An Industry Wish List for 2015

The holidays and the start of a new year always lead to soul searching and thoughts of improvement. The supplement industry is no different. Below, some members share what they wish to see in the coming year.

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"NattoPharma's wish for the New Year will be that industry reaffirms its efforts to act ethically and responsibly. Over-promising results and making false claims, along with borrowing science to make your product or ingredient a standout does the industry as a whole a great disservice. If we all invest to ensure we are putting the best possible proven products on the market, we will have an industry impervious to criticism that consumers can truly trust to help them achieve optimal health." -- Eric Anderson, Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, NattoPharma USA, Inc.

“I wish for less GMOs, less pesticide,s and less consumption of chemical additives that destroy health.”  -- Melanie Archuleta, Founder/CEO Solis Nutritional Inc.

“My wish is for the industry to get back to the basics! Let’s research and discuss the benefits of vitamins, minerals, essential oils, and probiotics. I want to help people first and foremost develop a strong supplement foundation BEFORE worrying about the latest Amazon herb that apparently cures everything from cancer to ebola.” -- Bill Arthur, owner, Nutraceutical Solutions Consulting

“As we saw again this year, credible science can help strengthen our industry and foster greater appeal to consumers who are seeking more and more information, which often happens directly at the point of purchase via mobile devices, The technology allowing such quick mobile checks has only emerged a couple of years ago, but technology does not create content, it simply facilitates its access.. Our New Year wish is that safety, quality research, and innovation continue to be a priority and address top consumer wellness goals and today’s growing retail markets—including segments such as beauty, sports nutrition, or cognitive function.” Sébastien Bornet, director of global marketing at Horphag Research (worldwide supplier of Pycnogenol)

"In 2015, I'd like to see responsible companies come together to help support the positive regulatory changes, as well as work in partnership to shift the view of our industry to one that is safe and trustworthy with a mission to help individuals lead healthier lives." -- Lynda Doyle, vice president, global marketing, OmniActive Health Technologies

“Our wish for 2015 is for truly innovative supplements for kids and teens to help fill those nutrient gaps.” -- Kathleen Dunn, MPH, RD & Lorna Williams, MPH, RD industry consultants and co-authors of Eating for A’s

“My wish is for continued growth of the Natural Products Association’s (NPA) membership, in a fashion that is consistent with the engagement and leadership our organization has always shown. I also wish for political success for our industry in 2015, in addition to expanding the effectiveness and commitment from members within the NPA Political Action Committee (NPA PAC).” -- Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., CEO and executive director, Natural Products Association

“It would be my greatest wish if the industry raised its scientific standards when developing plant materials. I would hope that we would investigate more plants for development, plants in combination that offer health support to meet the multifuncional attributes of the complex biological system that we call our bodies.” Trish Flaster, MS, executive director, Botanical Liaisons, LLC

“In 2015, I’d like the FDA to resolve NDI guidance, considering the industry’s concerns with the original draft.  We need to regulate incoming ingredients through DSHEA – not revise CSFAN’s Redbook (“Toxicological Principles for the Safety Assessment of Food Ingredients”) to regulate them as food additives. This feels like another attempt to make it difficult to bring new dietary ingredients to market, a direct conflict with the intent of DSHEA.” -- Bob Green, chairman, Novel Ingredient Services

“I wish that dietary supplement companies who are manufacturing and marketing legitimate, tested, cGMP compliant products would exert more overt peer pressure on non-compliant manufacturers to raise the quality bar on the supplements they produce and distribute to trusting consumers.  As an industry, we have a stewardship to execute, and we owe it to our valued end consumers to provide efficacious, safe, proven health solutions. When we see others who are not meeting industry standards, we should call them out and be more vocal in demanding that they toe the line for the good of the industry as a whole. Sitting silent doesn’t really help anyone, and isn’t fair to the public trust.” -- Jeff Hilton, co-founder and CMO, BrandHive

“I wish the industry would get rid of adulteration, false advertising, and improve overall quality standards in the dietary supplement industry.” -- Suhail Ishaq, president, BioCell Technology, LLC

“That the scientific community views nutritional supplements as a key ingredient in attaining and maintaining good health and recognizes that meta-analysis is not valid in measuring efficacy of nutritional supplements.” --  Harvey Kamil, NBTY, Inc., CRN Board Chairman

“I would like to disclose claims regarding a product’s benefits which have legitimate substantiation. The standard would be the acceptance of valid scientific evidence as compliance.” -- Andreas Koch, marketing director, Barlean’s

"I wish for sustainable, pesticide-free, low/no heavy metals, GMO free, gluten-free, unadulterated botanicals that are harvested by free, adult aged, peaceful individuals. I also hope everyone has a healthy, disease-free 2015." -- Randy Kreienbrink, VP of marketing, BI Nutraceuticals

“In 2015, I’d like to see industry and FTC come to agreement about what the flexible standard for ‘competent and reliable scientific evidence’ for advertising means. A drug-like model for advertising substantiation is not appropriate for dietary supplements and functional foods, and we need clarity from FTC, the courts, and Congress that the law does not permit FTC to impose this burden on products that were never intended to be drugs.” -- Steve Mister, President & CEO, the Council for Responsible Nutrition

“I wish that the mainstream medical community would actually take some time to seriously learn about nutrition, and utilize it in clinical practice, and that consumer pharmaceutical ads would be banned. A girl can dream, right?” -- Heidi Rosenberg, senior PR counsel, BrandHive

“As the natural products industry continues to evolve and grow, the need for authenticity and integrity of brands becomes paramount. Honesty and truth in materials is critical for our industry for the long term. This is my wish for 2015.” -- Ric Scalzo, CEO, president, and founder, Gaia Herbs

"For the next year, I wish manufacturers will explore more exotic ingredients to give formulations a breath of fresh air." -- Steve Siegel, vice president, Ecuadorian Rainforest, LLC 

“In 2015, aside from the valiant self-policing and industry-promoting efforts of the Natural Products Foundation, I hope our industry and other trade associations focus more of their resources on proactively communicating the benefits and value of dietary supplements–instead of just reacting to negative news stories. Building a positive image through advertising and public relations will do much more to reshape public opinion than defending against the often baseless negativity of our critics.” -- Michael A. Smith, MD, senior health scientist, Life Extension Foundation

“To see continued market innovation and new products that are backed by rock solid science. This will help legitimize our industry, drive growth, and produce more satisfied customers.” -- Scott Steil, president, Nutra Bridge

“Our holiday wish is for greater joint health awareness and progress. While the joint health category has traditionally focused on consumers 50+, research shows the benefits of supporting your health earlier in life. Consumer education and product innovation–such as new delivery forms like gummies and added benefits for muscle and energy for exercise–will help expand appeal to younger consumers in 2015.” -- Kimberly Vigliante, SVP marketing, Osteo Bi-Flex