Waukesha, Wisconsin – February 3, 2022 – HRG’s new item review team, in its ongoing evaluation of products suitable for the independent pharmacy channel, examined 2,227 new health, beauty, and wellness items in 2021. This is a decrease of roughly 7.3% from the 2,402 products reviewed in 2020, and it’s the second consecutive year with a decline in launches. The decline is due to delayed introductions in some cases, and in others it’s because of continued supply chain irregularities.
Using the company’s weighted, proprietary Star Rating System, HRG analysts awarded Stars to 198 of the products they predict to have the highest potential for success and to drive profitability in independent pharmacies and beyond. Even though there were fewer launches in 2021 than in 2020, the number of stars earned was higher in 2021. Because these products offer great growth opportunities for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers, they should be added to appropriate-sized departments without delay to capture sales and profits as they gain momentum in the marketplace.
In the top five categories in independent pharmacy (cold & allergy, vitamins & dietary supplements, pain relief, diabetes management, and digestive health), 530 new items were reviewed with 19.1% receiving a sought-after HRG Star Rating.
A review of HRG’s proprietary Tri-PAC™ data showed, of the top performing new items in 2021, 12% are immunity support focused and span three top categories: cold & allergy, digestive health, and vitamins & dietary supplements. These products have performed well during their short time on the market and are expected to continue to do well in 2022, even with additional immunity launches on the horizon.
The beauty classification had more new product launches than the wellness segment for the first time in several years.
- The beauty segment had the largest number of new item launches with 43.2%. Of the 961 beauty products reviewed, 36 items or 3.75% were awarded HRG Stars.
- The wellness segment came in second at 42.5% of launches with 946 new products reviewed, and 92 Stars awarded. One eye & ear care product earned a coveted Three-star Rating.
- As in past years, health products had the lowest quantity of new items launched at 320. Representing 14.3% of 2021 launches, there were three items earning a prestigious Three-star Rating in the categories of cold & allergy and digestive health.
The year 2022 is starting out with a lower-than-average number of new item launches than the same time-period in 2021. Product launch trends for 2022 include:
- Gummies remain popular — the form has already been seen in four of the top five categories in products focusing on sleep and immunity, as examples.
- Ingredients such as hemp, melatonin, and charcoal, as well as immunity supporting ingredients Vitamin C, zinc, and elderberry are in style.
- In the beauty segment, sunscreens with SPF 50 or higher, and scents such as lavender, citrus, coconut and rose are prevalent.
Those interested in learning about the performance of a particular category or subcategory can utilize HRG’s Retail IN.tell Base. Powered by HRG’s proprietary Tri-PAC data, Retail IN.tell Base offers a unique view of product performance and distribution across the drug channel with three options: Category Snapshot, Data Hub, and Custom Reporting. When the Category Snapshot is chosen, customers select the categories of interest and download reports containing data down to the four-digit Fine Line (product type) level. Customers that are interested in specific subcategories can use the Data Hub to generate raw data reports at the SKU level. Custom reports are dictated by the customer’s particular needs and goals.