Lil’ Drug Store Products is recognized for its outstanding customer service and for driving category growth over the past year.

Kum & Go has named Lil’ Drug Store Products the 2016 Category Manager of the Year. Kum & Go awards this special recognition to one supplier each year. The award goes to the supplier that has demonstrated category leadership and made a strong impact on retail sales during the year.

Kum & Go management voted for Lil’ Drug Store Products to win the award over several other companies based on the supplier’s excellent customer service and above average category growth rate in the past year.

Lil’ Drug Store Products worked closely with Kum & Go category manager Richard Ginther to develop a solid growth plan.  “Our approach included consumer research and category sales analysis to help us better understand convenience channel shopper trends,” said Ginther. “We also made it a priority to agree on strategies that tied to Kum & Go’s business objectives.”

The collaboration led to several key updates to Kum & Go’s Health and Beauty Care category.  One of the biggest changes was the decision to prioritize product placement of value sizes within the Health and Beauty Care shelf set. Both groups also saw an opportunity to offer more private label choices for Kum & Go shoppers. These merchandising strategies contributed to significant HBC category growth at Kum & Go, which is currently trending five times above the industry average sales growth rate.

“The Category Management Award from Kum & Go is truly a great honor for us at Lil’ Drug Store Products. We pride ourselves in developing partnerships that deliver results for retailers,” said Michelle Ridder, category manager at Lil’ Drug Store Products. “Our success with Kum & Go is an excellent example of what we can accomplish when we work together as a team to achieve a common goal.”