The good, bad and ugly of the probiotics category

The good: Probiotics as a category already is hot and is about to become hotter as Bayer reaches national distribution with its Phillips Colon Health, and Procter & Gamble rolls out its Align probiotic to full distribution in mid-March. Both Bayer and P&G will be supporting their respective brands with both consumer messaging and pharmacist education.

The bad: There is some confusion as to how to best merchandise the category. Do new probiotic SKUs, which are regulated as supplements, get cut into digestives or supplements? Will increasing awareness around probiotics justify a probiotic destination center?

The ugly: Good manufacturing practices are important in any category, but potentially more so in probiotics. The key to efficacy is delivering on the number of live bacteria to a shelf-stable product—live bacteria that needs to survive both the manufacturing process and a consumer’s own digestive system in enough numbers that it makes a beneficial difference on the gut’s flora. To do less is to risk efficacy, and any lack of efficacy in such a burgeoning category as probiotics could turn into one-off trials, where consumers try the product, don’t realize the benefit and then spurn not only that ineffective product, but the entire category.

Sales of supplements of acidophilus/probiotics were up 32.7% for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 25, according to Information Resources Inc., reaching a dollar volume of $47.6 million across food, drug and mass (minus Walmart) outlets. Sales of Amerifit Brands’ antacid Culturelle were up 40.9% to $10.2 million, and sales of Dannon Activia, the probiotic-rich yogurt credited by many suppliers for educating consumers on probiotic benefits, were up 15.2% to $215.2 million; Dannon Activia Light sales were up 69.6% to $115.4 million.

Even with all of that growth, “there’s a lot of confusion about probiotics,” noted Mary Berry, marketing manager for Biocodex, which markets Florastor.

“It’s very difficult for a consumer to know they’re getting a good [probiotic], and it’s just as difficult for a pharmacist to know they’re recommending the right one,” Berry said. “The market is flooded with various forms of bacterial probiotics,” which makes professional communication all the more crucial in this category, especially as probiotics are recommended more often alongside the use of antibiotics.