The Pharmacy Show 2022

Held at the NEC, Birmingham, the Pharmacy Show was not only a great opportunity to see product and device innovation, but also an ideal forum to speak face-to-face with industry professionals and catch up with clients and exhibitors from previous shows. Pharmacy-show first-timers from JensonR+ were impressed with the variety of attendees and the opportunity to take part in educational talks.

Our team members witnessed first-hand the campaigns and displays in action and explored the messages being delivered.

“I enjoy the journey behind concepts and strategies and bringing a product onto the market, so being able to explore the innovative products and new ideas on show was of great value to me.”

From food supplements and CBD products

There were many food supplement manufacturers with interesting brand concepts and combinations of classic ingredients, such as vitamins and minerals, with various botanicals to increase their appeal. Many companies use botanical claims from the “on hold list” to strengthen the messages on pack and marketing materials.

CBD appears to have fought and won a place in the UK health market, judging by the representation from both new and established retailers at the show, as companies push through with novel food applications in the UK.

What we do not know, but what consumers need to be aware of, is the quality of the CBD product they have purchased. Now that there is a Food Standards Agency FSA public list of CBD products, local authorities are working with businesses to ensure compliance.

Recent testing by an independent sciences services group identified that a large number of CBD products contained the illegal drug THC, and that several products contained hardly any CBD. There remains some work to be done to ensure that consumers are not misled into buying poor quality products with potentially harmful ingredients.

To deliveries

The Royal Mail had a major stand to see how their new Post Office Health sector could support consumers in the community. This appeared very-much a community-driven opportunity, capitalising on how a postperson is likely to make a daily call or walk past some of the homes of the most vulnerable (elderly and immune-compromised). The postal service’s community knowledge can recognise when something is not quite right.  Post Office Health is also keen to see how they can help with prescription delivery and community-based services to support us all.

“It was big picture thinking indeed and it made a lot of sense to me.”

And final takeaways

Diagnostic testing is gaining a strong foothold in community pharmacy; from reliable blood pressure monitoring through to Strep A kits and all the shades in between.

We met the Vegan Society for the first time and had interesting conversations about sustainability, certification and the increased consumer awareness of veganism per se. The need for clarity when it comes to the vegan definition was discussed, and how companies like ours can encourage clients to approach the Vegan Society for product and supply chain certification, which would add to consumer trust when picking something off the shelf.

We are looking forward to further events, connecting with people, and keeping up to date on new trends in the coming year.