Root’d’s new drink mixes to address US vitamin industry’s “whack-a-mole” regulation

26 Feb 2020 --- Root’d has launched a multivitamin premix for beverages tailored to the specific health needs of men, women and expecting mothers arriving in pomegranate, açaí and lemon ginger flavors, respectively. The start-up aims to become the “most transparent vitamin brand in the market” and its products are positioned as responding to an “unregulated” US vitamin industry that operates reactively instead of preemptively.

“Because the US vitamin market is regulated on the backend – meaning products are subject to scrutiny after hitting the market – there has unfortunately been a recent influx of cheap, misleading and many times mislabeled products entering the market through easier-to-access online channels. This has allowed for a ‘whack-a-mole’ type of scenario in many online channels where many players can list products freely and have been free to operate before being found by regulators,” Adams Chimera, Founder of Root’d, tells NutritionInsight. 

Click to EnlargeRoot’d multivitamin premixes address consumer demands for ingredient transparency.To prevent this within its business operations, Root’d imposes its own third-party system to ensure that consumers receive the exact content the vitamin drinks’ labeling sets forth. “Our manufacturing process begins with our Vendor Qualification (VQ) process, which is required for all incoming raw materials and packaging materials. This process ensures the materials meet the vendor’s specifications as well as our rigorous internal specifications – when they do not, they are rejected.”

Next, Root’d finished products are tested by Siliker, one of the larger labs in the nutrition industry, and go through its in-house microbiology lab as well as an Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) on all incoming materials to show any sort of deviation from its approved control lots.

“Lastly we’re also working with Food Labs Sciences, who certifies non-GMO products, adding a further layer for consumer trust. There are several other respected labs in the industry, most notably NSF International, whom we plan to work with in the future for additional certifications and transparency they offer,” Chimera explains.

Better than vitamin water?
Root’d vitamin drinks provide an alternative to the common vitamins found in stores as pill fatigue sweeps the nutrition industry and consumers are increasingly wary of “healthy” sugar gummies. The start-up highlights several advantages of ready-to-mix vitamin drinks over the industry-established vitamin waters.

“The first and most glaring difference is the sugar content, along with the large plastic bottle used in vitamin water. They’re also not a true multivitamin, usually only containing a handful of specific vitamins. This is great for many consumers, but they’re not very clear on the specific ingredients used to establish their vitamin content, so bioavailability remains a mystery.”

To combat this, Root’d lists the specific ingredient right next to the vitamin on its supplement facts panel to inform consumers not just what is in the premix, but also why it was incorporated. 

Click to EnlargeDetailed supplement facts on pack help consumers inform themselves.The target consumer groups
The premixes contain bioavailable forms of the 25 essential vitamins and minerals that bodies need every day, with “the right balances needed for women, men, and expectant mothers,” Chimera highlights. 

“The three multivitamins we currently offer are for formulated for expecting mothers, women and men aged 18 to 50, as seniors and minors have slightly different nutritional needs. The balance of vitamin content is the primary difference between the three, as needs are different for different sexes and during motherhood.”

While all three multivitamins include lutein to boost eye health and probiotics for gut health support, to name a few ingredients, Chimera explains that the Prenatal supplement is the only one of the three to include “gentle” iron, as well as folate, which can be especially beneficial for pregnant consumers. 

By Anni Schleicher

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