WASHINGTON — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), a 139-year-old industry trade organization, is rebranding its identity for the first time in twenty years. The rebranding effort has resulted in a new logo, tagline and brand narrative following the addition of consumer medical devices to its scope of representation, which had already included over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements.

CHPA (www.chpa.org) said it is positioning itself as the only association in the U.S. representing the personal health care industry, broadly.

CHPA says its rebranding efforts have been underway for more than a year and are being unveiled following “landmark legislative achievements” in 2020 that will further empower consumers to practice responsible self-care.

CHPA says its core messages are also particularly timely, considering the significant increase in consumer interest in self-care and wellness emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHPA’s new logo is intended to illustrate the association’s future-oriented outlook, the energy and enthusiasm in the self-care industry, and CHPA’s integrated focus on issues that matter to the O-T-C, supplement and device sectors, the trade group adds. Furthermore, it says the new tagline – “Taking healthcare personally” – seeks to communicate the industry’s commitment to empower consumer self-care by preserving and expanding choice and availability of consumer health care products.

“During the stay-at-home orders issued in response to the recent pandemic, Americans have been relying on personal health care products in record numbers,” says CHPA board chair Paul Gama, president of personal health care for Procter & Gamble Co. “CHPA’s evolution into a more integrated self-care association is critically important, since this is where the marketplace is already going.”

“CHPA is responding to a change in consumer behavior that has been underway for many years now. The reality is that consumers don’t get hung up on regulatory distinctions, they are increasingly seeking non-prescription self-care options across multiple categories to help them stay well and get well. Our member companies have evolved to meet this consumer need, and now CHPA is reflecting this evolution in its new brand identity,” says CHPA president and chief executive officer Scott Melville. “CHPA is home to personal health care companies who view self-care broadly.”

CHPA says its rebranding is bolstered by recent major legislative victories included in the 2020 CARES Act that benefit consumers and the industry. Modernization of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s OTC Monograph system – the system regulating most O-T-C medicines in the U.S. – is one such advancement that will “significantly and positively” affect the future marketplace for O-T-C products. According to CHPA, among other improvements, the reformed Monograph system streamlines the previous rule-making process, incentivizes innovation and provides more resources for FDA to increase efficiency and responsiveness necessary to protect public health.

The CARES Act also included a provision to help millions of consumers save money in the near term by reinstating their ability to purchase O-T-C medicines with tax-preferred savings accounts, including Flexible Spending Arrangements and Health Savings Accounts. The measure also extends HSA/FSA eligibility to menstrual care products.

“Lawmakers, consumers, physicians and public health experts increasingly recognize the important role that personal healthcare products play in the lives of consumers and the broader healthcare system,” says Melville. “The recent health care environment has further underscored public demand for, and trust in, these products. Altogether, these factors have created an environment that makes CHPA’s objectives and achievements vital to public health.”