January/February 2005
Distribution Channels, Marketplace

Supplement use not a hard pill to swallow for most consumers (by Joanne Friedrick)

Dietary aids in the form of vitamins, supplements and herbal remedies are a $20 billion business, according to the annual state of the industry report delivered by Annette Dickinson, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

According to Dickinson’s address delivered on CRN’s annual conference in October 2004, 150 million Americans now take dietary supplements.

Further support for those statistics on the size of the supplement industry came from a random phone survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by CRN showing that 62 percent of respondents used supplements in 2004, down just slightly from 65 percent in 2003.  However, regular users increased to 33 percent in 2004 vs. 27 percent in 2003.

In addition, 78 percent of consumers were either somewhat confident or very confident in the safety, quality and effectiveness of dietary supplements, paving the way for continued strong sales.  The survey, conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs in August 2004, showed consumer confidence has remained steady in the category, increasing to the 78 percent figure from previous years’ numbers of 77 percent in 2003, 75 percent in 2002 and 74 percent in 2001.  Information on supplements came from a variety of sources, with respondents naming doctors and other health care professionals, pharmacists, friends and family and government agencies as reliable providers of information.

Within the convenience store channel, suppliers are filling the needs of customers with a host of diet, energy and sexual supplements, sleep aids, hangover remedies and the like.

Christian de Rivel, executive vice president-sales and marketing for Green Pharmaceuticals, Westlake Village, CA, says products can get a boost within the marketplace based on their tie-in with recent scientific studies.

For instance, he says, the company’s SnoreStop product is benefiting from recent publicized scientific articles linking the lack of sleep to weight gain as well as snoring and sleep apnea with the risk of cardiovascular disease.

As the government seeks to clamp down on certain ingredients as they did with ephedra and are now seeking to do with pseudoephedrine found in some cold medications, de Rivel says homeopathic medications will gain more acceptance and exposure.

“Our product line…being regulated as (over-the-counter) natural medicines, is in full compliance with all FDA guidelines regulating manufacturing and labeling,” he says.  “So we should benefit from any new legislative moves to restrict products that may be harmful to consumers.”

Laura King, vice president-marketing for Carmel, IN based BDI Marketing says during the ephedra ban, which went into effect in 2004, BDI received “rave reviews from customers” because of its customer service standards.  “Unlike most of our competitors, we honored their returns of the banned ephedra products,” she explains.  “We stand by our word by providing the best customer service and support possible.” 

Spectrum Labs, which offers a line of detoxification products, works with its retailers to get them to understand the growing array of herbal and natural ingredients that are found in their items, says Tony Wilson, spokesperson for the Cincinnati based firm.

Everything from dandelion root to milk thistle to uva ursi can be found in the company’s latest offering, Aqua Clean.

Wilson says this new product, while available to c-stores, isn’t necessarily targeted at this audience because of its high price point.

Supplements and remedies sold into the convenience channel need to be below a certain price point, usually $7 or $8.  Wilson said he doesn’t see c-stores as being a destination for supplements, although they can take advantage of people’s desire for these items by offering attractive prices.

He says the supplement and herbal remedy market is a crowded one these days.  “Everyone is trying to find their own niche.”  For some, that’s a once-a-day supplement, he says, for others, such as Spectrum, it’s selling a system.

Getting the attention of consumers is always a challenge, especially in the crowded countertops and packed aisles of the convenience store.

De Rival says what works for Green Pharmaceuticals are counter displays offering “creative claims coupled with great visual impact.”

Another trend that is garnering sales, according to King at BDI Marketing, is the visual pill packaging.  “The packaging for single-serve units has evolved during recent times from the foil packets to blister card packaging,” she says.  “Consumers prefer to purchase an attractive product – including attractive capsules and pills – thus the reason for the demand in see-through blister packaging.”

Tailoring displays to fit the constraints of stores is also key, says King, which is why BDI sells its products, including its new Sweet Surrender line aimed at women seeking sexual intimacy, from a variety of displays.

Other companies, such as Herbal Groups, Inc., are counting on the power of a popular name – in this case, Playboy – to drive sales.  The new licensed line of fitness and virility products is being marketed under the Playboy trademark, with packaging featuring the well-known rabbit head logo.