Vitamins, Diet and Sports Nutrition

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Wednesday announced that this Friday Nov. 2 the chain will host its first Senior Discount Day. All senior citizens over the age of 55 will receive 15% off eligible store items and 20% off eligible Walgreens, W Brand and Nice! products. 

Participants who simply reference the discount and present a valid ID, will receive the discount at any Walgreens and Duane Reade drugstore nationwide. 

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Abbott on Tuesday announced the launch of Ensure Complete in chocolate and vanilla flavors.

Ensure Complete shakes feature Abbott’s proprietary ingredient, Revigor, a source of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, an amino-acid metabolite, and 13 grams of protein to help protect, preserve and promote muscle health. Revigor, in combination with protein, can help rebuild muscle by helping to stabilize muscle cells and slow protein breakdown while promoting the production of new muscle tissue, the company stated. 

VEVEY, Switzerland — Nestlé on Tuesday named Luis Cantarell head of Nestlé Nutrition with the departure of Kurt Schmidt, deputy EVP Nestlé Nutrition, who has decided to leave the company for personal reasons effective Dec. 1. 

Cantarell will assume this role in addition to his current responsibilities as president and CEO of Nestlé Health Science. Between 2001 and 2005, he was in charge of Nestlé’s Nutrition Strategic Business Division.

LOS ANGELES – Energy-X, a division of Pacific Shore Holdings, has introduced The Juice — the first neutral-tasting energy supplement mixer that consumers can add to juice, sports drinks, water and more.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Bayer HealthCare on Tuesday signed a merger agreement to acquire Schiff Nutrition International, and with that, prominent supplement brands Digestive Advantage, MegaRed, Move Free and Airborne. These four products accounted for 70% of all Schiff sales, noted Marijn Dekkers, Bayer CEO, during an analyst call Wednesday morning. "This acquisition will strengthen Bayer's leading OTC business and complement our existing nutritionals business with well-established strong brands," he said. 

 SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a pair of penal actions against companies operating outside of dietary supplement regulations. 

A federal judge granted the FDA a permanent injunction against Truman Berst, doing business as Alternative Health & Herbs Remedies of Albany, Ore., for selling products represented as herbs and supplements with claims for treating diseases.

CINCINNATI — Social media engagement between a consumer and brand drives both immediate and long-term sales increases, according to a study released Thursday by LoyaltyOne. The research constitutes a social media marketing breakthrough because it establishes the accountability link long sought by brands that have showered dollars on social media outlets while attempting to prove the return on investment to C-suite skeptics, the company stated.

ALBANY — Leosons Overseas on Tuesday announced the acquisition of the brands N’Ice and Fiberall from Insight Pharmaceuticals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

"We are proud of our growth and success of these brands, and we feel that this acquisition will further our mission to deliver the best U.S.-made products globally," said John Ohanian, general manager and president of Leosons. "The acquisition … will broaden our existing sales and distribution reach, as well as bring scale to our business.”