In this Issue

The Makeup Show NYC kicked off in May, with an address from director of artistry James Vincent. As a makeup artist with decades of experience working in every facet of the industry, Vincent offered a firsthand account of the trends that are fueling social media, driving sales and shaping product development.

Retailers and their suppliers are squandering opportunities to grow their businesses together strategically, a former Target executive told attendees at the third annual New General Market Summit, hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation. “The discussion between retail and CPGs has been reduced to one issue only: How much money are you going to give me? How much cost reduction can we get?” said Daniel Duty, founder and CEO of Minneapolis-based Conlego Consulting.

The first time Method co-founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry tried to sell their eco-friendly cleaning products into Target, the then-buyer told them the products had a “snowball’s chance in hell.” At the New General Market Summit, co-hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation in April, Ryan acknowledged that while lucky breaks may have played a role, there were three key elements in Method’s business strategy that took them from that first meeting to more than $100 million in Target sales in 2016.

The combined one- and two-letter vitamins and vitamin, herbal and mineral supplement categories saw an all outlet (total U.S.) growth of 3% for the last 12 months versus the year-ago period, yet the food channel delivered gains of 4% while the drug channel lagged at 2%. Key drivers in drug were VHMS (up 3.4%), followed by one- and two-letter vitamins (up 2.7%). In the food channel, multivitamins gained just 2%, while both VHMS and one- and two-letter vitamins increased 4% and 5%, respectively. (Figure 1)

One year after the project was formally announced, the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s Supplement OWL initiative became a reality this spring when the online product registry went live. A resource for regulators, retailers and the industry, the OWL is an industry-wide, self-regulatory initiative that will help create a rich and more complete picture of the marketplace, and can be accessed by anyone.

From large-scale, high-volume processors linked with data management software and video-enabled prescription verification systems to “cobots’’ that require a minimal amount of countertop space, a new generation of dispensing tools is allowing pharmacies to shift more of the workload to technicians and central-fill sites so pharmacists can focus on patient interventions and clinical services.

In the roughly 20 years since pharmacists began providing vaccinations in some states, pharmacy is growing as a preferred site for patients to receive their immunizations. In PrescribeWellness’ 2017 Vaccination and Preventive Care Study, 55% of survey respondents said they prefer their pharmacy to their physician’s office as the place to get vaccinated.

For decades, chain and independent retail pharmacy has been defined by its unyielding pursuit of professional recognition, fair reimbursement and full status as a member of the healthcare provider team. The industry has made huge strides toward that goal, thanks to massive investments in pharmacy technology and automation, which have enabled a shift in workflow, giving pharmacists the data and decision-making tools to support patient interventions and connect more seamlessly with the broader health network.