WHAT’S HOT: Supplement with a heart

MORRISTOWN, N.J. —With the launch of Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage, a product that combines the benefits of a low-dose daily regimen of 81 mg aspirin with natural supplement plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol, Bayer may have finally figured out how to bridge the gap between supplements and medicines.

And if they’re successful in propositioning their target market—boomers interested in preventing a heart attack—they may also be successful in bridging two consumer segments, opening the mind of that natural-leaning consumer to the value of allopathic medicines and introducing the value of supplementing for better health to that consumer who goes first to their local drug store to treat any acute maladies.

Beside that bridgework, Bayer is tapping two lucrative product segments. Information Resources Inc. reported that sales of multivitamins reached $702.3 million for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 27 across food, drug and mass, minus Wal-Mart. Within that mix, Bayer’s One-A-Day brand generated $53.7 million in sales on growth of 39.5 percent. Within internal analgesics, sales of tablets totaled $2.1 billion in that period, up 3.1 percent, with Bayer Aspirin generating $101.6 million.