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Growing brands
Aquafresh and Sensodyne toothpaste, Nicorette and NicoDerm smoking cessation products, and Ribena and Lucozade drinks are among the products that make GSK Consumer Healthcare a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer brands. Consumer Healthcare sales in 2005 were £3 billion, an increase of 2% over 2004.
Redefining the business model
Like others in the consumer healthcare industry, GSK operates in a competitive and changing environment. “Consumers are demanding better quality, better value and improved performance, while retailers have consolidated and strengthened their negotiating power,” says John Clarke, who succeeded Jack Ziegler as President, Consumer Healthcare, in February 2006.
To conduct business more effectively in this environment, Consumer Healthcare has redefined its business strategy and operating model to deliver faster sales growth. “We expect to achieve this growth through a vigorous focus on delivering new product developments that are tightly aligned with consumer needs,” says John. “The new structure brings together our R&D, marketing and commercial operating units and gives us greater focus, alignment and simplicity.”
Growth opportunity
Consumer Healthcare has a particularly exciting new growth opportunity for the business with Alli (orlistat), an over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss medicine. In January 2006, a FDA Advisory Committee recommended that Alli be approved for OTC use in the USA. If approved, Alli will be the only FDA-approved weight-loss medicine available over-the-counter and is expected to be launched in 2006, accompanied by a consumer education programme. “Like stopping smoking, weight loss requires a change in behaviour. Often, though, physicians don’t have the training or the time to help patients change their behaviour,” says John. “The new OTC product will not be a ‘get-slim-quick’ pill. Proper diet and appropriate exercise will still be part of the overall weight loss programme and our education efforts will be a major component in supporting this."
23 million bottles of Lucozade Sport Hydro Active were sold in 2005.
The most recent innovation for Lucozade, Hydro Active has been specially formulated to help replace the salts and fluids you lose during exercise, keeping you
better hydrated than water alone.
Beating tobacco
Since GSK Consumer Healthcare’s pioneering switch of Nicorette nicotine gum in the USA in 1996, the company has innovated to expand its portfolio, adding a patch and more recently a lozenge. This has broadened appeal and successfully helped over five million smokers escape their tobacco dependence worldwide. As tobacco kills many users, these Consumer Healthcare products really do save lives.
While GSK is doing good things for public health, the opportunities for these nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) brands (NiQuitin, Nicabate, Commit, NicoDerm CQ and Nicorette) continue to expand as countries implement smoke-free legislation.
