Biocodex secures consumer distribution with CVS stores nationwide for its Florastor

Oct 8 2009

As part of its continued expansion throughout the U.S. retail market, Biocodex, Inc., the U.S. arm of the French manufacturer of Florastor^® and Florastor^® Kids, has secured consumer distribution with CVS stores nationwide beginning this month. Florastor will be placed on-shelf in the stomach/digestives aisle, while Florastor Kids will be available upon request “behind the counter.”

Florastor, which has been sold worldwide for more than 50 years, was introduced to the U.S. in 2003. The product has been available behind the counter at most independent pharmacies and on shelves in Duane Reade’s 250 stores in the New York area. Though Florastor is marketed as a nutritional supplement, its active ingredient, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo (or S. boulardii), has been clinically tested for more than 50 years. S. boulardii helps promote the growth of good microbiota to help maintain or restore optimal intestinal health.

“When Florastor was first introduced to Americans, the idea of probiotics was not well understood by mainstream consumers or even traditional medical practitioners,” says Marc H. Rohman, U.S. vice president and general manager of Biocodex, Inc. “However, as Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of probiotics, particularly yeast-based probiotics, such as Florastor, expanding distribution into the chain stores was the next logical step to meet the demand we’re seeing. We’re very excited that consumers in virtually every U.S. market will now be able to easily find the product on the familiar shelves of CVS stores.”

According to Rohman, sales of Florastor have grown annually, even without widespread on-shelf availability, as a result of increased pharmacist and consumer awareness of the probiotic category, word of mouth and physician recommendations. The latest chain shelf space acquisitions are the result of Biocodex’s work with Morgan & Sampson USA (MSUSA), with which Biocodex teamed to help manage its growth and distribution within the U.S. retail trade.

According to Dan Harper, director of sales for Biocodex, Inc., the stomach/digestives aisle is the most appropriate spot for this product – in the company of popular anti-diarrheal remedies.

“While Florastor is technically a dietary supplement, it is used successfully by many to manage digestive ailments and diarrhea, so it makes sense for it to be available in the section where the consumer will be looking for those types of items,” says Harper. “This is a fantastic opportunity to not only retain current users of the products, but for new consumers looking for a natural alternative to things like anti-diarrheal drugs.”

Florastor has been shown in more than five decades of extensive international use and multiple published studies of its ingredient – Saccharomyces boulardii – to be safe and effective, with an estimated 1.7 billion daily doses sold to date. It is mentioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in the management of C. diff-associated disease,¹ which is a potential deadly intestinal disease that has been making headline news nationally as concerns about its prevalence and severity are raised.

After undergoing voluntary testing, both Florastor^® and Florastor^® Kids are included on the list of Approved Quality products on ConsumerLab.com, the leading provider of independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness and nutrition products.