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C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y S u n d a y, A p r i l 2 1 , 2 0 1 3 2 0 SWEET INNOVATIONS IN THE CANDY AISLE There's no "crystal ball" to predict which new candy on your store shelf will become the next hot seller. Instead, con- sider trends, insights and brand aware- ness to gauge success. Shoppers seek out popular brands their families have enjoyed for generations, like M&M'S ® and Snickers ® Brands from Mars Chocolate North America. When con- sumers consider trying a new flavor, they naturally gravitate to the brands they already know and love. M&M'S Brand is one of those icon- ic treats that Americans treasure. In May, the brand will launch the M&M'S Chocolate Bar, and it's sure to be a hit with M&M'S Brand fans across the country. This new bar combines creamy, smooth milk chocolate with the colorful candy fun of the M&M'S Brand. Shoppers looking for a refreshing treat will welcome the new DOVE ® Brand Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl. Available in May in a large bar and in bags of DOVE Brand PROMISES ® , this enticing confection swirls together silky smooth dark chocolate with the sensation of cool, fresh mint. Another popular brand with a new flavor twist is COMBOS ® Baked Snacks. On shelves in April, COMBOS Baked Snacks 7 Layer Dip Tortilla packs big flavors in a small bite, combining real cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomato, refried beans, onion and spicy jalapeño peppers. Leading brands like these should also be top-of-mind as retailers create seasonal plans. Seasonal candy repre- sents 50 percent of confections sales for the drug channel. Mars Chocolate expanded its seasonal assortment last year to include singles shapes, and this year the company will add Snickers brand Peanut Butter Pumpkins for Halloween and Twix ® Santa's for Christmas. Mars Chocolate brands have been family favorites for generations, especially during the holiday seasons. The company's festive red and green M&M'S brand Milk Chocolate Candies is always a top-seller at Christmas. Building on this iconic brand, Mars will offer additional items this holiday season, including: M&M'S brand MINIS Milk Chocolate Candies in holiday red and green for baking; M&M'S brand Candies Gift Boxes, with a "To:/From:" area to make gift-giving easy; and a col- lectible M&M'S brand Recipe Box Tin, complete with candies, recipes and a cookie cutter. M&M'S brand candies are also the top-selling bite-sized unwrapped candy. This segment is growing significantly throughout the year, as unwrapped treats offer convenience, portability and share-ability. Mars Chocolate is launching several new items to meet this trend; look for new Snickers Bites and Milky Way ® Bites in May, and last year, the company introduced sweet and savory M&M'S brand Snack Mix and DOVE Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins and Peanuts. To help merchandise confections, Mars Chocolate offers numerous dis- plays that attract shoppers' attention and encourage purchase. Many of these are tied into exciting consumer promotions, such as the new M&M'S Brand "Better with 'M™" Campaign, which will be integrated across all initiatives in 2013 including NASCAR, seasonal and spe- cial promotions. For more information, visit strategic exchange space 240 at the 2013 NACDS Annual Meeting and go online to www.mars.com. H.D. SMITH SPECIALTY SOLUTIONS: A NEW WAY TO MEET CHANGING HEALTHCARE NEEDS Rapidly evolving patient, physician and pharmacy needs surrounding specialty products and brands prompted H.D. Smith to align its service offerings into a new entity that best supports cus- tomers. Today's interview with Joseph Conda, President of H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions, focuses on his com- pany's drive to meet the needs of its cus- tomers through the creation of his new umbrella organization. CCD: H.D. Smith recently created H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions, an umbrella organization structured to provide focus and alignment around specialty and tradi- tional brand products, solutions and serv- ices. What prompted this move? JC: H.D. Smith is determined to be a leader in controlling healthcare costs while maximizing patient outcomes. To move beyond pick, pack and ship, we created H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions―a subsidiary organization that encompasses Smith Medical Partners, Triplefin, and Third Party Network, our Pharmacy Service Administration Organization (PSAO). Smith Medical Partners offers specialty pharmaceutical distribution and services, including third party logistics (3PL), clinical trial com- parator drug procurement and drug allo- cation services. Triplefin is an innovative provider of pharmaceutical marketing support solutions, adding critical distri- bution and fulfillment, marketing, phar- macy services, technology and specialty product education functions for our man- ufacturer and pharmacy partners. Together, Triplefin and Smith Medical Partners create an end-to- end service value chain―a power- house of services that touch almost all aspects of prescription medicine distribution and support, from clin- ical trials to physician education to patient treatment to reimbursement to adherence and compliance. This moves H.D. Smith from a transactional, commodity, pick-pack-ship wholesale business to a full-line, broad services pharmaceutical solutions provider that supports more efficient operations through responsive, targeted and relevant business solutions. CDD: How does H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions support the communities that H.D. Smith serves? JC: H.D. Smith is committed to playing a key role in ensuring consistent and timely access to life-saving therapies for patients across the country, in communi- ties large and small. H.D. Smith started as a small, family owned business, and is still family owned. We've mor- phed from regional to national, and diversified our product port- folio and the customers we serve―but the focus remains sup- porting those communities. H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions ensures that specialty pharmaceuticals (the largest area of drug development growth) and distribution support systems are available to meet the diverse needs of manufacturers, payers, group purchasing organizations, physicians, pharmacists and the patients served. Together, our core distribution busi- ness and H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions position us to expand upon and strength- en manufacturer alliances to develop cus- tom solutions that support patient access, address reimbursement challenges, and assure patient compliance and continued access to these therapies. This solidifies our commitment to customers, communi- ties and vision for continued growth. For more information, visit www .smpspecialty.com or call 800-292-9653. IMS CONSULTATIVE ENGAGEMENT UNCOVERS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES Healthcare information company IMS Health conducted a needs assessment with a major drug store chain and, as a result, is developing new insights to sup- port the chain's growth. The solutions will help the company coordinate cus- tomer strategies and programs as well as manage performance at a local market level. "We conducted in-depth discussions geared toward understanding the issues keeping them up at night," said Jim Hunter, VP, Supplier Services, IMS. "This went beyond just putting their mar- ket information to better use. It was about working together to uncover any internal roadblocks or information gaps that were preventing the company from achieving its marketing and sales objectives." A team of IMS consultants conducted hour-long discussions with nearly 30 com- pany executives across marketing, strate- gic planning, purchasing, finance, and technology over three consecutive days. Together, they uncovered the organiza- tion's most pressing business concerns. Understanding The Why Through conversations about objectives, priorities, obstacles, gaps, and current resources and services, the engagement uncovered the need for addressing the growing problem of information overload and data interpretation, understanding the why behind market trends and imple- menting operational improvements around information management. The ultimate call to action was for more actionable insights to drive per- formance. It's no longer enough to know that a particular store in Nashville is not performing as well as a store in Milwaukee. The company needs to under- stand why. For example:Why are we not growing as fast as the market? Why is one store performing better than another? Why are we losing customers from cer- tain segments? Why was our program effective (or ineffective)? "One of the primary issues for many pharmacies is that the front and back of the store continue to operate separately," Hunter explained. "They need consumer purchasing insights to help ensure that customers who buy from the front of the store fill their scripts at the same time―and vice versa." Another major need is for insights to be defined by meaningful local market areas in order to truly understand market shares and customer loyalty patterns. These insights will enable the retailer to deter- mine where new stores should be located and how to optimally promote in different markets. In addition to secondary information sources, the retailer would also consider primary research to better understand why a particular store is underperform- ing―familiar territory for IMS in other health care markets. "The assessment was eye-opening for us and the retailer," said Hossam Sadek, VP, Global Supplier Services, IMS. "We're looking forward to provid- ing a new portfolio of value-added servic- es that will further benefit our suppliers." Deeper knowledge of customers and the local markets―that's today's strategic advantage. For more information, visit IMS Health at bungalow 20. Contact IMS Health at www.imshealth.com, 610-244-2000, or jfreeman@us.imshealth.com.