BY AMANDA BALTAZAR
Ask any dieter, and they’ll tell you they’ve tried low-fat diets and low-carb diets and most likely are about to dig in to a high-protein meal.
Consumer packaged goods companies are sitting up and paying attention and, to meet this need, have repositioned low-carb bars as high-protein offerings.
And this time, manufacturers are convinced these protein bars won’t be just a flash in the pan, but will have the very sticking power the carbs didn’t have on waistlines.
This is because the new bars offer more rounded nutrition, backed by science, and play into the trend of more educated customers who take a more holistic approach to health, rather than follow a fad diet.
“People understand nutrients much more than they did 15 years ago,” said Patrick Cornacchiulo, spokesman for U.S. Nutrition, whose protein bars are Pure Protein and Met-Rx. “The health industry always did, but the mainstream audience does now, too. It’s much more healthy; people eat better and use these [bars] as a support.
“Protein and protein-type products have been around for years, and it’s easier to understand
Protein bars, such as U.S. Nutrition’s Met-Rx line, are gaining popularity because of their focus on rounded nutrition, and not a fad diet.
what protein is,” he explained.
And bars make following a good diet convenient and easy.
“As Americans continue to trend toward a more flexible approach to eating, we are relying more and more on snacking and eating on the go to meet our nutritional needs,” said Keith Wheeler, divisional vice president of adult nutrition research, development and scientific affairs for Abbott Nutrition.
What’s in the bars is now more important to consumers than what’s been taken out.
“I don’t think that one macronutrient is going to be the winner for the future,” noted Colette Heimowitz, spokeswoman for Atkins Nutritionals. “You have to look at the big picture.”
Both Atkins’ Advantage bars and U.S. Nutrition’s bars are high in fiber, which is becoming important to consumers once again.
“The whole purpose is to feel full,” said Cornacchiulo. Whole grains, antioxidants and omega-3s are also important, he added.
Consumers of high-protein bars vary. Male consumers tend to eat them as a post-workout snack to replenish their bodies and help them build muscle
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That concept also dovetails with the number of retail in-store clinics opening. “Whether it’s to monitor your diabetes through your glucose meter and your cell phone or whether it’s to track 10,000 steps per day with a pedometer [as part of a] weight-loss program,” Whittlinger said, all of the large pharmacies are looking at those scenarios … selling the diagnostics, the service, the drugs and nutritional programs [and the] professional consulting.”
Telemedicine also is likely to improve patient compliance, which could have a dramatic impact on top-line pharmacy revenue. “Moving compliance up a couple percentage points is literally billions of dollars [of incremental revenue],” Whitlinger said.
Continua Health-compliant products are expected to reach store shelves as early as this fall, he noted. The alliance represents more than 155 companies looking to participate in the segment to date, covering the gamut from manufacturers of home diagnostics equipment to software companies that will support the devices.
“We are well on our way to publishing our first guidelines,” Whitlinger said, guidelines that include 500 modules of source code that will enable the alliance membership to develop those interoperable products. Continua guidelines are expected to reach their final form in July, and the certification program should be available by October.
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PharmAssist works mostly from a diagnosis platform. A customer inputs his or her symptoms and the machine acts as a physician and offers a diagnosis. It then brings up a screen with recommendations of OTC products, showing both the front and back of the bottles so the consumer can fully review them.
Once a product is selected, the machine then directs the patient to where it is located in the store and will also cross-sell other products, such as cough drops with a cough medicine.
“OTC drugs are becoming increasingly complex, and consumers are becoming more concerned about taking the right thing,” said Roger Bertsman, Evincii vice president of marketing. “Around 20 percent of shoppers are using Evincii’s system.”
Between 15 percent and 18 percent of customers who use
the kiosks receive a recommendation, said Evincii chief executive officer Charlie Koo, and sales in OTC typically jump by 3 percent to 6 percent when the machines are installed.
Like Vestcom’s kiosks, branded CPG companies pay for the installation of the machines. Brands that pay are featured first in the searches (nonpayers also appear, but come later in the list of recommendations), and payers also have the option of showing their commercial on the screen.
In return for hosting the PharmAssist machine, the retailer is given space to advertise its private-label products and typically sees a sales lift of 6 percent to 8 percent, Koo said.
The kiosks from Aisle7 ( formerly HealthNotes) are installed in some Longs Drugs stores, smaller chains and independent drug stores. They are used mostly as promotional vehicles.
During Heart Health Month, for example, the kiosks were used to educate consumers on how to change their diet and
behaviors, and on which products in the store can help them do so. The machines also can promote such in-store services as an immunization program, diabetes classes or health fairs.
Within the program, there’s space for advertising relevant products, but the brand companies would deal directly with the retailer, not the automation company. “So how much money [retailers] can generate from the programs is up to them,” said Jeff Seacrist, spokesman for Aisle7.
Aisle7 has proved successful so far. In a test of 150 stores, drug stores that installed Aisle7 saw a $20,000 increase in OTCand supplement sales over the prior year vs. those without the kiosk. Total system cost: $5,000, plus $2,000 for software.
Aisle7’s kiosks are usually placed near the pharmacy to help reduce the stress on the pharmacy staff. Seacrist said that, on average, pharmacy staff reported that the kiosk saved them each five hours per week in time spent addressing routine questions.
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