Convenience store operators know just how popular and profitable their health and beauty aids (HBA) section can be, but some remain confused over which types of products they should prioritize. The answer? It depends — on a great many factors. Among them: Competition: The decision about whether or not to stress HBA at all, let…
How to Merchandise the HBA Section
One of the things that sets the health and beauty aids (HBA) category apart from others found on convenience store shelves is that it contains both wants and needs. While what’s a want and a need in the HBA section can vary among customers, needs are usually those emergency items that are driving customers to…
Healthy Trends for Health & Beauty Aids
From mental health to physical well-being, consumers show greater interest in over-the-counter health options. COVID-19 dramatically changed the health and beauty aids (HBA) category at c-stores. Three years later, the need for pandemic-related products has eased. Instead, seasonal illnesses push demand. From late fall into early 2023, Americans struggled with the triple-demic: new COVID variants,…
Water Purification Tablets
In preparation for hurricane season, EarthSafe will be bringing Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets to the United States with the new Aquatabs Emergency Kit for retailers located in the Gulf and Atlantic Coast states. Aquatabs kill 99.99% of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria to prevent cholera, typhoid, dysentery and other water borne diseases. The pre-measured tablets rapidly […]
What Are the Most Important Health & Beauty Products to Stock in 2022?
The COVID-19 pandemic left more than destruction in its wake: it also sensitized millions of Americans to the need to scrupulously guard their personal hygiene. While sales of hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes may have gone down as the COVID-19 pandemic fades from memory, the personal-care conditioning it brought about continues. Items like cold remedies,…
Health & Beauty Sales Bring Mixed Results
Last year marked another year with less-than-normal daily commuting to and from offices, and that resulted in mixed reviews for convenience stores’ health and beauty aids (HBA) category. “With a lot of customers working from home the last couple of years, they’ve had access to their own medicine cabinets, which has hurt purposeful trips to…
Gopuff Enters the Private Label Market, Launches ‘Basically,’ Brand
Digital delivery platform Gopuff announced the launch of its new private-label curated product line — Basically, — trademarked with the word followed by a comma. The new line’s intended to give customers access to high-quality snacks, water and home essentials at a value price. Basically, bottled water is the first product to be live on…
Should C-Stores Stock Travel-Size HBA Items?
There may be no single product sub-category in a convenience store that embodies the concept of convenience as well as travel-size health and beauty aid (HBA) items, which are designed to let consumers sprint through their lives without breaking stride. That’s why it makes so much sense for c-stores to keep them in stock. While…
McDade Products, G Medical Tests and Services Provide Retailers With at-Home COVID-19 Test Kits
In response to a national shortage of COVID-19 test options, Pittsburgh, Pa.-based McDade Products LLC has partnered with G Medical Tests and Services, a division of G Medical Innovations, to make several million FDA EUA-approved COVID-19 PCR collection kit tests available for retailers to sell by the end of January. McDade Products is a division…
What Are the Most Popular Health and Beauty Items at C-Stores?
When considering which health and beauty aid (HBA) products to sell at your c-store, keep in mind: Numbers don’t lie. Up-to-date, c-store-specific data is important in tracking ever-evolving consumer trends. So, what are the most popular, best-selling HBA products in convenience stores? According to NielsenIQ statistics for the convenience store channel for the 52-week period…