C&D pledges to increase in-store gummy vitamin sampling by 60%

EWING, N.J. — Church & Dwight is ready to make a significant investment behind its gummy line of vitamins, Jim Craigie, C&D executive chairman, CEO and interim president, told analysts Friday. "We'll increase in-store sampling by over 60% versus last year," he said, noting there is a significant growth opportunity within what is already a fast-growing category.  

"While we're the No. 1 gummy vitamin business, we're only 3% of the total vitamin category. So, to us, there's still tremendous upside in this business," Craigie said. "Part of that is growing the distribution base; part of that is putting more marketing spending behind the company; [and] part of that is also expanding the product line," he said. 

"We love the vitamin category. It's one of the fastest-growing categories in the world," Craigie added. For the 52 weeks ended June 16, sales of multi-vitamins were up 6.5% to $1.7 billion across IRI's U.S. multi-outlet data set, which includes sales pulled from supermarkets, drug stores, mass market retailers, military commissaries and select chains from both the club and dollar channels.

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