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CHICAGO — Hispanics often tick to their own traditions when it comes to selecting protein-rich foods, according to a new study.

Hispanics consume disproportionately high amounts of legumes, eggs, chicken and seafood compared with non-Hispanics, and the level of importance of these foods remains relatively unchanged from five years ago, and tradition and heritage drive meal choices among both Spanish- and English-speaking Hispanics, according to the NPD Group's "NET Hispanic" study. NET stands for "national eating trends."

CHICAGO — Costco and IRI announced Wednesday that they will change a program that the club retailer describes as a single, global solution for category, point-of-sale and supply chain tracking, as well as extend the program to Mexico.

LAS VEGAS — No longer will the SymphonyIRI Group crunch data for the betterment of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies everywhere, the company's president and CEO Andrew Appel told a packed conference room at the data aggregator's 2013 Summit here.

CHICAGO — The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy on Wednesday announced that it is the recipient of a five-year, $2.1 million grant to train graduate and postdoctoral students in natural product drugs and dietary supplements. The grant is funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, one of the National Institutes of Health.

CHICAGO — The Network of Executive Women, whose mission is to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer products industry through education, leadership and business development, has unveiled its "2012 Annual Report."

The report opens with the personal stories of 10 network members, who explain how their engagement with NEW changed their companies, careers and lives. Among those features are Kim Tisdale, manager of expense payables at Wal-Mart Stores, and Chris Albi, VP merchandising at Kroger.

CHICAGO — Dry shampoo introductions are on the rise as the segment accounting for 3% of global shampoo launch activity in 2012, up from 1% in 2008, according to new research from Mintel Beauty & Personal Care.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will no longer source branded prescription medicines directly from suppliers beginning in September, the Chicago-based retailer announced Tuesday as part of a significant partnership between Walgreens, Alliance Boots and AmerisourceBergen that includes Walgreens and Alliance Boots potentially taking a 7% stake in the Pennsylvania wholesaler. Walgreens will begin sourcing generic medicines from AmerisourceBergen beginning in the calendar year 2014.  

CHICAGO — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new pocket-sized packet option for a testosterone-replacement therapy made by AbbVie, the drug maker said Friday.

AbbVie announced the approval of the new version of AndroGel (testosterone) 1.62%, available in a packet containing 40.5 mg of testosterone in 2.5 g of gel and a packet with 20.25 mg of testosterone in 1.25 g of gel. The drug is used to raise testosterone levels in men with low or no testosterone, known as hypogonadism, estimated to affect nearly 14 million men in the United States.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has announced that it will highlight how medication adherence plays a vital role in helping older Americans on their path to better health at the 2013 Annual American Society on Aging Conference, which is being held in Chicago this week.

CHICAGO — The percentage of adults in the United States who say they want to reduce or eliminate gluten from their diets reached a new high this January, according to a new study.

The NPD Group, a market research firm, has tracked efforts by Americans to reduce gluten intake since 2009, finding that 30% of adults claimed to cut down on gluten or avoid it entirely in January.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Thursday announced plans to build what the company believes will be the nation’s first net-zero energy retail store, which engineers predict will produce energy equal to or greater than it consumes.