Brand managers of healthcare products are beginning to use words like "efficacy" when discussing packaging options for their products—a sign that they view packaging as more than a carrier of the product.

Speed-to-market is an essential advantage for any marketer of health care products. Sageant LLC received new labels in less than two weeks that reflect well on its brand of health supplements and vitamins. In the process, Sageant gained the flexibility to rapidly produce cost-effective label short-runs for sales samples and promotional campaigns, says Kelly Gaisford, Sageant President.

VasoActive Pharmaceuticals, Danvers, MA, has gained additional market distribution for its three OTC topical lotions—Termin-8 (for athlete’s foot), A-R Extreme (for temporary relief from minor sports-related muscular and skeletal injuries), and Osteon (for osteoarthritis and other muscle and joint pain)—by redesigning the packaging for more vibrancy, dimension, and color-coding. With new packaging, the brand’s OTC topical lotions signal product efficacy and health benefits over competitive products.

Valerie Jacobs makes her living by helping consumer product companies identify and capitalize on consumer trends, and the Director of Trend Analysis at LPK notes a rise in the number of “natural” products. Not in the sense of natural versus organic, but natural as a barometer of aesthetic enjoyment.

The marketing value of packaging is a largely untapped frontier in OTC pharmaceuticals. Packages delivering cognitive value can support a great product—and drive sales.

Merix Releev cold sore medication changes to pilfer-resistant film-laminated packaging to meet retailer demands.

Demand is growing globally for health-in-a-bottle products—those sold in daily dose formats on the basis of health claims, as a segment of the umbrella category of products that help maintain intestinal health. Marketers are introducing more health-in-a-bottle products as consumers appear increasingly interested in looking after various aspects of their well-being by consuming a health drink each day.

Matt Dudas, a loyal reader of Shelf Impact! and a 17-year veteran in package structure, poses an interesting question. Why, in some product categories, does packaging innovation come only after tragedy strikes, he asks.

It ’ s no secret that private-label brands have been gaining market share steadily at the expense of regional and national brands. But what ’ s striking about the latest independent study of store brands is that the growth is trickling down from food and beverage to non-grocery categories.

Anyone who creates packaging should take note of two significant trends occurring in the battleground that is the store shelf. First, the steady growth of retailer-brand products in food and beverage has begun to create a “ halo ” effect over non-grocery categories. Second, mega- retailers and specialty chains are stealing market share from traditional supermarkets, strengthened with shelves displaying an abundance of brands exclusive to their stores.

Dyna-Tabs, LLC plans to use convenient plastic packs of dissolvable strips to introduce more than 50 items that tap into wellness trends.

The ClearRX pharmacy bottle introduced at Target has won rave reviews from both consumers and pharmacists for its ease of use. Through color-coded rings on the bottles and easy-to-read labels with a logical hierarchy of information, weighted visually by importance, consumers know which bottle in the medicine cabinet is theirs, and how much medication to take and when.

CVS Pharmacy introduces at least 250 new private-label products each year. The task of putting these new products, as well as 3,000 existing private-label products, into the right packaging falls to Mike Clark, Brand Design Manager.

CVS uses paperboard packaging extensively. Clark is redesigning packaging for CVS’ entire stable of private-label products, and he likes paperboard packaging’s ease of legibility and stocking benefits in many categories. He makes two requests: more fifth-panel cartons and more windowed paperboard packaging.