Warner-Lambert Quanterra Single Supplement Line Begins Shipping Sept. 21

Warner-Lambert's new Quanterra line of single-ingredient dietary supplements will begin shipping with two products around Sept. 21 to drug, food, and mass merchandise outlets. The two are the first in what Warner-Lambert projects will be a complete line of herbal supplements.

One of the two introductory products, Quanterra Mental Sharpness ginkgo biloba supplement, claims to promote and maintain mental sharpness, including concentration and focus, according to promotional material provided by the company. Mental Sharpness also promotes circulation to the brain and extremities, Warner-Lambert maintains.

The standardized extract in the product is 60 mg ginkgo, including 24% flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones with less than five parts per million ginkgolic acids.

Warner-Lambert's second herbal introduction, Quanterra Prostate, claims it will help "maintain healthy urinary flow" and "support male prostate health." The Quanterra Prostate supplement has 160 mg of standardized saw palmetto extract.

The cost for a 28-count bottle of each product will be approximately $12 to $13.50 at most retailers. Quanterra Mental Sharpness tablets are available in 28- or 56-count bottles, while Quanterra Prostate is packaged as 28-count softgels.

Warner-Lambert is backing the line with the "Quanterra Promise": "When you buy Quanterra you can be assured you are taking a clinically proven herbal extract. The name Quanterra combines a sense of scientific rigor (quant) with a sense of the earth and nature (terra), both of which speak to the brand's attributes."

The company is supporting the launch of the Quanterra line with "strong, media, professional and consumer programs with a primary focus on education," the promotional fact sheet says. The ad agency handling the Quanterra product introduction is Chandler Chicco.

Advertising will begin in November with television commercials for Quanterra Mental Sharpness. Individual print ads will break in December for Quanterra Prostate and in January for Quanterra Mental Sharpness.

Direct mailing to professionals for the product will begin in October with continuing educational programs following the introduction of the line. According to the promotional material, Warner-Lambert also plans to advertise Quanterra in "top medical journals" and to attend "major" conventions to present the Quanterra line to professionals.

To increase consumer accessibility to the products, Warner-Lambert has dedicated a Web site and a toll-free number to the new herbal supplement line.

Introductory newspaper brochures will be distributed to 10 mil. households Nov. 29. The company also has planned to offer educational material and a $2-off coupon to 23.5 mil. magazine subscribers in February.

Warner-Lambert is working on line extensions for Quanterra herbal supplements. Quanterra Mood St. John's wort will be shipped in January. Additional entries will follow during the next year, the company said.

In its promotional information, Warner-Lambert includes the standard FDA disclaimer that the claims of the two new Quanterra products have not been evaluated by FDA, and the products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The company does, however, assert the products are clinically proven by doctors.

The Quanterra line is Warner-Lambert's biggest entry to date in the dietary supplement category. The company's foray into the market came with the Halls Zinc Defense and Celestial Seasonings Echinacea and Siberian Ginseng lozenges. Both products were introduced in September 1997("The Tan Sheet" Sept. 8, 1997, p. 12).

Warner-Lambert's Quanterra herbal supplement line follows other efforts from major pharmaceutical firms, including Bayer's One-A-Day Specialized Supplements ("The Tan Sheet" July 20, p. 1). Centrum marketer Whitehall-Robins also has disclosed plans to extend its products into the herbal category.