Centrum Line Controls Over One-Third Of Multivitamins Category In 2000

Whitehall-Robins' Centrum Performance multivitamin/herbal supplement capped off its first year on the market with sales of $28 mil. and a sixth place ranking among top brands in the multivitamin category in 2000, according to data from Information Resources, Inc. (Chicago).

Whitehall has worked to build upon the strength of the Centrum name with Performance, which was introduced in January to target a broader audience of younger, more active consumers. The combination product, which adds ginkgo biloba and ginseng to a multivitamin base, is promoted for boosting energy.

Private label equivalents of Performance are slated to launch this year; Leiner introduced Advanced Multivitamin with Herbs in January, and Perrigo plans to ship Complete Advantage in April (¹ (Also see "Leiner Early 2001 Supplement Launches Aim To Fill Portfolio Gaps" - Pink Sheet, 27 Nov, 2000.)).

Four of the top 10 multivitamin brands in 2000 fall under the Centrum franchise. In total, the brand holds nearly a 35% share of the category with total sales of about $300 mil.

Sales of Centrum Silver jumped 13.3% to $119 mil. for the year, possibly resulting from the addition of lutein for eye health at the end of 1999. Lutein was the first new ingredient to be added to the Centrum line since beta carotene in 1988.

The original Centrum product's sales were flat at $138.9 mil., holding a 16% percent market share. The multivitamin finished second only to private labelers, who captured 28.1% of the market with sales reaching $243.4 mil. (² ).

Sales of Centrum Kids dropped 2% to $14 mil., while Rexall Sundown's Sundown Pokemon vitamins, which only reached full distribution in the second half of 2000, exceeded the firm's expectations with sales of $14.7 mil. for the year.

Similar to Centrum Kids, Bayer Consumer Care's Flintstones multivitamins experienced declining sales of more than 7% to $37.2 mil. The firm's One-A-Day multivitamin sales also dropped 5.4% to $67 mil. in the category, and One-A-Day herbal sales fell 16% to $23.9 mil.

Unlike Whitehall, which continues to support Centrum with line extensions and an aggressive advertising campaign, Bayer has remained relatively quiet since its One-A-Day herbals line launched in 1998.

The company's last brand expansion effort in the category was in the summer of 1999, when two formulas, Bedtime & Rest and Joint Health, were added to the line (³ (Also see "Bayer One-A-Day" - Pink Sheet, 14 Jun, 1999.)). Bayer did launch an ad campaign last spring focused on the herbals.

Within an herbals market that shrank over 15% in 2000, soy products registered healthy gains. Johnson & Johnson's Healthy Woman Soy Menopause saw sales of $21.1 mil., up a whopping 157.3% in its first full year on the market, according to IRI. Healthy Woman debuted in June 1999.

Amerifit's Estroven also experienced strong growth with sales up 95.9% to $15.2 mil. The overall soy category jumped 115.6% to $41 mil.

Another positive category among herbal supplements was valerian, with overall sales up 70.5% to $16.8 mil. The gain was led by GlaxoSmithKline's Alluna Sleep, which saw retail sales reach $7.4 mil. in the 52 weeks ended Dec. 10, according to IRI.

Alluna, which was introduced in early 2000, already has moved well ahead of its competitors in the valerian category. The supplement is positioned as a gentler alternative to OTC drugs for sleeplessness.

Among non-herbal supplements, most of the top 10 brands in 2000 contain glucosamine and chondroitin. Private label product sales leapt 63.5% to $139.3 mil., and many generic firms continue to introduce store-brand equivalents targeting joint health.

Rexall's Osteo-Bi-Flex achieved sales of $118.1 mil., down 1.1% from the year-ago period. The firm recently announced a relaunch of the line, including the addition of several new products and modified packaging and pricing (⁴ (Also see "Osteo-Bi-Flex Relaunch Highlights New Products, Packaging, Pricing" - Pink Sheet, 22 Jan, 2001.)).

In the minerals category, sales of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Viactiv jumped 45% to $37.6 mil. The firm expanded its line of calcium soft chews in February to include energy bars and drinks (⁵ (Also see "Viactiv Bars, Drinks TV Ad Stresses Energy Benefits For Women" - Pink Sheet, 28 Feb, 2000.)).

Viactiv's robust growth may have affected Whitehall's Caltrate brand, which experienced mixed results for the year. While the original product's sales were up 7.8% to $18.3 mil., Caltrate 600 and Caltrate Plus revenues were down 6.9% and 2.9%, respectively.