Our media if filled with claims! False ones mostly! Companies inundate us with how their products will help us look like Justin Beaver (if you’re a young enough guy), smell like coco Chanel (if you’re a woman) and feel like you’ll live forever. We all know deep down that we probably won’t have abs that look like a six pack unless we put the effort in, nor will we drive an Audi 8 unless we come into a windfall, or have tea with the Queen of England to discuss plans for next year’s garden party unless you figure out how to get the world out of the mess it’s in…and then you’ll probably be knighted.
I think you get my point.
Do Claims help sell more product?
The simple answer is yes. Whether they are true or not labeling and product claims sell more product when marketed right. But not for long if the claims are unsubstantiated. Also, at retail, false claims can be very costly if discovered and can result in recalls. Besides all this it’s just not right.
Consumerlabs.com is a great resource for those of you involved in the better health and nutritional industry. In a recent article they pointed out that the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) said products containing DMAA (a sports performance enhancement compound) could not be labelled as coming from the Geranium plant. If your manufacturing health products of any kind, the AHPA has all the guidelines that you need to check before going out to market.
The Consumer has Advocates so be careful
You should be advised that the consumer has advocates like with healthclaimseurope. As a European outfit they have simplified how to make claims on your custom labels. In an article they posted by Shane Starling, here are 3 guidelines Health Claims Europe decided both Scientists and marketers keep in mind when making labeling claims:
- there was adequate characterization of the food constituents
- the health benefits were specific
- there were targeted studies
Marketing tips to help you sell it
For Best Practices in customizing your labels for the health food industry you can find most of what you need to watch out for at Health Canada. Here of some of the things they say you should make sure are included on Natural Health Products:
- product name
- product licence number
- quantity of product in the bottle
- complete list of medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients
- recommended use (including purpose or health claim, route of administration and dose)
- any cautionary statements, warnings, contra-indications and possible adverse reactions associated with the product
- any special storage conditions
Check to see what the Big Boys are doing
You’ve probably heard it said that if you want the flu, hang out with people who have the flu. Well, if you want to grow oyour business (and can’t hang out with your competition just because they won’t let you) then look at what they are claiming on their products. You’ll still have to do your homework, but they’ll give you a pretty good idea on how to do it right.
