Industry News Roundup

Speech supplement firm stifled; Botanical Adulterants Program guidance debuts; Fruitful supplements, app launch; Bulu partners with bug protein firm; Healthy Mama extends line; Unilever acquires P&G’s Camay; demand soars for prebiotic infant food supplement; Axiom adds facility, appoints medical board chief; Kefir national ads debut during Golden Globes; and direct selling veteran heads foru.

FTC stifles speech supplement firm

NourishLife LLC failed to disclose material connections with endorsers of its Speak dietary supplements and made unsubstantiated claims that the product treated childhood speech disorders, including those associated with autism, according to a settlement of the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint against the firm. FTC said on Jan. 9 said the Lake Forest, Ill., firm since 2008 sold Speak softgels and capsules and Speak Smooth liquid children’s supplements online and through distributors for more than $70 per bottle. The supplements, which contain omega-3 and -6 fatty acids and vitamins E and K, were advertised via the Internet, including search engine ads such as Google sponsored links and on websites, and at conferences on autism spectrum disorders. The proposed order in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois settling FTC’s charges would prohibit NourishLife and its president, Michael Nottoli, from making false claims about the effectiveness of any supplement, food or drug; providing others with the means to make these prohibited claims; and misrepresenting the independence of any website or other publication that advertises their products; and require them to clearly and prominently disclose any material connections to any such website or publication or to any person endorsing their products. The proposed order imposes a judgment of $3.68 million, partially suspended – based on the defendants’ inability to pay – after they pay $200,000, FTC said.

Botanical Adulterants Program guidance debuts

The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program publishes analytical assessments of methods for authenticating the ingredient identity and detection of adulterants in skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), the first document in its Laboratory Guidance Document series for botanical ingredients. The American Botanical Council-American Herbal Pharmacopoeia-University of Mississippi National Center for Natural Products Research program launched in 2011 is an international consortium of nonprofit organizations, analytical laboratories, industry members, professional scientists and others that help quality control personnel and lab technicians in the herbal medicine, botanical ingredient and dietary supplement sectors choose the most appropriate techniques and methods for their specific analytical needs (Also see "Industry Herbal Adulterants Program Seeks To Simplify Detection" - Pink Sheet, 7 Nov, 2011.). For the skullcap and forthcoming bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) extract and black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) guidances, 23, 38, and 31 analyticalmethods were evaluated, respectively, according to the program’s Jan. 8 release.

Fruitful supplements, app launch

Fruitful kits for couples contain “effective” levels of ingredients to optimize the fertilization process and support safe conception and pregnancy, according to Tel Aviv-based marketer Fruitful Way Ltd. The kit features supplements for men and women to address the micronutrient deficiencies that can prevent conception, and a Fruitful smartphone app that uses proprietary technology, data sharing and daily reminders to assist couples in defining their fertility window, the firm said Jan. 7. Clinical and family physicians and scientists developed the app and algorithm for it and the fertility supplement is manufactured and sourced in the U.S., the firm said. Available online, the kit costs $127 for a month’s supply.

Bulu partners with bug protein firm

Vitamin and supplement sample subscription firm Bulu Box Inc. provides customer survey data from distributing more than a million samples to help insect-based protein product maker BugEater Labs reach consumers. University of Nebraska-Lincoln students launched BugEater Labs as an entry into the 2014 Thought For Food challenge on tackling the global food security challenge. The students developed a brand for their product, Jump! Cricket Protein Meal Replacement, and a product line focused around a sustainable model of food development. Lincoln, Neb.-based Bulu delivers monthly subscription boxes that allow subscribers across the U.S. to sample vitamin, nutrition and weight loss products (Also see "Sample Boxes Grow As Supplement Marketing Tool" - Pink Sheet, 18 Mar, 2013.).

Healthy Mama extends line

Maternal Science Inc. extends its Healthy Mama line with Be Well Rounded!, a package of dye-free prenatal vitamins and docosahexaenoic fatty acid supplements available nationwide in retailers and online. The Woodcliff Lake, N.J., firm said Jan. 5 the products are formulated for pregnant and nursing women to provide 17 essential vitamins and minerals, a gentle iron to help reduce constipation and Lutemax 2020, a blend proven to support eye and brain health, protect from harmful blue light and increase skin hydration. DHA soft gels are formulated with 450 mg DHA for fetal brain and eye development, a dosage “100% greater than leading brands,” according to the firm, which also markets energy drinks, an acetaminophen pain reliever and an indigestion product. Be Well Rounded!retails for $29.99 for a two-month supply (Also see "Symbol Indicating OTC Safety For Pregnant Women Could Point To Sales Growth" - Pink Sheet, 9 Jul, 2014.).

Unilever acquires P&G’s Camay

Procter & Gamble Co. pares down its brand portfolio with the sale to Unilever PLC of Camay globally and the Zest brand outside North America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; Unilever notes the brands posted sales of $225 million in fiscal 2014. As part of the deal expected to be finalized during the first half of 2015, P&G will sell its bar soap manufacturing facility in Mexico to Unilever. In August 2014, P&G said it would divest or discontinue approximately half of its brands as part of a streamlining effort (Also see "P&G To Cut Portfolio In Half, Refocus On Core In Simplification Strategy" - Pink Sheet, 1 Aug, 2014.). P&G sold Zest in North America in 2011 to private equity firm Brynwood.

Demand soars for prebiotic infant food supplement

Demand for galacto-oligosaccharides, prebiotics that provide infant food products with properties equivalent to human milk, should drive global sales to $1.01 billion by 2020, says Grand View Research Inc. In a Jan. 5 release, the San Francisco firm says its study, “Global Market Analysis Size and Segment Forecasts To 2020,” shows the global GOS market will grow at a compounded annual rate of 9.3% from 2014 to 2020, from 94.1 kilo tons to 175.7 kilo tons. GOS marketers Yakult, Nissin, RoyalFriesland Campina and Ingredion accounted for more than half of the market share in 2013 and should continue to dominate the market.

Axiom adds facility, appoints medical board chief

Contract manufacturer and private label dietary supplement developer Axiom Laboratories LLC expands its capabilities to serve supplement distributors, medical practitioners, retailers and other businesses with the acquisition of a Cedartown, Ga., nutritional supplement manufacturing facility previously owned by [Metaugus Inc.] In the approximately 100,000 square-foot space, Axiom Labs daily can produce 10 million capsules, 150,000 tablets, 75,000 units of powdered product and 50,000 liquid product units, the Newnan, Ga.-based firm notes. Axiom Labs acquired Metaugus in July 2014. The deal provides the firm the ability to provide customers a “wide variety of highly innovative dietary supplements,” says James VanBrocklin, CEO of parent firm Axiom Nutraceuticals.

Additonally, Axiom named Jeffrey Hendricks chief medical advisor on a panel of doctors and nutritionists who provide support to nutritional distributors in the development, formulation and creation of dietary supplements. Hendricks, with experience in family, integrative and occupational medicine practices, is known for his discovery of how subtle nutritional signals can dramatically affect disease risk. He has experience within nutrigenomics, driving his passion for the nutritional and dietary supplement industries. Axiom on Jan. 6 said its advisory board is a resource for dietary supplement distributors, giving retailers and online sellers nutrition and health information regarding product formulations.

Kefir national ads debut during Golden Globes

Cultured kefir dairy product marketer Lifeway Foods Inc. expects to reach an audience of more than 20 million with the airing of its first national TV commercial for Lifeway kefir during the Golden Globes broadcast Jan. 11. “Lifeway’s debut on a national broadcast of this scale reflects the evolution of its flagship cultured dairy beverage from a niche ethnic and health food product to a mass-market food carried by major grocery chains in the U.S.,” the firm said Dec. 22. The “whimsical” 30-second spot emphasizes Morton Grove, Ill.-based Lifeway’s commitment to sustainability, social good and responsible business practices, according to the firm. The spot will also run on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special airing Feb. 15. The ad campaign follows the firm’s efforts to expand Lifeway’s market awareness as well as its global presence. The firm recently acquired a 170,000 square-foot dairy plant in Wisconsin and expanded distribution to the U.K. and Canada.

Direct selling veteran heads foru

Foru International, a direct seller of skin care, nutrition and weight management products formulated on consumers’ DNA analysis, appoints Sharon Morgan Tahaney president. Tahaney’s background includes more than eight years as a creative consultant to Mary Kay Inc. and 11 years with Tupperware Brands Corp., most recently as senior VP of leadership development. She also authored a book for Mary Kay about founder Mary Kay Ash, four personal finance books for independent entrepreneurs and a strategy book for direct selling executives, according to the Dec. 22 release. Tahaney replaces Karl Krummenacher at the Irving, Texas, company, which in January 2014 settled with the Federal Trade Commission on charges of deceptive advertising claims for its nutritional supplements when it operated as a GeneLink Inc. subsidiary (Also see "In Brief: laxatives warning, FTC settlement, ChromaDex inks 5LINX deal" - Pink Sheet, 13 Jan, 2014.).

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