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Mays Drug Store

The drug store channel continues to etch out its role in the low-carb market. Still, one key question remains: Considering drug's limited footprint, consumers' proclivity for frozen pizza and regular soft drinks and the ongoing debate over the low-carb life span, how much revenue can low carb generate?

"That's not an easy question to answer," said David Holetz, director of merchandising for Mays Drug Stores. Low carb is growing, and there are more product offerings every day. The question is: Will the drug store channel be accepted as the channel of choice for low carb?

Establishing drug as a low-carb destination presents numerous challenges. For one thing, the majority of consumers shopping drug stores are still washing down top-selling items like Lay's potato chips with Coke. And the jury is still out on whether low carb is a fad or a long-term trend, evidenced by reports that once-hot sales of low-carb items are beginning to cool.

But perhaps most important, retailers have to stock the right low-carb mix, regardless of the amount of space they devote to me section. And monitoring that mix regularly by revisiting new products and stocking what consumers find most appealing is vital.

On the other hand, many low-carb dieters are looking to the drug channel to play a more substantial role--similar to the role pharmacists take in counseling patients about OTC medications. They expect the pharmacist to be able to advise them on low-carb dieting and perhaps even recommend appropriate products. In addition, there is an expectation that merchants, particularly drug store buyers, will make sound purchasing decisions to assemble a responsible assortment of products. Because of this, drug stores may have a larger role to play in low carb than the sales data might otherwise suggest.

"Low-carb consumers are putting their trust in drug retailers that the products they find on drug store shelves are appropriate for their low-caw lifestyle, said Ken Shore, executive vice president of client services for Blue Chip, a Chicago-area marketing and communications company. Consumers are looking for [drug store] retailers to serve in a gatekeeper capacity. By finding a low carb product on the shelf, the consumer's assumption is that it has been screened in some way."

Screening low-carb products could include everything from background checks on lesser-known or less-established manufacturers to testing the taste profile of a product and reviewing its labeling for accuracy, Shore said. He noted that if retailers are willing to take that extra step, it could help build consumers' trust, which in turn could help move the channel closer to destination status. Educating consumers and offering promotions also play a big part in moving low-carb items, Holetz said. "We have to make shoppers aware that we have low-carb items," he said. "And if we give the products to them at the right price, they may choose, us for the convenience.

Mays Drug Stores dedicates about 4 feet, or one-third of its diet section, to low carb. Its top-selling low-carb items include bars, drinks and meal replacements. The most popular low-carb brands, Holetz said, are CarbWise, CarboRite and Russell Stover.

"I haven't seen chips, brownie mixes or bread mixes moving quite as fast," Holetz added.

Stocking low-carb bars, drinks and meal replacements makes sense for retailers chasing the low-carb consumer. In the past three months, 18 percent of low-carb dieters bought weight-loss bars, drinks or shakes, compared with 10 percent of regular consumers, according to the National Marketing Institute.

Low carb consumers also spike marketbasket sales of other diet-related products. According to NMI, 15 percent of low carb dieters bought weight-loss supplements, compared with 7 percent of regular consumers. Low carb dieters also bought more fat-burning supplements, thermogenic products and starch blockers and were more likely to buy vitamins, minerals and herbal and condition-specific supplements, suggesting cross-merchandising opportunities linking consumables and natural health.

NMI also reported that low carb dieters are no more brand loyal than the general public. Therefore,, brand management and marketing to their desires are key to longevity in the marketplace," said Maryellen Molyneaux, president of NMI.

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