New Products

American Greetings’ new Ready Set Blow greeting card line offers all the fun of blowing out the candles and making a wish.


The cards deliver a multisensory experience with the recipient prompted to blow on the card upon opening it. A special sensor is then activated, making the festive scene come to life with LED lights, as well as either a birthday song or sound.


The line of six designs began shipping to all channels of distribution in mid-March and retails for $6.99.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — As the nation braces for higher gas prices this summer, Walgreens is exploring alternatives that may have longer-term potential and could serve as a differentiator among green consumers. As of April, Walgreens had announced three markets in which it had opened electric charging stations in its store parking lots. 


Unlike gas stations where consumers can simply pump and go, charging stations can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour, which creates more time to capture more purchases. 


CHICAGO — A new limited-edition beer is helping consumers get ready for summer.

Low-calorie brand MGD 64 is serving up MGD 64 Lemonade, a 64-calorie beer that combines a light, crisp draft beer taste with the tangy taste of lemonade. Available in six-pack bottles and 12-pack bottles and cans, MGD 64 Lemonade will be available from May through Labor Day at retailers nationwide.

MGD 64, part of the Miller Geniune Draft line of products, launched nationally in 2008.

NEW YORK — A line of head lice prevention hair care products has made its way to a Florida-based pharmacy chain.

Zippity Doo’s products now are available throughout southern Florida at Navarro Discount Pharmacy. The products, the company said, now feature multilingual packaging.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first vaccine for preventing meningococcal disease in children as young as 9 months old, the agency said.

The FDA announced the approval of Menactra, made by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines arm of French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis. Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria that infect the bloodstream and the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

While the economic downturn battered retailers across all channels, new pharmacy services and a new state-of-the-art pharmacy system has helped regional player Kinney Drugs weather the storm.


In retailing, it’s a given that a long-term, severe recession will cut through the ranks of food, drug and general merchandise retailers like a scythe through wheat, pushing weaker players out of the market as consumer spending dries up and Darwinian realities winnow the field. But it’s also true that the strongest merchants can emerge not only intact, but also with even brighter prospects if they innovate, invest and retain the loyalty of their customers.


PITTSBURGH — Mylan has launched a generic treatment for breast cancer, the drug maker said Monday.

Mylan announced the launch of letrozole tablets in the 2.5-mg strength, an adjuvant treatment for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer.

The drug is the first generic version of Novartis’ Femara, which had sales of about $682 million in 2010, according to IMS Health.