Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1153034
Chain Drugstore Daily 5 3 Monday, August 26, 2019 plans for their employees. As one of the key priorities in healthcare is to better manage and con- tain cost, this is leading to formulary restrictions, higher co-pays and deductibles and increases in premiums. With the increased out-of-pocket spend, people with diabetes are looking for more affordable options. This is leading to a growing over-the-counter market for blood glucose monitoring supplies, which is the fastest growing segment. Being able to effectively measure glucose levels is critical in the self-man- agement of diabetes both for Type 1 and Type 2 patients. It allows people to track their diabetes, calculate the appropriate doses of certain medications and see how food or lifestyle affect their blood glu- cose level. Therefore, it is important for patients to have access to highly effective and accurate diabetes supplies in order to facilitate long-term management of dia- betes. Diabetes Management (Cont'd. from p. 1) Patients are already buying test strips over the counter due to cost and convenience. It might be cheaper than co-pay and they can pick their product off the shelf. Ascensia has made CON- TOUR ® NEXT test strips available as 35 and 70 count boxes over-the-counter as an affordable cash option. The patients can now access a best-in-class product at an affordable price. They are the ideal option for people who need to self-pay because they are underinsured or unin- sured, or for people presenting with an unbranded prescription. Being available over-the-counter also provides people with diabetes with the freedom to choose the brand they prefer. These factors have made the CON- TOUR NEXT test strips the No. 1 brand- ed over-the-counter test strip, providing people with diabetes with a product with a remarkable accuracy at an affordable price, to help them better manage their diabetes. For more information, visit booth #551. at the best value to our customers. CDD: What awards have you won over the year? KV: We were recently awarded with McKesson's CPG Supplier of the Year. Thanks to our team's hard work and ded- ication, Nature's Truth grew sales by 180 percent through McKesson. CDD: What are you doing this year that's different from what you did last year? KV: We continue to focus on developing products that support the latest trends. While trends can change quickly, we focus on developing products that we feel have longevity while supporting emerg- ing trends. Hemp, MCT, collagen and turmeric are four products in the spot- light. Hemp oil is hot right now with triple-digit growth, +977 percent. This segment is still in its infancy and we expect a continued strong growth trend. Nature's Truth line offers hemp oil in two delivery forms: a fast-acting liquid and a quick release softgel. MCT oil continues to see tremen- dous growth, +571 percent. Nature's Truth unflavored MCT oil and rapid release MCT oil softgels provide con- sumers with two great choices. Our Nature's Truth unflavored colla- gen powder is keto friendly and a must Piping Rock (Cont'd. from p. 1) have item! Collagen, as a category, con- tinues to see strong double-digit growth, growing from +83 percent at 52 weeks to +109 percent at 13 weeks. Turmeric is a category that keeps on growing. With double digit growth, +21 percent, this trendy traditional ingredient is making waves in wellness. We're very excited to announce the launch of our Triple Strength T-Flex™ Advanced for- mula under our brand, Princeton Research Health. Featuring a blend of turmeric, ginger, astragulus and black pepper extract in a fast-acting, rapid release softgel, this revolutionary herbal formula provides superior absorption. With T-Flex, we see an opportunity to stimulate growth in the joint care catego- ry. We are investing a lot of resources to ensure a successful launch. The advertis- ing developed is cutting edge and will generate excitement and awareness. CDD: What do you anticipate to be your greatest challenge in the year ahead? KV: Our greatest challenge is helping retailers rethink their approach to their vitamin space, with an open dialogue to support their needs. At Piping Rock, we want to help our retail partners drive more foot traffic in-store by providing them with the right selection of products on shelf and support the transformation of their vitamin section into a wellness destination. For more information, visit booth #1124. less innovation and ultimately negatively impacts pharmacies. MarkeTouch pro- vides intelligent, actionable, targeted and quantifiable solutions that increase prof- itability, patient health and satisfaction. MarkeTouch is the provider of patient communication solutions partnering with chain, hospital, specialty, mail-order and independent pharmacies across North America to connect with patients in an effi- cient manner that does not impact work- flow. Results include increased adherence, revenue and patient satisfaction. MarkeTouch offers turnkey commu- nication solutions including inbound IVR, outbound notifications, digital, medication synchronization (MedSync) and its Clinical Suite. These services can be utilized as standalone products or as a turnkey solution that offers consistent communication to patients across all platforms. All MarkeTouch services are hosted: no hardware or software on-site reducing internal maintenance require- ments. MarkeTouch is the only provider in pharmacy to offer complete in-house development of turnkey solutions. It has experience, knowledge and analytics from over 250 million patient communi- cations annually. All of its services are developed in the United States, and it does not use third-party contractors. MarkeTouch offers connectivity to all major patient communication APIs. MarkeTouch's independently- MarkeTouch (Cont'd. from p. 1) designed API seamlessly integrates with in-house or legacy pharmacy manage- ment software. Its patented Consumer Preference Interface allows patients to choose how they would like to be com- municated with. The company offers bi- directional and multi-modal communica- tion. MarkeTouch provides compliance solutions for FTC/FCC legislation, including the MarkeTouch Wireless Disconnect service. Its mobile and web applications are ADA/WCAG 2.0-com- pliant, and it provides a cost-neutral, cen- tral IVR solution. MarkeTouch also provides superior results over the competition with a 99.9 percent uptime for the entire platform. Its average reduction in return to stock is over 40 percent with real-time refills of 20 percent and less than 1 percent opt- out. MarkeTouch has documented an increase of 4 percent in PDC scores, over 50 percent enrollment in MedSync and up to 50 percent of patients converted from voice to text. Over 2 million active users are enrolled in mobile applications, and 4.5 million appointments are sched- uled annually. Talk to MarkeTouch, and find out how its intelligent, actionable, targeted communications solutions have resulted in more effective campaigns that have increased patient adherence, satisfaction and pharmacy revenue since 2001. For more information, visit booth #315 or go to www.rxtouch.com and www .marketouchmedia.com. BOTA's Full Spectrum topical prod- ucts include Calming & Nourishing All- Day Body Lotion, Calming & Warming Muscle Melt Creme and Calming & Age- Defying Hand Lotion. Full Spectrum CBD Oil Tinctures, simply made with MCT coconut oil and full spectrum hemp oil in appealing natural cinnamon and spearmint flavors, round out the line. BOTA is a part of the vertically-inte- grated Balanced Health Botanicals fami- ly of hemp-derived CBD brands that Balanced Health Botanicals (Cont'd. from p. 4) include flagship brand CBDistillery™, recently named America's No. 1 Value CBD Brand, and CBDistilleryRx™, for- mulated exclusively for distribution through pharmacies and medical profes- sionals. Balanced Health Botanicals' mission is to provide the highest quality, U.S. grown, hemp-derived CBD products at fair prices and to be the premier resource for CBD education. For more information, visit booth #2641 or go to www.balancedhealth botanicals.com. Divine Chocolate Introduces New Organic Line Featuring 85 Percent Dark Chocolate This year, Divine Chocolate expands its lineup with an innovative organic line. The new collection contains four 2.8-ounce bars, each made with Fairtrade cocoa sourced from São Tomé. The four variants include Lemon, Turmeric & Ginger, Cocoa Nibs, and Blueberry & Popped Quinoa. The introduction of these products reflects consumer demand for healthful, tasty treats. Divine also capitalizes on an underdeveloped market for flavored high-percentage cocoa bars. For con- sumers seeking chocolate that is low in sugar and high in quality, this line meets their needs. Chocolate lovers will partic- ularly delight in the fact that the range is certified by the Non-GMO Project, certi- fied by the Vegan Society, certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Certified Fairtrade. For Divine Chocolate, this is its first organic chocolate line, and it's the com- pany's first time partnering with a new cocoa co-operative: CECAQ-11. CECAQ-11 is a Fairtrade and organic cocoa farmer co-operative in São Tomé. São Tomé is a beautiful, forest-covered volcanic island off the west coast of Africa. When paired with sis- ter island Príncipe, the two were once the biggest pro- ducers of cocoa in the world. In fact, this earned them the collective title of "Chocolate Island." Over the last half- century, however, cocoa farming there collapsed. Today, the CECAQ-11 co-operative works to rejuvenate the country's reputa- tion for high-quality cocoa. It's the mem- bers' aim to promote the re-discovered secret of spicy and woodsy São Toméan cocoa beans. Divine Chocolate is the only Fairtrade chocolate company co-owned by farmers. A co-op in Ghana called Kuapa Kokoo, made up of over 85,000 farmers, owns 44 percent of Divine and shares in its profits. With the introduction of the new organic line, cocoa farmers in São Tomé enjoy the benefits of Fairtrade prices and premiums, and Divine Chocolate continues to deliver income to farmers in Ghana through its business model. As a result, Divine Chocolate con- tinues to show its commitment to its mis- sion – creating equitable and empower- ing trading relationships with smallhold- er farmers in Africa and around the world. The bars are available for sale as of March 1, 2019. For more information, email sales@divinechocolateusa.com.