There are several proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts panel on products sold in the United States and Canada.

Some key changes included in the proposal are to remove ‘calories from fat’; declare ‘added sugars’; keep the mandatory requirement to list calcium and iron but make listing vitamins A and C voluntary; add a mandatory requirement to list vitamin D and potassium; update the reference values used to calculate the per cent of daily value of nutrients; update the reference value for sodium from 2,400 mg to 2,300 mg and make ‘calories’ more prominent on labels.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also proposing changing labels to better reflect actual consumption. For example, several labels on single-serving products have nutritional information for only a portion of the product, although most consumers would likely consume the entire product.

The FDA is proposing to amend the definition of a single-serving container; require dual-column labeling for certain containers; update and modify several reference amounts customarily consumed; and make technical amendments to various aspects of the serving size regulations.

As soda and non-fresh juice sales decline, the popularity of plant-based waters continues to rise. This includes standards such as coconut water, which has been a common grocery store find for several years, and newer entries such as maple, birch, cactus, barley or artichoke waters.

Also benefiting from the trend are alternative beverages such as kombucha and tea-based drinks, especially if they are sold alongside fresh produce, according to Nielsen.

Sales of all waters, including these new functional beverages as well as standard sparkling and still water, grew by four per cent in value and almost seven per cent in volume since last July. Meanwhile, beverages that are located in the produce department of the grocery store, including water, smoothies, fresh juices and teas, have experienced a growth of almost 13 per cent.

The sale of almond milk makes up nearly 70 per cent of the plant-based beverage category in the U.S., according to WhiteWave Foods. This is a growth of almost 15 per cent over last year.

According to company CEO Gregg Engles, soy is dropping in customer preference compared to almond milk. “Almond now represents almost 70 per cent of the total plant-based beverage category and Silk almond milk continues to be a key driver of this growth as our sales grew by 45 per cent in Q2 off an already sizeable base,” he said in the company’s second quarter earnings conference call.

Engles goes on to say that competition in the category is stiff, and all major national branded almond milk companies experienced share pressures due to an expansion in private label almond milk distribution at a major retailer, plus ongoing promotional pressure in the segment.

WhiteWave sells Silk plant-based products in the U.S. and with Alpro and Provamel plant-based products in Europe. It also makes products under several other brands, including Horizon Oranic, TruMoo, Land O Lakes and Earthbound Farms.

The company’s net sales in the second quarter, which ended on June 30, rose by 36 per cent to $838 million, while its operating income rose by 53 per cent to $88 million.

Julie Drapeau has recently moved into the role of senior category and regional sales manager at Purity Life Health Products.

Julie has spent over 10 years at Purity Life in various roles, including as an account manager and key account manager, and was most recently a regional sales manager for the company. Prior to working with Purity Life, Julie has worked at other companies within the natural health product industry such as Weleda, Seroyal International, and Phytoderm.

In her new role, Julie continues to manage the Quebec sales team while being the reference at Purity Life for the Category Management program, which is offered to all of the company’s retail partners. Congratulations on your new role, Julie!

Walgreens’ original option period in the second half of its purchase of Alliance Boots fell between February and August 2015, however Walgreens is exercising its option to move ahead of schedule with the merger. With this merger, the two companies will become the first global pharmacy-led health and wellbeing corporation when it is approved by shareholders and regulatory agencies.

The companies were first joined in June 2012 when Walgreens obtained a 45 per cent equity ownership of the British pharmacy retailer with the option to purchase the rest of the company three years later. The transaction should be completed as early as the first quarter of 2015.

Walgreens has a plan that includes a new holding company to be formed that will be called Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and will be comprised of four parts: Walgreen Co. (the U.S. drugstore chain); Boots (the U.K. and Republic of Ireland health and beauty retailer); pharmaceutical wholesale and international retail (such as Alliance Healthcare); and global brands. The holding company will also introduce a cross-divisional global pharmacy market access group.

Walgreens’ president, CEO and board member Greg Wasson will lead the new company in the role of CEO in its Chicago head office. He will be backed by Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Alliance Boots, who will assume the role of executive vice chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

“We are excited to move forward with the next important step in becoming a new kind of global health care leader. Expanding globally with Alliance Boots will make quality health care more affordable and accessible to communities here in America and around the world,” says Wasson. “In addition, Stefano and I are pleased with the comprehensive plan we’ve announced. These elements will provide additional shareholder value creation, both in the near and long-term. I congratulate our teams for getting us to this point and together we have a bright future.”

The Arthritis Society has launched a new online education program that will cater to training pharmacists across Canada. Pharmacists receiving this specialized training will receive certificates and be able to offer consultations to patients suffering from arthritis. The new program is expected to be effective in 1,350 Guardian, I.D.A., PROXIM and the Medicine Shoppe pharmacies within a year. It has been accredited by the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy (CCCEP), the organization that accredits programs for pharmacists across Canada.

“This new initiative will make a true difference in the lives of Canadians living with arthritis by giving them increased access to professional, qualified care down the street and across the counter,” says Janet Yale, President and CEO of The Arthritis Society of Canada. “By increasing the convenience and ease with which Canadians can receive specialized counsel and therapeutic services, this program will help those with arthritis get the help they need to live with less pain and greater independence.”

The program will also offer additional levels of certification in areas of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Statisticsa show that there are currently 4.6 million Canadians suffering from arthritis.

The U.S. court has preliminarily approved a class action settlement regarding certain glucosamine and chondroitin products sold by retailers such as Walgreens and Walmart.

The products, manufactured by Perrigo, had labels claiming to rebuild cartilage, lubricate joints, and improve joint comfort and were found not to help in any of those areas. While defendants insisted that the products did help with the issues mentioned, Perrigo appealed to settle the claims and pay $2.8 million. U.S residents who purchased the aforementioned products between the dates of November 1 and August 1 of this year could receive money for doing so. For more details and information, visit www.PerrigoGlucosamineSettlement.com

In July, Target began a promotion offering $10 off any web order of $40 or more for any customer willing to pick up their order in-store. This could be one of the first stores to offer incentives to pick up orders in-store rather than have them conveniently shipped to their home, in a move designed to “drive more engagement and use,” as told by Target spokesperson Eddie Baeb to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

However, others are less inclined to agree. Lee Peterson, EVP, creative services, WD Partners, believes this was a way to test the appeal of the BOPIS (buy online, pickup in-store) program.

“The thing is, from a retailer’s perspective, you don’t know how big something like this can be, so you have to get people to try it to see if it has any merit in terms of driving significant volume and then measure its scale,” says Mr. Peterson to RetailWire.

However, Peterson believes that BOPIS is worth providing incentives. “From what I can see from our research, people already like BOPIS a lot, but the ‘top two boxes’ numbers really never cross 60 per cent,” he says in an interview with RetailWire. “Throw 10 bucks in the mix and I’d bet on that number going over 75 per cent.”

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