Pfizer throws hat in gummy ring with Centrum line extension
“The Centrum product line offers a range of forms,” Chris Lynch, senior product manager for Centrum, told NutraIngredients-USA. “Gummy form multivitamins have broad consumer appeal, which is confirmed by market insights and sales results. In addition, our research along with our interactions with Centrum consumers shows the gummy form of multivitamin is preferred most by middle aged adults.”
Challenge of multivitamin competition
Competing within the multivitamin sphere has always been a challenge. After all, with rare exceptions, a company can’t claim to have a more efficacious vitamin C. Ever since synthetic vitamins were allowed access to the marketplace, price has been a major driver in the multivitamin market.
Competing on delivery form is only one way Centrum can maintain its market leading position, Lynch said. The company says its consumers place great stock in the brand’s legacy.
“We recognize that consumers find value in the Centrum multivitamin brand. They are able to trust the heritage of the brand from over the last 35 years,” he said.
Delivering new forms of vitamins is also a matter of assessing consumers’ needs, Lynch said. Different market segments have different nutritional needs, and delivery form preferences are now staring to become a major market driver, too. The trick is to manage these expectations with a product line that fills market niches without cannibalizing itself.
“Consumer nutritional health needs are broad, and vary by age, gender lifestyles, and other factors. Different populations require different nutritional health support. For an example, people 50 and older benefit from a supplemental form of vitamin B12, women who are pregnant require prenatal multivitamins, and men and women overall have different vitamin and mineral considerations. Beyond formulas, consumers also want accessible forms that are great tasting, and easy to take so our brand line now offers Centrum MultiGummies. A multivitamin brand needs to reflect two essentials: a product line that the latest advances in nutritional science to support diverse consumer nutritional health needs and multivitamin form preferences,” Lynch said.
Not end of innovation line
The Centrum line includes tablet, chewable, liquid forms and now gummies. Centrum MultiGummies include nutrients such as Vitamins D, B12 and E, and are available in natural flavors (Berry, Cherry, Orange), are gluten-free, use only natural colorants, and do not contain any artificial sweeteners. As to what new delivery forms such as stick packs or films might be on horizon, Lynch only said that the company continues to entertain new ideas.
“Our Centrum R&D team, which includes a group of nutritional scientists and product design experts, along with our brand innovation team, are always researching and evaluating new ways we can help address America’s widespread nutritional health challenges. This includes understanding ways to deliver these nutrients in a way that they can conveniently fit into consumers’ busy lifestyles. The Centrum brand team will continue to find new ways to innovate to meet both of these needs,” Lynch said.
