Perrigo gears up for cough-cold season

NEW YORK Perrigo’s latest quarterly report underscores the relatively high expectations around cough-cold-flu this year because of the novel H1N1 virus.

More importantly, Perrigo has identified a number of very-large brands that will be facing store brand competition in the coming year — MiraLax, Mucinex and Monistat-1. That’s great news for retailers. Private label offerings not only mean greater margins, but today’s economy continues to drive more consumers toward store brand trials.

For brand suppliers, private label equates to competition at the end of the day. And while that news may not be as “great,” it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise. Store brand competition, aka generic competition, is all part of an over-the-counter product lifecycle. In other words, it’s an event that can be incorporated into the bigger picture.

Typically, generic introductions against pretty-significant brand names spawn either new products under those brand names that carry a can’t-be-easily-replicated point-of-differentiation, or a whole lot of consumer messaging.

And whether it’s a new product launch or increased messaging, the end result is beneficial for both retailer and supplier — a more-aware consumer making their way to the drug store for the latest nonprescription healthcare solution.