HRG Future 50

HRG has compiled the Future 50 list of stand-out new health, beauty and wellness (HBW) items for Drug Store News since 2016. This year, we decided to do a five-year look back on the Future 50 lists from 2017-2021—which spans the review of approximately 10,000 HBW items—to see how well the products selected by HRG analysts have fared. Out of the 333 items chosen for the Future 50 over these years, more than 85% are still available today!

Products in the pain relief category made up 16.2% of chosen items, the most of any category. 

As of today, more than 90% are still available and 30+% have an IRI Chain Drug rank in the top 50. Products featuring lidocaine, a popular trending ingredient in recent years, make up 15% of the Future 50 pain relief items. Pain relief was also a strong category among smaller manufacturers whose products make up 18.5% of all Future 50 products in the category.

When comparing the past five years of Future 50 products to IRI’s drug rank, we found that many of the reviewed items continue to perform very well. Just under half of all items are in the top 50% within their respective categories. We also found that 15% of the Future 50 items are in the top 10% of their categories and 2.5% are in the top 1% of their respective IRI categories.

Looking at the top five items from the past five years of the Future 50, all have been incredibly successful and worthy of their high rankings. One hundred percent are still on the market and 60+% are in the top 25% of their IRI category. In addition to their Future 50 rank, more than 70% of these items were awarded a coveted HRG Star Rating.

HRG’s Star Rating System focuses on product innovation, marketing support, profitability of margins, desired market and subcategory and category strength. Nearly 60% of all items listed in the Future 50 had received at least one Star from HRG, and 25% had received two or three Stars. The higher the Star Rating, the more potential HRG sees in the new item to bring added revenue to retailers.

Be sure to review HRG’s Future 50 list from 2022 to learn about the next group of top items that will drive register rings.