Both here and in Europe, dietary supplements and functional foods and beverages are feeling the health-claims heat. While the European Food Safety Authority continues its stringent evaluation of food and supplement health claims (rejecting the vast majority of claims it reviews), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States is calling for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin applying the same health-claims assessment methods for foods and supplements as it does for pharmaceutical drugs. In an IOM report released May 12, an IOM committee concluded “that there is neither rationale nor scientific grounds for basing regulatory decisions on different levels of scientific evidence for different substances—science is science.” The report also noted that Congress “may need to strengthen FDA authority to accomplish this goal.”

Not surprisingly, the report triggered an onslaught of news stories, many of them highly critical of dietary supplements and functional foods and beverages. In its June 7, 2010, issue, Forbes Magazine takes on the $37 billion U.S. functional food and beverage industry in a story titled “Snake Oil in Your Snacks.” The piece argues that food and ingredient companies are getting rich by trying to pass their products off as pharmaceutical-like drugs without backing the health claims made for those products with pharmaceutical-grade research. To support this argument, the article analyzes the studies linked to a handful of functional products, including Lifeway’s ProBugs kefir beverage for kids, POM Wonderful’s pomegranate juice and Danone’s DanActive yogurt.

“[Most of the claims] are completely unsubstantiated,” Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, told Forbes. “Medical attention does not come from a Cheerios box.”

My biggest issue with both the IOM report and articles like the Forbes “snake oil” piece is that dietary supplements and functional foods and beverages are NOT drugs and consumers typically use these products to support their health over the long haul. A person isn’t likely to replace his cholesterol-lowering medications with Cheerios but might choose this cereal over another for its heart-healthy soluble fiber content. Similarly, I don’t give my sons ProBugs thinking that the fun kefir drinks will strengthen their immune systems so much that we no longer need to worry about eating fresh fruits and vegetables or regularly washing our hands. I do, however, appreciate that ProBugs are organic, contain no artificial colors or flavors, and are rich in calcium, vitamin D and, yes, probiotics.

As Stephen Daniells, the science editor for NutraIngredients, eloquently argued in an editorial published last week, “The regulation of food and drugs may come under the auspice of one agency in the U.S.—FDA—but foods and drugs are different. Just because Hippocrates said food should be our medicine, doesn’t mean we should regulate them as the same thing.”

That said, the dietary supplement and functional food and beverage industries have been home to companies that borrow science, use less-than-efficacious amounts of functional ingredients and/or make outrageous, unsubstantiated claims for their products. These are the companies drawing the ire of practitioners, lawmakers, regulators and the media and bringing about the very real possibility of tougher regulations for both the supplement and functional product industries.

Furthermore, even though supplements and functional foods are not drugs, companies would be wise to take a conservative approach to their product claims and invest in quality research to support the claims they choose to make for their products. This is already the reality in Europe, but the tougher stance on claims substantiation is obviously crossing over the pond to the United States. In the end, raising the level of scientific investment in both the supplement and functional industries will benefit responsible companies and consumers alike.

Nutrition Business Journal’s 2010 Healthy Foods Report, which publishes later this month, provides an in-depth look at the U.S. functional food market. NBJ subscribers receive a 10% discount when they use the code nbjsub10 to purchase this report.

Related NBJ links:

February 2010: Functional Foods and Beverages

European Union’s Health Claims Legislation Sets Nutrition Industry on Edge

2009 Supplement Business Report

Despite good intentions and a deepening understanding of nutrition and wellness, I know I’m not as healthy as I could be. As it turns out, I’m not alone. According to a new report published by Delicious Living and iVillage, most women in the United States see themselves as being only “somewhat” healthy—or worse.

“Although it may not be literally true that these women are ‘unhealthy,’ it is certain that the vast majority see room for improvement,” write the authors of the report, For Women, Healthy Is Not What You Think. “Thus, healthy food is not only intended to help maintain health; it needs to move them ‘in the right direction’ relative to their current states. This is true of younger women as well as older women.”

Published in April, the report is based on the findings from a survey of nearly 5,000 U.S. consumers—91% of them women—conducted in February 2010. The survey was designed to gauge the health attitudes, beliefs, priorities and purchasing behavior of U.S. women of all ages. From this research emerged many interesting findings about how female consumers define health and wellness; what drives them to pursue healthier choices at different points in their lives; and how these definitions and motivations affect their interpretations of label claims and ingredient attributes and purchases of specific products and brands.

Not surprisingly, U.S. women view consuming healthy food as the most important way they can support their own health and the health of their families. As a result, the majority of women say they avoid food products that contain trans fats, saturated fats, high fructose corn syrup and MSG. A smaller, but still significant, percentage of women say they avoid genetically modified foods. When evaluating label claims, the survey found that products labeled as “high fiber” are most sought out by women, followed by “reduced fat or fat free” and “low sodium.” These three claims and numerous others were ranked higher than both “organic” and “natural” by women of all ages in the survey.

Although I learned a great deal about how age and health conditions affect the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of U.S. women from reading For Women, Healthy Is Not What You Think, perhaps the most eye-opening findings from the report had to do with perceptions surrounding natural and organic. For example, 67% of the survey respondents said they believe “natural foods are better for me,” while only 57% reported believing that “organic foods are better for me.” That said, those women who purchase organic products are more active and informed consumers and generally feel better about their health than other consumers.

Nutrition Business Journal will present a deeper dive into this and other consumer research related to nutrition, health and wellness, natural & organic products, and dietary supplements in our September 2010 issue. If you’re not yet an NBJ subscriber, visit our website to learn more.

You can also purchase or read the table of contents and executive summary of For Women, Healthy Is Not What You Think via the NBJ site.

Related NBJ links:

March 2010: Organic Foods, Beverages and Personal Care

2009 Healthy Kids’ Market Report: Breaking the Entry Barrier

Marketing to Busy Moms Requires an Integrated Approach

I took a quick pulse of farmers’ markets this week to see how well they are holding up in our prolonged economic malaise. Quick answer? Better than most.

Like everything else in this modern world, the natural & organic market continues to get more and more complex as consumer interest in food sourcing continues to rise. I found evidence of this complexity in regional differences in sales performance, in buying patterns shifting from produce to meats, in the ongoing burdens of organic certification that drive farmers into the all-natural camp.

Here in Colorado, life seems pretty good. Natalie Condon of Isabelle Farm makes more on one Saturday in April at the Boulder Farmers’ Market than she would in a whole July at a host of smaller operations. Sales are strong year-over-year, and the waiting list for her farm’s CSA runs 60 deep. At Ela Family Farms, their farmers’ market business continues to grow at a strong pace. “The satisfaction for a consumer is extremely high at a farmers’ market,” says Lynea Shultz-Ela. This speaks volumes about the power of a direct-sales approach when it comes to farmers’ markets, co-ops and CSAs.

When a consumer (an eater) and a supplier (a grower) get to shake hands and swap questions before swapping money for food, a personal connection forms that colors every aspect of that sale. There is an immediacay to the transaction that eliminates so much of the cynicism that might enter into more conventional, mass-market sales transactions. Sure, the scale is smaller and choice is limited, but that’s the point. These are direct sales that trigger our impulses for a simpler, more traditional sort of commerce. It can be downright nostalgic. Very little about today’s economy has done as much to lift a consumer’s purchasing spirit as the dirt on a farmer’s fingernails as she hands you a fresh bunch of collards.

This is a small slice — the Organic Trade Association quantifies direct sales of organic foods through farmers’ markets, CSAs and co-ops at $719 million in 2009 — of a bigger and bigger pie, but an important one. The fact that sales seem to be holding steady and, in some cases, growing should make us all feel a little better about the road ahead.

For more detailed analysis of direct-to-consumer sales across the nutrition industry, don’t miss Nutrition Business Journal’s next issue, available in late May. You can always subscribe to the journal via the NBJ Website. We’d also love to hear your comments and stories below.

Related NBJ links:

2009 Direct-to-Consumer / Non-Retail Industry Sales Report

U.S. Total Food Sales, Organic Food Sales & Organic Penetration of Total Food Sales: 2000-2008

I cancel every paper catalog that is mailed to me and send promotional mailings straight to the recycle bin without reviewing them. I also do a lot of my shopping and research via the Web and never purchase anything via a 1-800 number, so I naturally assumed that direct mail was on its last, dying breath. Well, apparently I’ve been wrong. According to David Klein, CEO and president of Macromark Inc., direct mail is still very much alive—especially in the dietary supplement and nutrition market. “Direct mail advertising for nutritionals is booming,” said Klein, whose company specializes in direct marketing and mailing list management for nutrition products. “Every year we do more and more business in this space.”

Klein said two trends are currently boosting the direct mail business for supplements: The increase in the number of companies that are bringing new supplement products to market and the swelling population of consumers who are over age 50 and still prefer to learn about health-related products via print. “Many supplements are targeted to older consumers, and this demographic is still direct mail responsive and not as Internet savvy,” said Klein, who estimated that the United States is home to 15 million to 25 million consumers who are primed to respond to nutrition-related direct mail pieces.

Performing particularly well in the direct marketing arena for supplements are solo direct mail pieces that provide in-depth science-based information on one supplement product, Klein said. Although such pieces can utilize a wide range of formats, each is created with similar goals: to educate consumers about a health product’s proven benefits and then motivate those consumers to pick up the phone and order the product via a 1-800 number. Of course, to be successful, a solo direct mail piece must reach the right consumers—which is where Macromark’s expertise comes in. “The quality of the mailing list is very important,” Klein said.

Macromark works with supplement companies ranging in size from $25,000 to $400 million in annual sales, Klein noted. Many of these companies use direct mail to market supplement products targeted toward conditions that are particularly important to older consumers, such as digestive, prostate, cognitive, vision, cardiovascular and sexual health.

Nutrition Business Journal’s next issue will focus on direct-to-consumer sales of dietary supplements and other nutrition products and include a Q&A with Macromark’s Klein, who provides additional advice on how to create and conduct successful direct marketing campaigns for nutrition-related products. You subscribe to the journal via the NBJ Website.

Related NBJ link:

2009 Direct-to-Consumer / Non-Retail Industry Sales Report

Top U.S. Supplement Companies in Mail Order, Telemarketing and DRTV Channels, 2005 - Chart 225

Understanding Infomercials: The Science of Direct-Response Advertising Campaigns in the Nutrition Industry

Related Functional Ingredients Magazine link:

Marketing Insights: Integrating the Message