medical food specially formulated for the dietary management of IBS IBgard capsules contain individually triple coated sustained release microspheres of Ultramen an ultra purified peppermint oil says the company In a recent randomized multicentered double blind placebo controlled trial IBgard was shown to start working in as soon as 24 hours and this benefit grew when measured at four weeks This landmark trial included about half the patients diagnosed with the IBS M irritable bowel syndrome mixed subtype This IBS M subtype is estimated to represent the majority of IBS sufferers for which there is no approved product IBgard is available nationally in the digestive aisle in CVS Pharmacy Walgreens and Rite Aid Corp stores Organic solutions have clout COCONUT CREEK Fla U S consumers are buying more organic products than ever before NuSyllium has many benefits with Millennials helping to spur that growth notes Lifelab Health managing director Lou Machin who adds that since 2010 organic nonfood sales have represented a large portion of total organic sales We are seeing margin growth in the relatively flat digestives category coming from organic and natural SKUs primarily driven by NuSyllium NuSyllium delivers higher margins than the average large company fiber powders to our retailer partners while also providing consumers with an organic alternative to meet their digestive health care needs Machin says the food channel has been leading the charge in the growth of organic food As such national and regional food retailers have been quick to recognize the potential and are leading the trend to add USDAcertified Organic NuSyllium to their sets The drug channel has taken an uncharacteristically cautious approach and is now starting to see the benefits of expanding their assortment and adding natural and organic products such as NuSyllium to their digestive sets He adds that consumers understand the benefits of organic certified psyllium which has no artificial flavors and no artificial colors is free from GMOs gluten and dairy tree nuts and peanuts and has zero trans fat NuSyllium provides all of the above as well as being a great choice for promoting digestive health NuSyllium also has the benefits of promoting heart health and lowering cholesterol and can make you feel less hungry between meals Lifelab Health has also developed the perfect grind for easy mixing which helps to avoid clumping when mixing NuSyllium with a favorite cereal or beverage We offer NuSyllium Fiber in both Unflavored made with 100 organic brown cane sugar and Orange flavor As for future plans Machin notes that Lifelab Health continues to offer innovation in the digestives category We are now launching NuSyllium Ultra which is a sugar free alternative for people who dont want additional sugar in their diet Lifelab Health is also rolling out NuSyllium Ultra Sugar Free USDAcertified organic psyllium fiber NuSyllium Ultra now offers all of the benefits of organic fiber to people with diabetes NuSyllium Ultra contains seven grams of pure sugar free unflavored psyllium per teaspoon Early retailer acceptance has been strong and we expect NuSyllium Ultra to become a top seller Senokot will enter new subcategories Antacid Tablets TOTAL DOLLAR SALES 5104 mil 06 DRUG STORES 1641 mil 13 LEADING BRANDS Market share Dollar sales 000 Dollar sales change Private Label 408 66949 51 Nexium 24HR 110 18004 154 Prilosec OTC 89 14618 33 Zantac 150 66 10869 70 Gas X 39 6419 63 Tums 38 6229 188 Pepcid AC 29 4801 56 Pepcid Complete 27 4435 25 Tums Smoothies 21 3508 42 Tums Ultra 17 2795 00 Source IRI For the 12 weeks ended December 2 2018