Dozens of antacid brands, including Johnson & Johnson's trio of Rolaids, Pepcid and Mylanta, aren't available in the US due to recalls. As J&J works to get its products up to FDA muster and back on shelves, the pressure's on generic store brands such as Kroger’s and CVS private-label products to meet demand.

At a CVS store in Fortville, Ind., USA Today spotted a sign on a shelf where Pepcid AC should have been: "Looking for Pepcid AC products? Try CVS/pharmacy Brand for the same great results."

Less reputable outlets are looking to meet demand — witness the recent theft of $500 of heartburn products (either for personal or black market use) from Target.Continue reading...

Americans shop, on average, 2.5 times weekly for groceries and once a month for drug items. Naturally, drugstores and big-box outlets, ever savvy to shifting consumer habits, are adding more groceries to their shelves.

Target, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS are leading the charge. Walmart has 33% of the market, Target has about 3%, and Kroger, Safeway and Supervalu range from 4-9%, according to Janney Capital Markets. That makes Walmart not only the nation's biggest retailer, but America's biggest grocer, too.

Wal-Mart corporate is determined to get even more of the market, with a five-year commitment unveiled today to make its own-brand food healthier, and pressure its suppliers to follow suit.

In addition to releasing a video, above, featuring "Walmart moms" (execs Andrea Thomas, SVP of sustainability, and corporate nutritionist Megan Diaz), the announcement won the support of one high-profile mom: the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, who co-presented the news at a press conference in Washington, D.C.Continue reading...

Airbus says it’s ahead of rival Boeing on new-plane orders.

AOL bets on hyperlocal news with Patch.com.

BP deal with Russian oil giant Rosneft criticized on U.S. national-security grounds.

Campbell Soup targets China.

Fiat wins a crucial union vote agreeing to changes in a plant in Turin and plans product changes for Chrysler.

Hyundai ponders a second U.S. manufacturing plant despite UAW lobbying.

Johnson & Johnson looks to get its act together in drug aisle.Continue reading...

Kodak, a brand name that may find it a major challenge to shake its association with conventional photography, is doing everything it can to become a hip, socially aware digital photography provider.

As BC reported, Kodak's next multimedia campaign (tagline: "So Kodak") will hype the company's photo-sharing capability with a "share" button coming to all of its cameras. Kodak marketer Steve Hallowell says it's part of an effort to make sure that "Kodak is synonymous with cool, hot and worthy of sharing with others."

Kodak's latest entry into the "cool, hot and worthy" category was unveiled this week for Photokina, the major photo industry trade show being held in Germany (take a sneak peek above). The brand's new Pynk "smart printing system" includes a retail photo kiosk "automatically enlarges, shrinks, crops, aligns and arranges as many as 13 images on one print."Continue reading...

ABC viewership increased by 14 percent thanks to the Academy Awards. [LA Times]

Payless ShoeSource is extending its brand to include a cosmetics line. [WWD]

Online series 'Married on MySpace' has attracted a variety of advertisers. [Brandweek]

Mayor Bloomberg calls for a tax on soft drinks to be passed in New York. [Daily Mail]

Toyota stands up against declarations that its electronics are flawed. [Reuters]

A new eBay campaign promotes buying used to save the planet. [NY Times]Continue reading...

Pharmaceutical brands are big business, and the competition is fierce. Pharma brands are exploring inventive and aggressive ways to reach existing and prospective consumers, which often means promoting them like many other mainstream products.

So it's no surprise that Prevacid 24HR, an over-the-counter competitor of Prilosec OTC (both drugs are designed to ease the symptoms associated with heartburn) is flooding retailers with in-store promotions that rival even the most aggressive consumer marketing tactics. Even before its November launch, Prevacid 24 HR was being touted by retail superstores Costco, Target, and Wal-Mart, grocery stores Kroger and Safeway, and drug chains CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.Continue reading...

The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) is boosting the nation's vast pharmaceutical industry by moving toward cohesive branding.

By next February, the AIOCD plans to bring 20,000 retail pharmacies across India under one common brand. With the sector growing over 15% per year, the group says its target is 300,000 or more, to be brought under the common brand within several years.Continue reading...