New Products

With more people working from home, the office products category continues to expand. For the past year, sales of office supplies were up 4%, according to NPD analyst Lora Morsovillo, driven by sales of writing implements, mailing and shipping supplies, and office essentials, including paper clips and 
rubber bands.


Morsovillo said the trend toward personalization is evident in the category, creating more demand for products like coordinated pens 
and folders.

NORTHVALE, N.J. — Initial shipment of a generic appetite suppressant has started, the drug's manufacturer said Thursday.

Elite Pharmaceuticals announced the initial shipment of phendimetrazine tartrate tablets in the 35-mg strength, a generic version of Valeant's Bontril PDM, under a manufacturing and supply agreement with Mikah Pharma. Actavis, recently acquired by Watson Pharmaceuticals, will distribute the drug as part of a distribution agreement between Mikah and Actavis.

As more Americans join the ranks of diabetics, the opportunity to target these consumers at the shelf becomes more crucial. 


Retailers like Rite Aid are using pull-box displays that allow customers to physically handle a blood-glucose meter before they make that purchase decision. That kind of consumer engagement, evident throughout Rite Aid’s latest Wellness format store, for example, helps anchor diabetes as a front-end destination center. 


SUPPLIER NEWS — Acura Pharmaceuticals in December will launch an immediate-release pseudoephedrine tablet under the brand name Nexafed that will help impede conversion of the tablets into methamphetamine. Couched as the “next generation pseudoephedrine product,” Nexafed is a 30 mg PSE hydrochloride tablet that utilizes Acura’s trademarked Impede technology. 


Sales of facial anti-aging products continued to slip — perhaps as consumers continue to watch their spending or try to navigate the inundated anti-aging market — while sales of facial moisturizers experienced an uptick, according to data from SymphonyIRI Group.


While daily coffee consumption is dominated by ground coffee — 35% of consumers drink roasted ground coffee every day — premium-priced single-cup coffee is gaining popularity and has led the growth in the coffee category between 2010 and 2012, according to Mintel.


The single-cup market ballooned from $103 million in 2007 to an estimated nearly $1.8 billion in 2012, and Mintel expects to see upside for the segment until 2017 due to new innovations and more 
private-label pods.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Two new wooden toys that won a contest sponsored by Midwestern mass merchandiser Meijer will be featured exclusively on the retailer's website, the company said Thursday.

Meijer announced the winners of the Meijer Next Great Toymaker contest: Franklin, N.C.-based Circa Toys' Wagon of Blocks and Goshen, Ind.-based Peters' Group's Stick & Stack Cozy Cabin. The Wagon of Blocks, which sells for $69.99, is designed for children ages 1 to 3 years, while the Cozy Cabin, at $44.99, is for children ages 4 to 8 years.

This holiday season will be both a splurge and save season for toys. Parents will splurge for one or two toys, but will round out their holiday shopping with less expensive items, according to Adrienne Appell, a spokesperson for the Toy Industry Association.