Never listen to no, says innocent business guru

Manufacturers attending a conference on OTC medicines last month heard from the renowned healthy drinks brand innocent, in an inspirational talk from head of creative Dan Germain. From a group of friends with an idea, the company has grown to a household name and one of the UK’s top three fastest growing companies. His tips shared for successful business included: ‘Start small, but do start; keep the main thing the main thing; be interesting and never listen to no’. The conference was hosted by Pharmacy Magazine, Pharmacy Voice and PAGB.

Smart survey on OTC medicines training

Two in three medicines counter assistants are expected to train in their own time and they spend an average of 4.8 hours doing so, says a new survey conducted by publisher Communications International Group. Keeping product information up to date was the key reason for training. Assistants give advice to the majority of people (60%) buying OTC medicines. In the survey, nearly three-quarters of pharmacy assistants believe there should be a formal requirement to complete a minimum number of hours' ongoing training each month. People feel that training is most effective when it is pharmacy-based and pharmacist-led.

Best product launch and consumer marketing

OTC manufacturers took home the prizes for pharmacy training and consumer marketing at the Smart awards in Birmingham last month. Best Overall Brand was awarded to Omega Pharma's Solpadeine and Best Overall Company was grabbed by Johnson & Johnson. Bronchostop was judged Best Product Launch. Pharmacy Voice also received an accolade for Best Public Awareness Initiative. Guests raised funds for the charity Pharmacist Support, which is entirely funded by donations.