PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Mucinex is joining forces with Kinsa in a first-of-its-kind partnership to get ahead of sickness by using state-of-the art predictive data to inform and power its nationwide supply chain and inventory management system and help direct its health advice to consumers where and when they need it the most.  The brand’s new GeoVitalPredictor taps Kinsa’s aggregate, county-level population health insights and 12-week advance forecasting model to create the most sophisticated and informed end-to-end supply delivery process, while also improving the brand’s ability to share localized healthcare messages to consumers who are in the most need of relief from cold and flu symptoms.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers across the country were inundated with conflicting healthcare messages and also experienced empty store shelves.  As a result, worries grew from conflicting healthcare messages and having access to basic supplies, including go-to over-the-counter remedies. According to research firm Suzy, 61% of consumers said they had to buy brands that they normally don’t because their favorite and trusted brands were not in stock.  Mucinex’s GeoVitalPredictor was developed in record time by the cross-functional consumer health team at RB to ensure that consumers have full access to the extensive portfolio of Mucinex relief remedies and credible and accurate health advice at just the right time to take on colds and the flu no matter where or when illness strikes.

The Kinsa system consists of an internet-connected smart thermometer that syncs to a mobile app to guide users to the care they need to get better faster, while simultaneously aggregating early indicators of illness – including fever – to understand where and when illness is spreading. With more than two million thermometers expected in circulation by the Fall of 2020, aggregating health insights from more than four million people, Kinsa is able to accurately predict as far out as 12-weeks in advance where in the U.S. sickness will start and how quickly it will spread. Equipped with this information, Mucinex will be able to see where cold and flu relief is needed most and nimbly direct the supply of its cold and flu remedy to retail locations in counties where outbreaks are happening, and consumer need and demand are high.

“The last thing you want to worry about when you’re sick and hoping to recover fast is your go-to medicine being out of stock,” said Claudine Patel, vice president, marketing for Mucinex. “Our job is to make people feel better, and this predictive technology allows Mucinex to work nimbly with retailers across the country to bring our proven relief to store shelves at the exact time and location our consumers need it most. With our new “GeoVitalPredictor” model, we have even more knowledge and agility to help fight sickness before it happens and also to better direct our communication efforts and advice to the people who want to feel better fast.”

“Kinsa was founded with the mission to help stop the spread of illness through early detection and early response. We are thrilled to be sharing Kinsa’s state of the art, real-time analytics and geo-specific insights with Mucinex to help the brand get relief to the people who need it most.,” said Inder Singh, the founder and CEO of Kinsa. “With contagious illnesses affecting millions of Americans each year, it is our goal that the public health technology we’ve spent years building be used to help people get better faster. We are glad that Mucinex found a meaningful way to apply our real-time insights, and hope that with this partnership, a retail pharmacy customer never leaves the store without their trusted relief medications.”