Newsweek and BrandSpark International Announce the 2nd Annual OTC Brands Trusted the Most by American Pharmacists

The BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards surveyed 1,716 U.S. Pharmacists across 71 over-the-counter product categories to identify the Most Trusted brands in each. This is the only list of its kind in America which identifies the brands pharmacists trust most, helping consumers shop smarter.

NEW YORK, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Today, market research firm BrandSpark International, in partnership with Newsweek Magazine, released its highly anticipated second annual BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards ("BMTPhA") for over-the-counter ("OTC") consumer product brands. This list marks an important continuation of the BrandSpark Trust Study with this respected professional group, which influences the purchase decisions of millions of Americans. "BrandSpark is proud to collaborate with American Pharmacists, who play a key role in guiding the public when it comes to purchasing OTC products," said Robert Levy, President of BrandSpark. "Pharmacists' influence will continue to grow as they play an increasingly prominent role in public health," Levy continued. Consumers can reference this list and look for BrandSpark's instantly recognizable purple seal when they want to make better-informed OTC purchases.

BrandSpark International conducted the independent Most Trusted by Pharmacists Survey (the "survey") by identifying key over-the-counter categories where trust is important to consumers as they seek to treat or prevent many common ailments. In the second annual survey, the BMTPhA program examined 71 categories across the following product segments: Cough, Cold, & Allergy, Diagnostics, Ears and Eyes, Family Planning, First Aid, Gastrointestinal, Oral Care, Pain & Inflammation, Pediatrics, Supplements, Topicals, Women's Health, and Other. Survey responses were provided by US Registered Healthcare Professionals actively practicing and licensed to provide OTC recommendations.

According to the BrandSpark American Shopper Study (the "BASS"), Americans have the greatest trust in recommendations from friends and family, ratings & reviews, and consumer-voted awards, but in OTC health categories, recommendations from pharmacists and doctors are most trusted. 72% say that pharmacist recommendations are very or fairly influential to their OTC purchases. "We wanted to delve deeper into a segment where which brands that experts trust most really matters to consumers," said Levy. 70% of consumers believe that research and development is constantly leading to better over-the-counter health products and 56% say they will "spend a lot" to get health products that they know will work, but they need help identifying which brands are most worthy of their money and trust as just 1 in 4 consider themselves something of an expert on health products.

The BASS also reveals that while mass merchants and drug store chains are the leading OTC health channels, shopped regularly by 74% and 61% of American shoppers respectively, 34% regularly purchase OTC products online. "Consumers do not always have a pharmacist to consult, like when they're shopping online, but they should be able to know which brands pharmacists trust the most," said Levy. Further, as shoppers increasingly look to get the most value for their money, leading OTC brands need to reinforce the quality and reliability they provide; 26% of OTC shoppers say they generally buy 'whichever product is offering the best price', well ahead of just 15% who do the same in personal care & beauty.

4 Notable Winners from the 2023 BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards:

1. Procter & Gamble's Vapor Therapy, Vick's Vapo, earned an impressive 96% trust share, the highest of any winning brand on the BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists list.
2. Pain relief brand Excedrin broke its 2022 tie with Tylenol for Rapid Headache Relief (previously Headache Relief), indicating evolving trust in the category and an opportunity for other brands to gain trust share.
3. Similasan earned three 1^st rank wins in the survey, the most of any brand, across Children and Adult Earache Relief, and Eye Drops for Pink Eye.
4. Laxative brand Dulcolax overtook MiraLAX for Most Trusted Laxative brand. The two brands tied in 2022 and are still only separated by 5%, indicating a possibility for more movement in the category.

The 2023 BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards winners are listed below (brands in a tie are presented in alphabetical order and an asterisk beside a category indicates that it is new for the 2023 survey). See details at www.BrandSparkMostTrusted.com, and contact us for more information on any category.

Newsweek will be publishing the results from the BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards, ensuring millions of Americans can leverage this knowledge.

How winners are determined
1,716 pharmacists practicing in the United States determined the BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards winners for 2023 through their unaided write-in citations, as if they were giving their suggestions in the pharmacy. The highest share of citations as Most Trusted in the category determined the winner, with other brands ranked based on share where at least 10% of citations was received. If the margin of citation share was less than 3% between brands, then a tie was declared.

About BrandSpark International and Best New Product Awards Inc.
Founded in 2001, BrandSpark International is an independent marketing research firm that combines omni-channel consumer insights with competitive context, providing insights that are actionable in the real world. BrandSpark helps clients refine brand positioning, build trust, and improve success with new product launches. As one of the research-backed, highly accredited awards programs run by Best New Product Awards Inc., the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, now in its 10^th year in the USA, is a leading consumer-voted credentialling program that measures consumer trust and brand resilience within hundreds of CPG, retail, and services categories, as determined by American shoppers through their top-of-mind responses for categories which they shop and services they use.

Permission and authorization from Best New Product Awards Inc. are required to reference the BrandSpark/Newsweek Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards win or use the claim or logo in any communication.

SOURCE BrandSpark International