RESTRICTED CONSUMER PRODUCTS | FOOD & DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
Distributor and Consumer Rebates Simplified.
Any business operating in the food and dietary supplements industry in the United States has to comply with the rules and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There are also regulations by government agencies in each of the 50 states regarding product development, marketing, and advertising strategies.
These rules are enforced to protect consumers against misleading information that could result in health issues.
And companies must be aware of specific restrictions they may face before planning a rebate marketing campaign and find solutions to comply with them.
Once regulatory compliance has been achieved, Incentive Insights can provide support with an effective rebate marketing strategy that can help boost sales and brand awareness.
How Is The Food and Dietary Supplements Industry Unique?
The FDA and FTC enforce the following rules to ensure consumers are protected against health risks caused by misleading information.
Banned And Restricted Ingredients
Dietary supplements come under similar regulations as food. However, many contain ingredients that have a biological effect that could conflict with a medical condition.
The approval of food and dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness is not regulated by the FDA before introducing a product onto the market.
The FDA’s task is to protect the public by monitoring new products after they are introduced onto the market and then identify and remove unsafe or illegal products or ingredients.
They rule that dietary supplements must be supported with competent and reliable scientific evidence such as research, tests, analyses, and other studies from professionals in the relevant area before they can be classed as safe.
Furthermore, they ensure that dietary supplements are well-manufactured, accurately labeled, and generally safe to use.
As it is illegal to manufacture and market misbranded or adulterated dietary supplements, any such product the FDA comes across is banned from sale in the United States.
Nutritional Labeling
The FDA inspects dietary supplement manufacturing facilities to ensure products meet applicable manufacturing and labeling requirements.
It monitors product labels to ensure that they are appropriately labeled and do not contain any misleading information, such as claiming that the product can diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases.
The label must contain the name of the supplement, the amount provided, nutritional value, ingredients, and the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor.
When a product is found to be unsafe, the FDA can work with the company to comply with safety rules, ask the company to recall the product, or take action to remove any dangerous product from the market.
Truth In Advertising Laws
The Truth in Advertising Act states that all advertising claims must be truthful and not misleading, cannot be unfair or deceptive, and require strong scientific support that must be evidence-based.
As the FTC is responsible for overseeing the advertising of dietary supplements, it regulates advertising by enforcing the truth-in-advertising law for all forms of advertising, such as newspapers, magazines, mailings, billboards, and online advertising.
Product Restrictions In The Dietary Supplements Industry
There are several essential product restrictions manufacturers need to know about
before introducing a new dietary supplement onto the market.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) states that manufacturers must inform the FDA at least 75 days before introducing a dietary supplement onto the market when it contains a new dietary ingredient that was previously unknown.
Moreover, safety information must be included on the product’s packaging to verify that the latest dietary supplement is expected to be safe when used under the recommended conditions.
The DSHEA also requires that no dietary supplement be adulterated as this can cause an unreasonable risk of illness. So, manufacturers are required to provide evidence of safety to establish the safety level that can be expected from the dietary ingredient.
In order to keep consumers safe by making informed decisions about a product, the FDA has placed stringent labeling regulations on dietary supplements. These regulations also have an advantage for the manufacturer as they can help prevent costly product recalls should the product contain an undeclared allergen.
The nine major food allergens that can be found in food and possibly dietary supplements are eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, wheat, and sesame.
The FDA has approved a couple of ways in which manufacturers can notify consumers of any potential allergens in the product. And this information has to be clearly visible to the consumer.
Good manufacturing practices (GMP) are guidelines and procedures that manufacturers can follow to ensure their goods are produced and controlled to specific quality standards.
These guidelines and procedures should be followed throughout all manufacturing aspects, from production, processing, and packaging to storage.
The Dietary Supplement’s current GMP (cGMP) rule requires producers to establish good manufacturing practices that will ensure the quality of the product and that it is packaged correctly. Manufacturers who comply with these rules can submit documents as proof of GMP compliance that will be assessed, and they will ultimately be issued with a GMP certificate.
A GMP certificate ensures consumers that the dietary supplement contains no known harmful ingredients.
The FDA requires all dietary supplement labels to include a descriptive name of the product and state that it is a ‘dietary supplement’.
It must include the manufacturer’s name and place of business, list all ingredients, and state the net contents of the product. Moreover, it must contain nutrition labeling that identifies the dietary ingredients contained in the product listed under the heading ‘Supplement Facts’.
Accurate labeling is confirmation for the consumer that what is on the label matches what is found in the packaging.
Dietary supplements cannot claim they can treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition. Neither should they make any outrageous, misleading claims promising lifestyle changes.
However, they can make structure/function claims and nutrient content claims as long as they can provide the FDA with evidence supporting them.
Structure/function claims include information about the basic benefits of a particular structure of function in the body and relate to general well-being and nutrient deficiencies.
When nutrient content claims are included, they must be referenced and listed in the ‘Supplement Facts’ panel of the label.
However, FDA authorization is necessary when health claims are made. The FDA must review any scientific evidence before approving the use of the product in such cases. An appropriate health claim could state that the product reduces the risk of disease, whereas saying that it prevents a disease is illegal.
Plan Your Rebate Program For Dietary Supplements
Incentive Insights supports the following programs that will have a remarkable influence on the success of your marketing campaign.
Mail-In Consumer Rebates
When offering mail-in rebates, a rebate sponsor must ensure the rebate process is easy to read and clear to follow. The most common option is to place a form either in or on the packaging. But it’s also possible to place forms near the product in-store where customers can pick one up.
A further option that simplifies the process for rebate sponsors and consumers is to add an easy-to-access webpage URL or a QR code. Consumers can take a quick photo of their purchase receipt with their phone and then scan the QR code to access a page where they enter the required details immediately.
This process is much faster and less labor-intensive for rebate sponsors to offer, and it enables them to gather digital customer data that requires less manual data entry than when receiving a printed form.
This type of rebate program is the best way to obtain information about a customer that can be stored in a database for future use. It’s also extremely helpful when bringing a new product onto the market, as rebate sponsors will have collected enough reliable information about consumer habits and responses to different rebate offers.
Retail Sales Rebates
Another highly effective way a manufacturer can convince retailers to stock their products and actively promote them is by offering retail sales rebates.
Motivation from the rebate sponsor in the form of offering a discount when the retailer has achieved a specific sales target will encourage store owners to stock more than they originally intended.
Such rebates lead to brand recognition and loyalty within the retail sector and help companies gain a higher market share.
Let Us Help You With A More Efficient Rebate Process
Incentive Insights can help you set up a more efficient rebate process that will result in a highly successful marketing campaign.
We offer a customized rebate processing service that will benefit your company as it includes consumer data collection, handling rebate payments, and determining innovative rebate solutions that will help increase sales and encourage brand loyalty.
We offer greater flexibility so your marketing budget can reach a larger audience with a significant reduction of the financial costs of such rebate programs.
Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn how our unique techniques can help your rebate marketing campaign.
