Purity over profits
Earlier this year, police in China seized a $5m haul of counterfeit supplements that were being sold as name brand Australian health food products.
Whenever headlines like these break, it’s an excuse to stomp on the industry – citing the perceived lack of regulation or the gamble of consuming supplements and health foods. It’s an easy headline that’s rarely followed up with an in-depth presentation of the facts and the reality.
It doesn’t fit snugly into a headline, but the UK’s supplement industries are absolutely not unregulated. The facts are that we have a highly regulated, robust framework of laws around the packaging, labelling, health claims and marketing of these products.
Compliant manufacturers pay a premium to ensure that our ingredients, supply chain and product integrity is up-to-code and free from nasties. That pushes overheads up and brings our margin down, leading to a higher price point. Despite these regulations, the slew of suspect and shortcutting products sold in the superfoods or health supplements space could make you think otherwise.
When manufacturers take the decision to swerve the rules – and purchase substandard ingredients – they are able to do so for a few reasons. If we are being kind, it’s because they aren’t clear on the regulations (which are pretty heavy). But what’s more likely, and unfortunate, is that the authorities (in the UK it’s the Trading Standards) simply can’t keep up.
Regulators’ practical and financial limitations have, in some small circles, opened a gap between rules and reality. Some manufacturers know that they can get away with shortcuts and with a large share of products being sold online, enforcing rules can become tricky.
There’s a world of hurdles to getting a certified, compliant product past the regulators and onto shelves at reputable retailers. All these processes take time and budget, pushing up the RRP versus the shadowy online equivalent.
The fact is that, as with most things in life, paying a little more to a trusted manufacturer – especially one that’s stocked on the shelves of reputable retailers – is the way to neutralise any concerns. The price might be a little more, but that’s not down to greed – it’s a necessary premium to ensure products are compliant, come loaded with integrity and that the supply chain is paid fairly.
In austere times, it can be a difficult sell to ask customers to part with more cash for the real thing when the online world is brimming with budget alternatives.
At Ibiza Superfoods we are passionate about purity over profits. We go to great lengths to source only premium and compliant ingredients. We also avoid buying from certain countries where evidence of food fraud has taken place and test the integrity of our products from start to finish. We strive to bring you the purest products we can source with absolutely no compromise.
Health & Happiness.
Verity x
Founder & Nutritional Therapist
