By Brenda Porter

Panic swept the country a few months ago, when the public was alerted of a shortage for this year’s supply of flu vaccine. Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson promised that those at risk—people over 65, children ages six months to two years, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, and health care workers—would be provided for, still leaving a large segment of the population potentially at risk. Fearful, consumers headed across the border to Canada while some began smuggling in illegal doses with the hopes of getting the coveted vaccine.

Thankfully, that same under-immunized group has not been besieged by the sneezy-achy-stuffy head-fever that makes it hard to get out of bed, let alone get through the day bug. Regardless, manufacturers say, now is not the time for consumers let their defenses down.

“Unfortunately the flu season is a long one, typically occurring from November through March. Many people erroneously believe if they are lucky enough to avoid the dreaded symptoms until after the holidays, they are safe for another year. Naturally maintaining good health is a year-long job, but my advice is to continue taking additional supplements throughout the entire flu season,” said Grace Ormstein, M.D., medical director and scientific advisor for Houston-based Himalaya USA.

According to Botanical Laboratories, Inc.’s (BLI, Ferndale, WA) director of marketing Kevin Cobb, “Increasing focus on immune health products during the off-season is a great way to get customers to focus on it prior to becoming sick.”

Noted Louise MacIntosh, R& D, for Futurebiotics (Hauppauge, NY), “Raising consumer awareness for any issue is a difficult task, especially when dealing with something as complex as the immune system.”

Case in point: A recent consumer survey reported by Natrol (Chatsworth, CA) concluded that most Americans do not think about immune system health preventatively.

In fact, the survey, conducted last summer by Penn, Schoen, and Berland Associates, found only 2 percent of respondents said they do. Thirty-six percent of those polled think of their immune system only when not feeling well, and 34 percent don’t know or think about their immune system at all.

The next step for retailers is to change the consumer mindset to think of immune health products, where the intent is to strengthen the immune system before the consumer gets sick.

“The good news is 55 percent of consumers are interested in knowing what they can do everyday—big or small—that can positively affect their immune system,” said Natrol’s CEO Elliott Balbert. “By becoming more attuned to the factors that impact our body’s natural defense systems, consumers will now have the necessary ammunition to make a difference.”

As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Start simple, when it comes to building up immune health defenses, said Garden of Life’s vice president of medical affairs, Joseph Brasco M.D., in his white paper, “Simple Steps to Bolster Your Immune System To Help Prevent Colds and the Flu.” According to Brasco, improving immune system health starts with five easy steps—advanced hygiene, diet, supplementation, sleep, and reducing stress.

To start, Brasco said he would recommend Garden of Life’s Clenzology Advanced Hygiene System.

“I believe that [advanced hygiene] is highly effective because it goes beyond normal hand washing to help improve…hygiene practices so that [the] body can focus on supporting [the] immune system,” said Brasco. “Advanced hygiene is designed to systematically clean and remove germs from the five areas where they are most likely to enter the body: the hands (particularly underneath the fingernails), the corners of the eyes, the nasal passageways, the ear canals, and the mouth. I believe that an advanced hygiene regimen can support the immune system and can assist in the reduction of colds and flu, allergies, and sinus problems.”

Added Orem, UT-based Xlear, Inc.’s vice president of business development, Brent McKinley, “I think more doctors are encouraging prevention versus treatment, and the media has been more aggressive in talking about what to do just in case you can’t get a flu vaccine. Anytime there is a shortage of traditional medications, people will turn to alternative tactics and natural remedies that they are familiar with.”

Xlear’s Nasal Wash is said to help keep sinuses free of infection-causing or allergy-triggering bacteria.

Shoring Up the Walls
Building up the immune system from the inside is also of importance, manufacturers noted. The reasons will vary from supplier to supplier as to what supplement type is better—single ingredient products or multiple ingredient formulations. Himalaya USA can offer stores various pure herbs like garlic, amla, and chyavanprash as well as formulations like ImmunoCare, which features a combination of herbs including amla, guggul, and guduchi, among its product line.

“Formulations like [ImmunoCare] match a large majority of body and organ needs without adverse side effects. The dosage of each single herb in a formulation is much less than in a pure herb, so formulations tend to be easier on one’s system,” said Ormstein.

Michael Schwartz, president, Michael’s Naturopathic Products in San Antonio, TX, added, “I think that the trend is toward combinations because they really are the most convenient and affordable to get the benefit from the nutrients. Plus, from the naturopathy viewpoint, the fact is that nothing in nature stands alone. This implies that when we treat ourselves we should also use multiple items. The single nutrient/herb approach is more of a medicine consciousness than a natural approach.”

Natures Benefit’s (Newark, NJ) founder, Stephen Holt, M.D., agreed, adding, “Who would be so naïve to think that one single agent can do the job?” he asked. “Formulas fine tune and amplify the many facets of immunity.” He pointed to the company’s Bio-Defense, saying the product has undergone numerous laboratory studies since its inception in 2000. “We looked at its ability to stimulate the immune system and found it able to stimulate NK (natural killer) cell function,” said Holt. Bio-Defense is a combination of immune enhancing herbs andrographis paniculata and AHCC.

The “M” Factor
New developments in cancer treatment—another disease affecting the immune system—always attract media attention and public interest, noted Ellen Shnidman, manager of scientific affairs and marketing for Ridgefield Park, NJ-based Maitake Products, Inc., a supplier of branded mushroom supplements and raw materials.

“In the past, natural product or vitamin manufacturers did not conduct much research on their products and instead relied on marketing hype or anecdotes from folk wisdom to sell products. Nowadays, it is becoming more of a requirement for these companies to support their products with scientific studies,” said Shnidman.

She added that there has been increased interest on the part of institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute in funding studies on complementary medicine and botanical products with anticancer activities, partly because so many cancer patients are using these products as adjuncts to conventional therapies.

Authors Harry Preuss, M.D. and Sensuke Konnon, Ph.D. write in Maitake Magic (Freedom Press, 2002) that there are several schools of thought as to how mushrooms help to stimulate the immune system, with one being that they are broken down into simple monosaccarides.

Natrol’s director of communications, Robert Mauser, pointed to the ingredients in Natrol’s My Defense immune support product—endorsed by basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Research suggests that ImmunEnhancer arabinogalactan, the key ingredient in My Defense, supports the activity of macrophages (white blood cells), which kill or destroy foreign bodies and cancerous cells. In doing this, macrophages stimulate the activity of other immune cells to protect against disease.

One of the most important nutrients found in macrophages is beta glucans. Medicinal mushrooms are rich in beta glucan compounds. Broader than cold and flu, maitake’s immune benefits have been linked to improving the health of users afflicted with certain types of diseases including cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS.

Johnson, who has lived with HIV for more than a decade, is said to include My Defense in his daily regimen, which includes anti-viral drugs.

Hank Cheatham, director of sales and marketing, for Purchase, NY-based Quality of Life Labs, said daily use of AHCC or ImmunoComplex can be an efficacious cold and flu preventative, to be used before the onset of symptoms. ImmunoComplex is a blend of AHCC combined with echinacea, astragalus and vitamin C and will help the body’s immune system protect itself against cold and flu virus. AHCC, available under the brand name of Kinoko AHCC, is a natural substance derived from medicinal mushrooms containing bioactive and low molecular weight hexose molecules. It is created by reacting specific enzymes with several species of medicinal mushrooms (Basidiomycetes), the company says.

To draw attention to the use of, say, mushroom supplements as a complementary supplement to chemotherapy, American BioSciences’ (Blauvelt, NY) president, David Wales, recommended that stores create and post a chart that shows how the immune system is involved with almost all aspects of their health.

It would show, Wales said, “that a balanced immune system can help with colds and flu, fighting infections, managing allergies, help with pain from rheumatoid arthritis, help alleviate stress and anxiety, and more. American BioSciences has studies showing that AHCC, as found in ImmPower, can help our systems deal with all of these conditions.”

Marketing The Message
Commenting on the study findings, Mauser noted, “The industry as a whole and its leading brands need to continually communicate the benefits of everyday immune system support. This will take a combination of great products and time.”

Not every manufacturer will go Natrol’s route and enlist “Magic” Johnson to serve as a spokesman, but instead will work directly with stores in providing individualized, creative, and effective marketing strategies.

Take Alongs: “First and foremost is the old standby of bag stuffing, which seems to have gone by the wayside. By providing educational literature that the consumer can take home and read would be a start,” said Schwartz.

Location, Location, Location: Stores may want to cross merchandize immune support products in an issue- or condition-specific area other than “immune.”

“This might be due to the fact that people typically shop a [category] rather than thinking of their immune system unless they have a cold, etc. People want a quick fix for colds and the like. Products like our Quick Immune Response are targeted to that concept and market and as such it is growing in sales,” said Michael’s sales manager Fern Ramsey.

Retailer Training: Holt said he would strongly recommend manufacturers begin investing in retailer education. “I call it EduTherapy. I believe the single most important thing a manufacturer can provide to stores is education as therapy. The first responsibility is for store staff to be educated [so they can] impart the knowledge to their customers,” said Holt.

Connect With the Customers: Find out which buttons your customers respond to—money, self-preservation, romance, or recognition, recommended Sebastian Andino, project coordinator, North American Herb & Spice/Physician’s Strength (Buffalo Grove, IL).

“If it is self-preservation, tell them they have to protect themselves from killer germs! If it is money, ask them if they can afford to be sick this year—it costs a fortune in time and money. If it is romance, tell them that when we are healthy, that is when we can really make a difference. If it is recognition, tell them that they are much too important —people depend of them to be healthy,” Andino half-joked.

Media Blitz: Manufacturers recommended stores, whenever possible use radio programs, and local news newspaper articles and advertisements, to get the word out to consumers about the benefits of immune support.

“Retailers with access to enough space for a seminar presentation will gain tremendously by promoting credentialed speakers to give presentations on immune response to their customers,” said Quality of Life Labs’ Cheatham. “These seminars should be supported by in-store flyers, direct mail activity, posters and advertising especially in local newspapers and on radio.” VR