According to a survey from Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of the Council of Responsible Nutrition, 68 per cent of adults in the U.S. take dietary supplements.

Women seem to be more concerned with taking supplements than men, as 71 per cent of adult women reported to take dietary supplements currently, while 65 per cent of adult men agreed.

Broken down by age, adults aged 18 to 34 were least likely to take dietary supplements, however, 65 per cent of people surveyed in this age range had. 66 per cent of adults between the ages of 35 and 54 had reported to taking dietary supplements, while adults aged 55 and over were the most health-conscious, as 74 per cent agreed they take supplements.

The most popular products taken by consumers were vitamins and minerals, which 97 per cent of supplement users taking them. These products include multivitamins (75 per cent), vitamin D (30 per cent), calcium (24 per cent), vitamin C (24 per cent) and vitamin B (21 per cent).

43 per cent of adults take specialty supplements, such as omega-3/fatty acids (19 per cent), fiber (12 per cent), probiotics (10 per cent), glucosamine/chondroitin (10 per cent) and coQ10 (seven per cent).

Herbals and botanical supplements showed popularity, with 26 per cent of users taking them. The most popular were green tea, garlic, cranberry, Echinacea and ginseng.

Sports nutrition and weight management is a growing category, with 19 per cent of users agreeing they take them regularly. The most popular options in this category are protein (10 per cent), energy drinks/gels (seven per cent), garcinia cambogia (four per cent), green coffee bean (three per cent) and hydration drinks or gels (three per cent).

The Canadian government is passing Bill C-8, the Anti-Counterfeit Products Act into federal law, signifying a win for consumers and for companies who comply with Canadian safety rules and regulations.

RCMP and customs officials will be given extra power to search and seize counterfeit products. Also, rights holders and border officials will be in communication so companies can help protect their brands, according to a release from Nancy Croitoru, president and CEO of Food & Consumer Products of Canada.

Natural health products sold on the Internet by companies around the world are often under the microscope of Health Canada for using ingredients that are prohibited for sale in Canada while attempting to emulate products that are currently on the market. The new Anti-Counterfeit Products Act would help Health Canada put a stop to these products being sold online to Canadians.

“The passing of the legislation is not case-closed on this issue, and FCPC will continue advocating for additional action on reducing counterfeit products in the marketplace,” said Croitoru in the release. “We’ll continue to press the government to take action on Internet sales that carry illegal products and address the growing presence of goods with non-compliant labels.”

Empire Company Limited, the parent company of Sobeys and Canada Safeway, has released Fiscal 2015 results for its second quarter, which ended on Nov. 1, 2014.

Its adjusted net earnings from continuing operations of non-controlling interest of $128.2 million, or $1.39 per diluted share. This is a 13.9 per cent increase on a per-share basis over the $83.4 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, that the company recorded last year.

The company’s overall sales reached $5.99 billion, an increase of $1.58 billion or 35.8 per cent since last year. Sobeys’ experienced an increase in same-store sales of 1.7 per cent.

“We are pleased with our second quarter results and our progress year-to-date. Growth in consolidated sales in the second quarter of 35.8 per cent and in adjusted net earnings from continuing operations of 53.7 per cent largely reflects the impact of the acquisition of Canada Safeway combined with Sobeys’ sales and merchandising initiatives…” said Empire President and CEO Marc Poulin in a press release from the company. “…We remain focused on the ongoing promotion of our food-focused culture, while continuing to secure operational efficiencies and cost reductions across the organization.”

Toronto-based medical marijuana holding company PharmaCan Capital will be going public next week, allowing investors access to a eight medical marijuana producers, five of which are licensed by Health Canada. Its ticker symbol on the TSX venture exchange will be “MJN”.

PharmaCan usually acquires 10 to 30 per cent stake in medical marijuana producers, and is in talks with other producers to make further investments in the field.

“An investor that seeks exposure to the fast-growing medical marijuana industry would be interested in PharmaCan because it mitigates the risk of investing in the industry,” said CEO Paul Rosen, as reported by Reuters. “We’ve created a diversified, regionally-based portfolio of licensed producers. We’re the only company in Canada that has this significant an investment in this many licensed producers.”

The Canadian medical marijuana industry is projected to reach $1.3 billion in 10 years.

Showrooming, the practice of researching in-store and buying online, and webrooming, the practice of researching online before buying in-store, became popular practices in 2012 and 2013, respectively. According to a new poll from The Harris Poll of over 4,000 American adults, these practices will be especially rampant this holiday season.

In Canada, these practices are expected to grow this holiday season. Last year, 74 per cent of Canadians planned to webroom, while 63 per cent had planned on showrooming, according to a survey from Accenture. In addition, 30 per cent knew they would use their smartphone or tablet while shopping in-store to make purchasing decisions.

Costco has announced its better than expected operating results for the first quarter of 2015, which ended on Nov. 23, 2014.

The wholesale retailer has reported a seven per cent increase in net sales from US$24.47 billion last year to US$26.28 billion this year. Its net income this quarter was US$496 million or $1.12 per diluted share, according to a press release from the company.

Deloitte recently released its holiday retail outlook for 2014. It indicates that Canadian shoppers are looking forward to this holiday season and will spend at leas the same amount as last year. According to the survey, 51 per cent of Canadian shoppers started their holiday spending after Black Friday, which took place on Nov. 28. Meanwhile, 9.4 per cent of shoppers plan to wait until the last minute to start their search for gifts. Home delivery is a good offering for 69.8 per cent of shoppers, while 67.8 per cent plan to use click and collect in-store pickup of online orders this holiday season. 39.3 per cent will take advantage of secure locker order pickup, such as Walmart’s Grab & Go option.

(Tramadol)

According to a report by Packaged Facts which was distributed by MarketResearch.com, online grocery shopping accounts for less than four per cent of total sales, both online and offline, in the food and beverage retail segment. However, online grocery sales are rapidly growing and are forecast to reach nearly $100 billion in 2019.

Among other retailers, Amazon, Walmart and Google are all testing out online grocery orders in the U.S., however that comes with its own challenges. Retailers will need to consider how to assemble orders, delivery methods, delivering quickly and at a low cost and converting brick-and-mortar grocery shoppers to online grocery shoppers.

Steve Churchill, managing director of Nielsen Canada, has announced his retirement from the company, effective January 1, 2015, after over 30 years at the company. He will be succeeded by Jeanne Danubio, managing director of consumer insights.

In his three decade-long career at Nielsen, Churchill has worked in retail services, client services and operations. Most recently, he held the post of senior vice president of systems and operations and industry development at the company.

“It has been a privilege for me to have led the Nielsen Canada organization for the past few years,” said Churchill. “I will sincerely miss the great people that I have had the pleasure of working with at our company, as well as the many business colleagues I have come to know through interactions with our retailer and manufacturer clients and industry associations.”

In his role, which he ascended to in July 2007, Churchill was responsible for growth strategies and client-focused business solutions. He was a key member of the team in negotiating the first retailer scanning agreements across Canada and helped sign Walmart to its first Canadian cooperative agreement.

Churchill’s successor Danubio has been with Nielsen since 1987 and has worked at the company in product leadership and professional services. “Jeanne Danubio’s tenure of exemplary leadership at Nielsen makes her perfectly suited to move into this role,” said Churchill. “I am heartened by the fact that I am leaving Nielsen Canada in her capable hands.”