Address more than cost

In 2012, 9.3 percent of the United States’ population, or 29.1 million Americans, had diabetes, and approximately 1.7 million people were newly diagnosed with diabetes that same year, according to the American Diabetes Association, Alexandria, Va. It predicts that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes by 2050 if present trends continue.

Unfortunately, diabetic Americans must deal not only with their disease, but also with the high cost of living with it. In fact, two-thirds of those with diabetes think that living with it is expensive, states “Diabetes — US,” an August 2014 report from global market researcher Mintel.

“As overall healthcare costs continue to rise, so do the co-pays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for which patients are responsible,” says Stephanie Gamble, director, Perrigo Diabetes Care, a division of Dublin-based Perrigo Co. “This, in turn, has increased the demand for more affordable and prescription-free blood glucose testing devices, as well as other diabetic supplies.”

Data quoted by Mintel and provided by Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI) show that consumers are looking to save money in the category by purchasing private label products. According to IRI’s data, more than 40 percent of diabetes and other home test sales are private label. Additionally, during the 52-week period ending May 18, 2014, dollar sales of private label diabetes and other home tests increased from $138 million to $159 million, a 15 percent increase in sales. But to keep consumers purchasing store brand diabetic management products, retailers will need to emphasize more than a lower cost. They will need to be informative and innovative in the diabetes section.

Be instructive

While meter purchases can be pricey, testing strips are typically the most costly product diabetics must purchase, states Kelly Rawlings, managing director, consumer publications for the American Diabetes Association.

“People who are checking their blood glucose could be advised [to test themselves] from anywhere between one to 10 times a day,” she says.

With testing strips averaging about $1 per strip and many consumers buying their testing strips out-of-pocket, store brand products give consumers another choice and could offer some cost relief, she adds.

Additionally, consumers need to purchase products such as lancets, pen needles, pre-measured glucose tablets, gels or shots, and even skincare products formulated specifically for diabetics. With all of these additional product costs, many consumers try to find “workarounds” that could save them money.

For example, if a patient is experiencing low blood sugar, instead of using glucose tablets, gels or shots, she might eat a candy bar or drink some juice. However, ingesting unmeasured amounts of glucose usually leads to an unhealthy cycle of highs and lows commonly referred to as “the bounce,” says Michael Schlanger, senior marketing manager – channel marketing, Nipro Diagnostics Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Reusing lancets is another example of how consumers try to cut back on costs. However, lancets are designed to be used only once, he states. After the first use, the lancet loses the silicone coating that helps to make it less painful when pricking the skin, and after many uses, that lancet could develop a hook with burrs, causing even more pain and exposing the consumer to the risk of infection.

With so many diabetics unaware of these facts, it falls upon the manufactures and the retailers to educate the consumer on the importance of purchasing glucose tablets, shots and gels and the correct amount of lancets, he notes. And that education is best found on or within the packaging.

Gamble agrees.

“Packaging and advertising need to be on par with the national brands and appealing and educational for the customer,” she says. “Store brands tend to perform better when their retailers invest in promotion and communication that advertises the product’s key features and benefits.”

That education could also come from signage at the shelf, conversations with pharmacists, and brochures or even an in-store magazine written specifically for diabetics, Schlanger says.

“Be more than just a retail shelf,” he adds. “This is a category where customers generally have a lot of questions. Help consumers make informed and educated decisions.”

Tech-savvy meters      

While educating the consumer is important, offering diabetics innovative store brand products — such as tech-savvy meters — is also imperative.

In 2015, 93 meters were available to consumers in the U.S. market, Rawlings states.

With so many options available, companies often use technology as a way of differentiating their meters. One technology that is fairly new and of interest to consumers involves data sharing.

Diabetics have to record and track their blood glucose readings  to view trends and make positive changes, Rawlings says. To make that easier for them, many manufacturers now equip their glucose meters with Bluetooth technology, which allows the meter to transmit stored data wirelessly to devices such as tablets and smartphones. Some glucose meters even have the capability to send their data to the cloud for remote server access online.

Accompanying the rise in data transfer meters is a rise in mobile applications to collect, sort and store that data.

“Mobile applications specifically represent a strong area of opportunity for those in the diabetes market,” Mintel states.

Research has shown that “connected diabetes solutions” have the potential to improve health and reduce healthcare costs through the use of remote monitoring, reminders and notifications, as well as coaching and support, Gamble says.

For retailers, offering a mobile app that is compatible with their private label meter could convince consumers to make the meter purchase.

Schlanger describes another high-tech meter technology that now is available.

“The TrueMetrics system’s technology can detect, analyze and correct for environmental and physiological variability like ambient-testing environment temperature,” he says. “The meter and strips can adjust to provide a more accurate blood glucose reading.”

Another positive the TrueMetrics system offers to consumers are six event tags, Schlanger states. Most meters allow consumers to flag their test results as only before or after a meal. The TrueMetrics system allows the user to flag their results with events such as “after exercise,” “while taking medication,” “sick,” etc., which could help them better understand what affects their blood glucose ratings.

Some blood glucose meters, including the Roche Accu-Chek Aviva Expert, offer consumers a bolus calculator. Insulin users need to calculate how much insulin to take based on current blood glucose levels and what they plan to eat. Bolus calculators will do the math for them and recommend an insulin dose, Rawlings says.

“I think we’re going to see more meters come out with this capability,” she adds. “But right now, the FDA requires that U.S. meters with bolus calculators be available only by prescription because they are crossing that line into offering insulin-dosing advice.”

Offer innovation

But tech-savvy meters aren’t the only innovation available for retailers' store brand programs. For example, retailers could improve on flavor, convenience and pain management.

When it comes to flavor innovation, retailers might want to consider offering something that has never been seen on store shelves before. For example, Nipro Diagnostics was the first to market with a pomegranate-flavored glucose liquid shot, Schlanger said. Manufacturers might even want to explore flavors outside the fruit family.

“Personally, I would love to have a chocolate- or mocha-flavored blood glucose tablet,” Rawlings states. “But so far, I haven’t seen anyone do that.”

When innovating for convenience, sometimes a second look at the packaging could make a big difference. Nipro Diagnostics, for example, introduced a glucose gel in a foil pouch. Previously it was available in a squeezable tube, but the company wanted to appeal to men by creating a format that allowed them to keep the glucose in a pants’ pocket.

As for pain management, manufactures are trying to make insulin syringes and needles as painless as possible both by making them thinner and shorter, Rawlings states.

But pain can also result from accidental needle sticks, says Travis Shaw, vice president, sales and marketing, Owen Mumford USA Inc., Marietta, Ga.

“Owen Mumford developed Unifine Pentips Plus, a pen needle with a built-in pen needle remover,” he says. “This device’s built-in removal chamber is designed to hold used needles until they can be disposed of safely.”

Owen Mumford has seen significant customer satisfaction and improved behavior with its product, Shaw says. A recent study it conducted found a 61 percent increase in patient compliance in changing needles after each injection, while 86 percent said they found the pen needles easy to change.

As an added benefit, improved compliance also led to greater pen needle sales. The same study found that Unifine Pentips Plus users exhibited a 38 percent increase in daily needle changes, or roughly three more boxes of pen needles (100 count) per year compared to the average pen needle user.

And retailers could even consider adding completely new products to the category. For example, Glucose Health offers a powdered mix to help with glucose management. As an alternative to the “heavy” shakes within the diabetes category, the mix is meant to be added to water and has a light blueberry tea flavor, states Murray Fleming, CEO, Glucose Health, Bentonville, Ark.