By Julie Bonnell, vice president of operations This isn’t the first time I am restating the mantra of one of my under-grad professors — the package is the product. I was reminded in the past week this is true on so many levels. When my professor declared it, she had a slide of a beautiful … Read More
Resolution: Start a sampling program
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, for the Resolutions blog series Have you been resisting putting together a sampling program for your product? It may be time to change that. Consider these stats: Eighty-one percent of consumers say that if they received a sample and liked the product, they would buy it, according to … Read More
Raising funds for the Redeem & Restore Center
By Colleen Volheim, category research and analysis manager, for the Tradition of Giving blog series A few years ago, one of my coworkers brought to my attention a problem I never gave much thought to – the sex trafficking of children and teens. I found out that the average age of a child first used in prostitution … Read More
Healthy toy trends in the culture of wellness
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, for the Culture of Wellness blog series In 2011, I was a young 30-something, excited and anxious about bringing my first child earthside. I was exploring birthing options, researching organic mattresses, and already leaning toward a more natural lifestyle, but boy was I in for a … Read More
Resolution: Update my product package or label
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, for the Resolutions blog series Why resolve to update your product package design or label? I’ll give you eight situations that might prompt you to make such a resolution. You are entering a new retail channel If your brand has previously been carried in one channel … Read More
Giving our time – Helping to make the Scenic Shore 150 a success
By Julie Bonnell, vice president operations, for the Tradition of Giving blog series Working behind the scenes to ensure others meet their goals is something HRG team members do daily to support our clients, so it makes sense that we would also choose to do this as part of how we give back to the … Read More
How retailers can appeal to minimalists
by Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, Minimalism — the intentional act of de-owning possessions in order to achieve happiness — has been receiving a lot of press lately. What began as the Voluntary Simplicity movement in the 1980s, exploded in the 2010’s due to the popularity of blogs like The Minimalists, Becoming … Read More
The new wellness wonder-child – coffee industry trends
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager, for the Culture of Wellness blog series I’ve had a bit of an “on again/off again” relationship with coffee over the years. In fact, I didn’t even start drinking it until I was in my 30’s. (Having kids will do that to a person, am I … Read More
Honey featured in multiple products in the Future 50 new products released in 2018
We recently completed our annual review of new items introduced in 2018 to choose the top 50 products with greatest potential for longevity for Drug Store News. In our April 2019 issue of ROI, we looked at a few of the top categories with products that featured honey released in 2017 and 2018. Seven products across multiple categories in the … Read More
For the dogs – Helping JR’s Pups-N-Stuff
By Jamie Sershon, product and merchandising analyst, for our Tradition of Giving blog series When you have a pet, you know the amount of joy they bring to you and you know what a happy home can bring to them. Last fall, the ownership team at HRG gave each department the opportunity to choose a … Read More