Americans choosing homeopathy for cough-cold

All the consternation surrounding allopathic pediatric cough-cold medicines may help to drive awareness around homeopathic formulations, suppliers in the category have reported, though it may be more of an opportunity to build brand affinity than it is to educate mass consumers around the concept of homeopathy.

That’s because consumers are not likely to place homeopathy very high on their decision matrix. But safety and efficacy still rank fairly high in that decision-making process, and that’s where homeopathy may be able to drive sales, especially when it comes to relieving the cough-cold symptoms of a sick child. Homeopathic remedies are known for their safety profile, and there are several clinical trials supporting their efficacy—especially among such zinc gluconate formulations as Matrixx’ Zicam or Quigley’s Cold-EEZE, as well as other homeopathic formulations like Boiron’s Oscillococcinum and Hyland’s Sniffles ’n Sneezes 4 Kids.

One thing’s for certain—the “alternative” medicinal concept of homeopathy is extending its roots into mass. Sales of homeopathic medicines through 834 natural product stores (excluding Whole Foods Market) have increased by 8.3% this year, according to SpinScan data for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 4, 2008, as provided by Boiron. Homeopathic remedy sales in food, drug and mass outlets totaled $236 million for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 1, 2008, representing a 6.2% lift, according to SpinScan data. Considering that mass outlets stock fewer homeopathy SKUs than do specialty, that’s pretty impressive.

And cough-cold-flu formulations comprise 64% of that overall mass homeopathy offering and are growing at a 10.5% clip. In the aftermath of the kids’ cough-cold medicine debate last year, sales of Boiron’s Children’s Chestal, a homeopathic cough syrup, has increased 32.9%.