Vitamin/supplement packs deliver information, ease of use: label evolution continues to be the front running packaging issue, with creativity in cartons not far behind

Food & Drug Packaging, Sept, 2004 by Joanna Cosgrove

A walk through the supplement section of any local drug store will reveal that not much has changed in terms of packaging, at least upon first glance. Blister packs aside, wide-mouthed, amber polyethylene terephthalate (PET) rounds continue to reign as the trusty bottles of choice.

Secondary packaging items such as cartons are critical on-shelf marketing tools; however, they are rarely kept once a consumer opens the product at home. Labels, on the other hand, are the true mediums for innovation, education and brand name retention because they stay with the customer, offering vital product information until the bottle is empty.

This October marks the 10th anniversary of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). To appreciate DSHEA's impact over the last decade, it's important to understand how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was planning to implement nutrition labeling for supplements prior to DSHEA, asserts Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., president, Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C.

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 made nutrition labeling mandatory for all foods, including dietary supplements. Yet while original supplement labels were required to list things like fat, protein, carbohydrates and fiber, they more or less overlooked micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.

With the passage of DSHEA in 1994 came a Supplement Facts Box, a more complete and informative label feature than the Nutrition Facts Box used by conventional foods. DSHEA also granted companies the ability to list all relevant ingredients plus the actual quantity of each supplemental ingredient, rather than just its Percent Daily Value. Even more specifically, it permitted companies to show the name of the source ingredient, such as "vitamin E from d-alpha tocopherol" instead of simply "vitamin E," Dickinson says.

Pharmavite's Joy Joseph, vice president quality, product development and technical operations, says labeling will also be beneficially impacted when the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are finalized. GMPs could directly impact future consumer confidence especially when it comes to trusting label copy.

"Once FDA finalizes GMPs, we will have a much better industry," Joseph says. "GMPs will define how supplements can and cannot be manufactured and force all companies to operate on an elevated playing field. It will be a great step forward and help increase consumer confidence in products that are so helpful in maintaining good health."

The two most important functions of a label are to inform and educate--a tough proposition when there's only a small amount of real estate available to accommodate the oodles of information that merits mentioning.

That's where expanded text labels come into play.

"Many of the products we carry have lengthy formulations and, for a lot of our older consumers, their eyes aren't as good as they used to be, so it's tough to provide the information in a readable format," explains Jim Flaherty, senior vice president of marketing and advertising, NBTY. "That's why some of our products with lengthy formulations employ wraparound, fold-out booklet labels. The consumer can open the label, which provides more surface area for vital information, and replaces inserts."

NBTY markets approximately 1,500 products under several brands, including Nature's Bounty, Vitamin World, Puritan's Pride, Holland & Barrett, Rexall, Sundown, American Health and GNC (UK).

Nature Made also uses an expanded peel-and-fold text label on the front of its Advanced product line, which was launched this past April. "It's patented and aids in communicating the benefits of these advanced products: Calcium, E, C and B," notes Katherine Mardesich, Nature Made product manager. The labels also help consumers understand the benefits of the line's key ingredient: phytonutrients.

Ease of use

Each component of supplement packaging is carefully orchestrated to convey a strong, friendly brand image while conveying the product's use and benefits. The most talked about packaging concern among the supplement companies is increasing the consumer's ease of use.

"Anything that makes the product easier to use, helps with dosing and/or compliance and meets the needs of the changing marketplace interests us," says Herbalife's Audrey Sommerfeld, vice president of global product marketing. "There are a lot of interesting materials and processes available and in development. Some areas which interest us are hermetically sealed pouches, aseptic packaging, blister packs, products that can modify the packaging environment such as dessicants, odor absorbers and specialty closures that can provide measured dose dispensing."

Herbalife recently introduced several unique packaging concepts. The company's nitric oxide-booster product, Niteworks, is now packaged in a special domed jar with unique tapered label. Another product, ShapeWorks Garden 7, offers 30 daily dose phytonutrient packs in a drawbridge-style dispensing carton. The new ShapeWorks product kits also feature direct-printed, customized, microflute cartons with handles.