What is the industry getting wrong?
That was the question posed to leaders at FNIS in Lake Conroe, Texas, with discussions ranging from innovation and regulation to consumer trust and how science is communicated.
For some, the biggest problem is what consumers are seeing and hearing online.
“One thing that the nutra industry is getting wrong is the pseudoscience that’s being propagated across social media,” said Uday Gosalia, founder and CEO, UGo Beyond. “And it’s being completely ignored by regulatory and enforcement agencies. People got to shut that down.”
Diana Morgan, founder and principal, Pink Catalyst Consulting, pointed to another part of the problem: who consumers are turning to for information about supplements.
“I think the nutra industry is relying too much on influencers that are not experts in the field,” she said, highlighting influencers who launch or put their names on brands without necessarily understanding the regulatory framework, formulation or what claims can and cannot be made.
“You can’t just over-promise things,” Morgan said.
For Dan Fabricant, president and CEO of the Natural Products Association, the industry needs to rethink how involved it is in shaping the rules around supplements.
“I think just more involvement is needed,” he said, noting the number of states considering age-restriction bills and arguing that industry efforts can be too scattered.
There is also a risk in becoming too focused on whatever happens to be driving the market at the moment.
“I think that thinking some of these trends are going to last forever,” Scott Dicker, senior director of market insights, SPINS, said. “We’ve had really strong growth in the industry in certain categories... And it’s always important to look at what’s next instead of just thinking about what’s right now.”
How can the industry fix it?
For some, the answer starts with communication and collaboration — bringing people together to challenge assumptions, understand how the world is changing and look more closely at the science.
“I think talking to one another,” Fabricant said. “I think conferences like this, Future Nutra is a part of that. They’re trying to get people to think in the future where we’re going.”
Morgan also emphasized the importance of putting qualified experts behind products and ensuring influencers understand the science and ingredients they are representing.
Dicker highlighted the value of using consumer data to identify where genuine opportunities lie.
“You have to have early insights in the data. Understanding your consumer, what fits your brand is most important,” he said. “We talk about trends all day long, but if it’s not right for your brand fit, it’s not going to do well.”
There was also a call for greater self-policing within the industry.
“I think we have an internal self-policing opportunity,” Gosalia said. “I think if we get the curators of really good science and good products, along with ingredient manufacturers to buy in, you will squeeze out the inferior products.”
Across the conversations, a common theme emerged: the industry has plenty of ideas about where it needs to improve, but turning those ideas into action will require collaboration, better communication and a willingness to challenge some established ways of doing business.
For FNIS, that may be the point — creating space for the industry to have those conversations in the first place.
