Highlights from the most successful non-food Pacesetters of 2002-2003
This year’s non-food Pacesetters are dominated by new self-care brands launched in the health & beauty department – a mixture of performance enhancements, anti-aging and appearance advancements, Rx to OTC/more affordable treatments and wellness & convenience innovations.

Rx to OTC crossovers big winners in 2003 & 2004. Claritin – $331 million in 2002-03 sales – and Prilosec OTC – projecting to at least $240 million into 2004 – are current #1 and projected #1 non-food Pacesetters.

Successful new non-foods make our lives easier in different ways. Disposable training pants cut down on laundry, easing the whole potty-training process. Dental whitening is not just available in the dentist’s chair. Prescription-strength drugs are more easily accessible and affordable. And, effective and disposable cleaning broom and surface cleaning cloths and disposable storage devices reduce house care drudgery. Consumers have shown a great willingness to pay a “premium” price for products that deliver superior convenience and ease our lives.

Health & Beauty Department dominates new product activity. Three of every four non-food Pacesetter sales and 8 of the top 10 ranked brands are from the HBC department. 104 of the total 146 Pacesetters reaching at least $7.5 million over 2002-03 are health, beauty or personal care brands, totaling $2.6 billion, 77% of total sales. In comparison, HBC accounts for 43% of total CPG non-food consumption for 2002-03.

High Tech innovations create stronger, more-effective expectations. For most of the top non-food Pacesetters, technological advances brought more-effective performance benefits to consumers, from new allergy reliefs to more comfortable shaves.

Cosmetics, skin care & dental care most active Pacesetter categories. The differences between health, personal, and beauty care are blurring as marketers appeal to aging consumers and their growing interest in maintaining health, but restoring youthful appearances. Teeth whitening products provide oral care, but also restore youthful smiles. Skin care and facial cosmetics attend to dry skin and smooth wrinkles in the process.

Health Care innovations bring more affordable drugs to the shelf. Crossing over from Rx to OTC brings do-it-yourself prescribing and more affordable prices to consumers. New treatment expectations are gaining momentum and gaining sizable results.

House care activity extends recent technological innovations. In recent years, house categories captured new trial and big numbers through “more effective” innovations – shower cleaners, air fresheners, aromatic candles, rug deodorizers, magical mops, oxy-detergents to name some. This year’s Pacesetter activity brought enhancements and spin-offs to these technologies, but resulting generally in smaller sales results.

It was a big year for self care Pacesetters – the CPG industry is taking care of us. Quality, performance, convenience, affordability, wellness and indulgence innovations are emerging and blurring.

Here’s a chart from the brief with the top ten food & beverage Pacesetter rankings: