PERRIGO INTRODUCING DAILYSOURCE ADULT CHEWABLE VITAMIN LINE

PERRIGO INTRODUCING DAILYSOURCE ADULT CHEWABLE VITAMIN LINE featuring seven SKUs aimed at adults who "have trouble swallowing tablets." The DailySource line is scheduled to begin shipping by the end of the year, Perrigo said. The private-label manufacturer said it developed the chewable vitamin line because "independent research has shown that about 35% of adults have difficulty swallowing tablets" and that the problem becomes more pronounced among older consumers. Perrigo also pointed out in materials to the trade that "mature adults have the highest vitamin consumption rate." * The line includes what Perrigo calls the "first adult chewable multiple vitamin" that is "formulated with ingredients that are comparable" to Lederle's Centrum multivitamin. The cherry-flavored multiple vitamins are "fortified with beta carotene" and come in bottles of 50 tablets. * Another SKU in the DailySource line is a chewable antioxidant that contains 60 mg of vitamin C, 30 IU of vitamin E, and 3 mg of beta carotene. "Ibis special blend of antioxidant vitamins supplements the other vitamins in your diet to help protect the body from free radicals (oxidants) which may cause chemical reactions thought to be responsible for cellular damage," promotional materials claim. The antioxidant comes in bottles of 60 citrus-flavored tablets. * The line also includes separate antioxidant nutrients, including chewable vitamin C tablets offered in 250 mg and 500 mg potencies, both in bottles of 100 citrus-flavored tablets. Also available are vitamin E chewables (200 IU) in bottles of 130 "natural-flavored" tablets. * Rounding out the DailySource line are 130-tablet bottles of orange-flavored calcium (300 mg), and orange-flavored tablets of zinc with vitamin C. Available in bottles of 100, each zinc tablet contains 6.4 mg zinc and 60 mg vitamin C. All of the chewable vitamins are packaged in the same size bottle "with similar label graphics to create a family look," Perrigo said in trade materials. Nonchewable products previously marketed under the DailySource name include vitamin E and vitamin C tablets as well as various multiple vitamin combinations. Separate from the DailySource fine, Perrigo is introducing odor-free garlic tablets in 30-tablet blister packs that contain 400 mg high allicin potential garlic per tab; and a ginseng supplement similar to Sunsource Health Products' Ginsana that is packaged in boxes of 30 soft gelatin capsules. In addition to launching the chewable adult vitamin line, Perrigo plans to increase the number of now OTC brand-name equivalents that the company offers to its private label customers under its control brand name, Good Sense. Perrigo announced the availability of several new product offerings at the Private Label Manufacturers Association's trade show on Nov. 14-17. Included among the products available are: Motion Sickness Relief R (meclizine HCI 25 mg) tablets that mirror Upjohn's Dramamine II; cherry-flavored Anti-Nausea Liquid (four ounces of phosphorated carbohydrate solution) modeled after Bock Pharmacal's Emetrol; severe congestion liquid gel caps containing a nasal decongestant and an expectorant; Multi-Symptom Suphedrine Cold & Cough softgels that contain acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, guaifenesin and pseudoephedrine; and Nighttime Liquid Caps. Also available from Perrigo is a generic copy of Sandoz' TheraFlu non-drowsy formula: Maximum Strength Non-Drowsy Flu, Cold & Cough Hot Liquid Medicine, which will be sold in packages of six in honey-lemon flavor. In addition, the company recently began shipping an alcohol-free Day Time Non-Drowsy Cold/Flu Medicine copied after P&G's DayQuil. By the end of February, Perrigo expects to begin shipping Tussin DM Clear, a clear cough suppressant and expectorant that will compete with such products as Kramer Labs' Safe Tussin 30 and Hi-Tech Pharmacal's Diabetic Tussin. In the spring, Allegan, Mich.-based Perrigo expects to launch a copy of Pfizer's Unisom SleepGels; a honey-lemon-flavored Nite- Time Hot Liquid Cold/Flu Medicine which Perrigo is positioning against P&G's NyQuil Hot Therapy; and a 12-hour extra-moisturizing nasal spray with oxymetazoline HCI .05% for cold/allergy/sinus symptoms that is based on Schering-Plough's Afrin Extra Moisturizing Formula. The Afrin product was introduced this fall ("The Tan Sheet" July 5, p. 18). Among other OTC SKUs that Perrigo expects to introduce to its private-label customers by the spring are: Woman's Laxative Caplets similar to Schering-Plough's Correctol laxative caplets; Dairy Digestive Supplement caplets with lactase enzyme that are modeled after McNeil's Lactaid caplets; Children's Non-Aspirin Cold multi-symptom grape chewables based on McNeil's Tylenol Cold; and Non-Aspirin Flu solid gelcaps copied from Tylenol Flu. Besides expanding the breadth of its product line, Perrigo also is looking at ways of making it deeper with larger size SKUs. In the upcoming year, Perrigo expects to launch an "economy size" (400 tablets) of its calcium carbonate antacid modeled after SmithKline Beecham's Tums, bottles of 100 caps of Diphedryl Allergy based on Warner-Lambert's Benadryl kapseals; and 50-caplet bottles of Non-Aspirin Sinus, which is copied from Tylenol Sinus. In addition, Perrigo also plans to offer 1,000-count bottles of aspirin, 500-count bottles of ibuprofen, 100-caplet bottles of ibuprofen, and 50-count bottles of extra strength pain reliever (acetaminophen) with antacid. Other upcoming SKUs of existing Perrigo private-label products include: alcohol-free, cherry-flavored Children's Pain Reliever Suspension Liquid (acetaminophen) in 4-ounce bottles; grape- flavored suspension drops for infants in .5-ounce bottles; .5 and 1-ounce bottles of alcohol-free, fruit-flavored acetaminophen drops for infants; 100-caplet bottles of "micro-thin coating" aspirin; a 1.8-ounce tube of hemorrhoidal cream modeled after American Home Products" Preparation H; and a sugar-free, regular flavor natural fiber laxative with psyllium, which is copied from P&G's Metamucil.