Digestive health and pain relief are two popular self-care categories that are highly profitable for retailers and increasingly in demand. Each category has a broad set of product options designed to treat a wide spectrum of conditions, helping people of all ages self-treat symptoms to minimize medical intervention and cost.

Trends evolve over time. New items create consumer interest that drive category growth. If you have not already done so, you’ll want to take advantage of the following trends while they are hot to capture sales and profits as well as meet customer demand.

When I was younger and had a stomachache, my mom would give me ginger ale (had to be room temperature) to settle things down. I think she was on to something, trying a more natural remedy before bringing out some other terrible-tasting medication. There is a current trend within digestive health product launches that has brought ginger to the forefront again. This herb has long been used to settle upset stomach and improve the overall digestion process. Within the past eighteen months, launches with ginger have been in the form of chews or powder, making this natural stomach remedy easy to take on-the-go. 

As I continued to review trends, sleepless nights and remedies that can assist in better sleep is a movement I have had my eye on for a while. With the stresses of everyday life, compounded by the pandemic and other world events, sleeplessness is a condition that many (including our children) suffer from. To drill down a little deeper into recent sleep aid and sedative launches, I identified 70% of them were in gummy form — a trend within a trend! 

Gummies are a convenient and easy-to-take form, and nearly all of these gummy launches are showing signs of strong growth for their short time on the market. I believe this trend will continue, so keep your eyes open. Recent news about melatonin overuse among children may affect category sales. Our analysts are watching to see if and how this impacts future sales of melatonin.

Don't Miss the HRG Panel Discussion at ECRM's Health Care Session!

As consumer selfcare becomes increasingly ubiquitous and integrated, the role of over-the-counter medications, vitamins & dietary supplements, and other healthcare items are evolving into one that may not even be recognized by today’s standards. There has undoubtedly been a convergence of health and wellness. Now, more than ever, consumers are relying on cost-effective, over-the-counter medications to address their health-and-wellness needs. This presents an encouraging opportunity for brands, retailers, and consumers.

During ECRM's Health Care session, which runs August 1 to 5, HRG will present a panel discussion titled, "Consumer Healthcare Trends – The Shape of the Future." This discussion will delve into the following topics shaping items across the healthcare spectrum:

• SKU rationalization and optimization
• Product innovation trends
• Category performance indicators
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Plan to join the conversation on August 2nd to get an insider’s view of what’s shaping category assortment, driving shopper behavior, and accelerating the selfcare movement.

Panelists include:

• Angela Pinkstaff, Director of Business Development, HRG
• Kyle Lentz, Category Analyst, HRG
• Donna Boulieu, Senior Product & Strategic Pricing Analyst, HRG

The panel will be moderated by Dave Wendland, VP Strategic Relations, HRG