Dietary Supplement

No longer a ‘startup’: Bulu Box goes from samples to subscriptions

21-Mar-2017 By Adi Menayang

With its core business of sending boxes of health food and dietary supplement samples to consumers’ doorsteps, Bulu Box has enjoyed 300% revenue growth from 2014 to 2017. It's staff is poised to grow from 25 to 50+ by December 2017, and it plans...

Colorado supplement firm shut down over repeated GMP failures

16-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

A Colorado-based distributor of dietary supplements has received a permanent injunction as a result of repeated GMP violations that spanned more than four years.

AHPA awards Richard, Bass, Israelsen, Shelton and BI

16-Mar-2017

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) presented its 2017 awards to Elwood Richard, Scott Bass, Loren Israelsen, Suzanne Shelton and BI Nutraceuticals for substantive and positive contributions to the herbal products industry.

Five key Expo West 2017 supplement trends

15-Mar-2017 By Stephen Daniells

We walked and we talked and we took photos, and here’s our list of 5 key trends for supplements from Expo West 2017 in Anaheim.

The Supplement OWL takes self-regulation under its wing

07-Mar-2017 By Duffy MacKay, ND, Sr VP, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN

I don’t speak French, but anyone who took a high school civics class is familiar with the term laissez-faire. Literally meaning “to leave alone,” it’s not always the best course of action—especially for our industry.

NutraSource Diagnostics partners with Whole Foods Market on non-GMO labeling for supplements

06-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

Canadian testing firm Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc. has potentially cracked open a huge sector of the market with GMO testing certification for supplements that has been approved by Whole Foods Market for use in its stores.

Fruit d'Or bets on GudPod delivery system for cranberry juice gut health prototype

02-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

Cranberry supplier Fruit d’Or is introducing a functional beverage prototype via the new GudPod delivery system at the upcoming Expo West trade show.

Town hall type meeting in Oxford aimed at creating team approach to quality concerns

01-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

A town hall meeting among supplement companies and academics will be one of the highlights of the upcoming botanical congress to be held next month at the University of Mississippi.

RIBUS gets Non-GMO Project Verified seal for its rice-based ingredients

28-Feb-2017 By Adi Menayang

Ingredient supplier RIBUS has earned the Non-GMO Project Verified status for its rice-based natural and organic alternatives to synthetic ingredients.

More information is always better in working with analytical labs, service providers say

28-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

If there were one thing an analytical lab contractor could tell a client it might be similar to what a psychologist would tell a new patient: Don’t be shy. Tell me everything.

Enforcement likely to continue under Trump, with state AGs waiting in wings if it falters

24-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

The pace of FDA enforcement is unlikely to change under the Trump administration, at least in the near term, a former staffer has told NutraIngredients-USA.

Chinese investment in supplements expected to continue: NCN

21-Feb-2017 By Stephen Daniells

The US investment community has only a limited interest in investing in or acquiring dietary supplement brands, but interest in the sector from Chinese investors is expected to continue, says Nutrition Capital Network.

Louisiana manufacturer hit with permanent injunction to stop distribution of adulterated supplements

17-Feb-2017

The US Department of Justice has filed a proposed consent decree that permanently instructs Louisiana-based Pick and Pay, Inc./ Cili Minerals LLC to stop distributing misbranded and unapproved new drugs and misbranded and adulterated dietary supplements.

Special Edition: Blood sugar management

Panoply of metabolic diseases continues to proliferate, expert says

16-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

The term ‘metabesity’ coined by a diabetes expert has not caught on, but the problem it describes continues to grow, he said.

Georgia Nut eyes gummy consumers with fortified chocolate gems

16-Feb-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Illinois-based Georgia Nut is targeting the vitamin, mineral and supplement consumers with its chocolate gem technology to deliver a range of bioactives, from vitamins C and D, to melatonin, probiotics, turmeric, and more.

To prep for April public launch, Supplement OWL site gets a few tweaks

15-Feb-2017 By Adi Menayang

The Supplement Online Wellness Library (OWL) website has been updated to include easier data input instructions, streamlining the data population process for the first industry-wide registry of finished products.

Ritual ushers in the age of transparent and ‘instagramable’ supplements

14-Feb-2017 By Adi Menayang

With its multivitamins that look like crystal vials of sparkly white beads, Ritual’s founder and CEO Kat Schneider is literally bringing transparency to the dietary supplements industry.

Court issues permanent injunction against seller of DMAA

10-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

A court in California has approved a permanent injunction against a California dietary supplement company, driving yet another purveyor of DMAA from the market.

CRN makes progress on ambitious slate of meetings with new members of Congress

07-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

The Council for Responsible Nutrition said it is well on the way to its goal of meeting with 60 news members of Congress in 60 days.

Hiring freeze at FDA dims view of industry as adequately regulated, experts say

02-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

A hiring freeze put into place by Pres. Trump could damage efforts to make the case that the dietary supplement industry is effectively regulated, experts say.

Jim Hyde elected chair of CRN’s Board of Directors

31-Jan-2017

Jim Hyde, vice president and general manager at Balchem Human Nutrition and Pharma, has been elected chair of the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s Board of Directors, and will hold the chairman post through 2018, succeeding Harvey Kamil, vice chairman...

Hi-Tech founder claims his devotion to DMAA is part of crusade against regulatory overreach

27-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

Amid reports that new products containing the banned stimulant ingredient DMAA continue to find their way onto the market one company has persisted in marketing them openly.

Polyphenols specialist Artemis rebrands core line, branches out into purple tea

26-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

Polyphenols specialist Artemis International is rebranding its core berry-based product line and is branching out into other dark-colored botanicals including a unique purple tea. The company is also starting to develop finished formulations.

Can a Registry Build Trust?

25-Jan-2017 By Steve Mister, president & CEO, CRN

Trust is a fickle thing. Just ask the political candidates in the recent election. It’s built over time and can be squandered overnight.

Cancer claims are a big red flag that some marketers continue to wave

18-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

Like the poor, it seems for the dietary supplement industry cancer treatment claims will ever be with us.

Using national survey data, researchers examine Gingko biloba effects on the liver

16-Jan-2017 By Adi Menayang

Gingko biloba consumption did not cause any negative changes in biomarkers of liver function, a new study found.

13 categories open for entries to nutrition innovators. #NIAwards17

NutraIngredients Awards 2017: Deadline is 3 February

11-Jan-2017 By Shane STARLING

The NutraIngredients Awards are back in 2017 in Geneva at Vitafoods Europe with new categories to reward real progress and innovation in the global world of nutrition.

Expert questions role of synthetic ingredients in an industry that bills itself as ‘natural’

10-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

For one expert the question of so called synthetic botanicals goes deeper than whether they are legal. It’s a question that drives to the core of what the dietary supplement industry ought to represent.

Marketers of Prevagen charged with making false and unsubstantiated claims by FTC, NY AG

10-Jan-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Quincy Bioscience, marketers of brain health product Prevagen, has been charged with making deceptive memory, cognitive improvement claims by the Federal Trade Commission and New York State Attorney General.

Concern verges on panic in supplement industry over Trump's China trade stance

09-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

President elect Donald Trump campaigned on a program of redressing what he characterized as wrongs in the trade relationship between the United States and China. That stance, and his choice of a strident China critic for his cabinet, could present a problem...

Office of Dietary Supplements outlines five-year strategic plan

06-Jan-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Creating and disseminating analytic tools for biomarkers, seeking to better understand the microbiome, and enhancing consumer to the Dietary Supplement Label Database are just some of the new directions outlined by the Office of Dietary Supplements for...

Warning letter highlights importance of detailed quality agreements

05-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

The importance of having a detailed quality agreement with your contract manufacturer has been driven home by a recent warning letter issued to a marketer of sports nutrition products.

NDI guidance would over regulate, weaken supplement industry, Jarrow asserts

03-Jan-2017 By Hank Schultz

The updated New Dietary Ingredients draft guidance is an attempt to over regulate and weaken the dietary supplement industry with no increase in public safety, according to comments filed recently by finished goods manufacturer Jarrow Formulas.

NPA chief recounts actions on vinpocetine, Puerto Rico regs and other challenges

23-Dec-2016 By Daniel Fabricant, PhD, executive director and CEO, Natural Products Association

NPA chief Dan Fabricant recounts his association's efforts on behalf of industry in 2016.

NPA adds 18 members

22-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

The Natural Products Association has announced that it has added 18 new members to the organization recently.

Trump, vinpocetine, hemp: AHPA looks at 2016 events that will affect 2017

22-Dec-2016 By Michael McGuffin, president, American Herbal Products Association

Several events in 2016 will impact the industry in 2017 and future years. The 2016 election results tops that list. Like most other industries in the U.S., the herbal products industry will be closely watching the incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled...

NAXA chief on trust: It’s the highest asset to which the industry can aspire

22-Dec-2016 By Scott Steinford

At this time of year, many of us take advantage of the changing calendar and assess where we are as an industry. Typically, this exercise is a broad-based reflection evaluating a variety of topics. This year a group of leading industry experts were asked...

UNPA brands FDA's finished product focus in NDI guidance as unworkable and unlawful

16-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

Requiring NDI notifications on almost every new product will create a situation in which few companies will be able to comply with the new draft guidance, the United Natural Products Alliance said.

Sen McCaskill calls on FDA to quickly finalize NDI guidance

16-Dec-2016 By Stephen Daniells

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is frustrated with bureaucratic delays to the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) draft guidance, and is calling on the FDA to quickly finalize the document.

NDI draft guidance needs extensive revision, AHPA asserts

15-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

The current NDI draft guidance is unlikely to improve compliance or the quality of submissions and should be rewritten. That’s the opinion expressed by the American Herbal Products Association in comments it filed with FDA.

CRN asks FDA to broaden its view of what constitutes a dietary ingredient

14-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

The Council for Responsible Nutrition has urged the Food and Drug Administration to broaden the definition of dietary ingredients in its NDI draft guidance and to step back from requiring filings on new finished products.

First take on NDI comments: Guidance will stifle innovation without increase in safety

13-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

Comments on FDA’s NDI guidance have flooded in, and several themes have emerged. Commenters observed that the guidance will stifle competition, is overburdensome and will contribute little to the overall safety of dietary supplements.

Rehab, a Registry, and Steady Progress: The Year that Was

12-Dec-2016 By Steve Mister, President & CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition

In many respects, 2016 will go down as the year that the unexpected and the improbable came to pass. For dietary supplements, however, the year was more predictable with a steady road toward rehabilitating its image tarnished from the prior year’s events...

GNC agrees to DOJ plan for greater product surveillance to settle USP Labs issue

08-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

Retailing giant GNC has entered into an wide-ranging agreement with the Department of Justice aimed at preventing potentially unlawful ingredients and supplements from showing up on its shelves.

Celebrity endorsements matter to Millennial men buying dietary supplements, says Packaged Facts

01-Dec-2016 By Adi Menayang

Compared to women, men are more likely to buy nutritional supplements endorsed by a celebrity, says a report by Packaged Facts.

5 innovative supplement delivery systems to watch

30-Nov-2016 By Adi Menayang

As November comes to an end, consumers are starting to look for holiday gift and stocking-stuffer ideas. Gadgets are a popular choice, and these days, even the nutrition space is thriving with apps and gadgets. We rounded up eight innovative supplement...

China supplements market uncovered (part two): Which health claims can entice Chinese citizens?

23-Nov-2016 By Gary Scattergood

Analysis of the top 20 claims of new health supplement launches in China between 2014-16 shows products targeting female and seniors are on the rise, with claims related to bone, cardiovascular and brain health increasing rapidly. But is this want consumers...