Content about In this Issue

SHELTON, Conn. — Actively promoting an over-the-counter medicine outside of the retail box not only drives foot traffic, but it helps increase sales across households with a higher income and also more heavily indexed OTC product consumers, TABS Group CEO Kurt Jetta told attendees of a webcast covering a recent TABS Group Consumer Value Study. And while passively promoting at the shelf also pushes sales higher, the return on promotional investment is not nearly as robust.

Cider may be the most exciting new segment in the beer category. A recent report from Mintel indicated that in the United Kingdom, the market penetration of cider is now equal to lager.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Meda Consumer Healthcare is quickly developing a reputation for re-energizing iconic brands across new consumer groups. They've done it with Feosol. And now they're looking to reinvent Geritol.

"Geritol is a beloved brand that has been in the market for 60-plus years and actually originally targeted stay-at-home moms in their 30s," explained Cigdem Topalli, brand manager for Geritol and Feosol at Meda Consumer.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Skin care brand Amlactin from Upsher-Smith has announced that there's a new power couple in town: alpha-hydroxy acids and essential ceramides. Enter Amlactin Cerapeutic Restoring body lotion.

Making its retail debut at select Walmart and Walgreens stores, Amlactin Cerapeutic contains the patented ultraplex formula to gently exfoliate, as well as three skin-identical ceramides that work together to strengthen skin's protective moisture barrier for softer, more resilient skin.

BETHESDA, Md. — Coca-Cola's Honest Tea brand is expanding its initial launch of Honest Fizz, a line of naturally sweetened zero calorie sodas. Honest Fizz comes in four varieties: Lemon Limey, Orange Pop, Professor Fizz, and USDA Organic Root Beer — the only organic zero-calorie root beer on the market. Honest Tea is sweetened with a blend of stevia leaf extract and erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol. Low- and no calorie sodas are a fast-growing segment of the carbonated beverage market. Honest Fizz is available in 12-oz. single cans and six-packs.

The November 2011 expiration of Pfizer's patent on the cholesterol drug Lipitor and Ranbaxy Labs' release of the generic version received significant play in the media, particularly due to the theretofore status of Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) as the drug with the highest sales in the country, $7.7 billion in the United States, according to healthcare analytics firm IMS Health.

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Similasan recently added three heavy hitters to its team, including Haley Ball as product manager, Dora Newlin as director of marketing and Kim Stark, who will direct Similasan's quality assurance and regulatory initiatives.

In addition to managing the Similasan brand across the United States and Canada, Ball works as the social media community manager for Similasan USA. Prior, she worked as market category manager for Coca-Cola.

While beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, this month's Patient Views seeks to better understand beauty in the eye of the patient. AccentHealth viewers — 73% of which are female — were surveyed as to the relationship between health and beauty, as well as their purchasing of personal care products in the areas of hair care, body care, oral care, cosmetics and more.

To the skepticism of many, Walgreens last year made a big global splash with its two-step merger deal with Alliance Boots across the pond. But with the announcement that the co-joined Walgreens/Alliance Boots had signed a 10-year distribution deal with wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, that included an equity stake to boot, well, it seemed that many analysts on Wall Street finally got it.

FARGO, N.D. — This is going to be a big year for community pharmacy, said Thrifty White president and CEO Bob Narveson, as the nation reaches full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2014.

Last month, the Supreme Court heard Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, which could impact the future of the generic drug industry at a time when 80% of all prescriptions dispensed in the United States are generic.

SEATTLE — Hointer, which opened last fall, allows men to buy jeans by combining "online conveniences without the offline B.S." Customers walk in, download an app onto a smartphone or tablet, scan a QR code on the tag and are automatically directed to a dressing room. After trying on the pants, they can either buy them on the spot with a credit card or drop them into a chute, which will automatically remove them from the "cart."