Episode 20: The Harmony of Marketing, Consumer Trends, and Hot New Products with Alexis Collins

Back to the drawing board with SGS Nutrasource VP of NHP & Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences, Tania John! Listen in as Will and Tania unpack the intricacies of Canadian NHP regulations and really dive into the proposed cost recovery program. Beyond the financial implications, such as the transition from zero costs to potentially $58K for a new product licence, the podcast explores the broader impacts on companies and consumers alike. Will these increased costs be shifted onto consumers? What does this mean for businesses eyeing Canada as a market? Learn about the political dimensions and industry responses, considering Canada's reputation as the gold standard for NHP regulations. ____ Ms. John brings 17 years of regulatory and quality experience in the Canadian Natural Health Product (NHP) space, including cross-functional support and project management. As Vice President of NHP & Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences, Tania works closely with SGS Nutrasource’s analytical, clinical, medical writing, business development, and marketing teams to ensure client objectives are exceeded through strong scientific substantiation and strategic partnership. She has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Guelph, majoring in Nutrition & Nutraceutical Sciences and Food Safety & Quality Assurance, respectively. Previously, Ms. John served as a Product Licensing & QA Associate at Now Foods/Puresource Inc. prior to joining SGS Nutrasource as Regulatory Affairs Specialist and, later, Associate Director, then Director of Regulatory Affairs. After 6 years, Ms. John took on a Regulatory Affairs Lead position at the Clorox Company where she was instrumental in Canadian compliance and innovation licensing of its natural health supplements, namely the Renew Life and NeoCell brands. While passionate about all categories, she has developed a niche for herself in the beauty from within and digestive care areas. She is also a steward of the industry, leading the Global Prebiotic Association’s (GPA) Scientific & Technical and Regulatory Committees and is actively involved with the Canadian Health Food Association’s (CHFA), serving on their Regulatory Affairs Advisory Council.

Join us as Vitamin Angels President & Founder / CEO, Howard B. Schiffer, sits down with Nutrasource President and CEO, William Rowe. In this illuminating episode, learn how Vitamin Angels came to be and is now one of the most impactful organizations globally. Howard begins with how the “earthquake” kickstarted everything and why children’s health and nutrition is of special interest to Vitamin Angels. Listen in as Howard shares 2 of the most inspiring stories behind Vitamin Angels and his career. Plus, find out why nutrition and supplements should be regarded not only as performance enhancers, or preventative strategies, but also as a part of public healthcare. _____ About Howard B. Schiffer Nearly 30 years ago, Howard Schiffer, a former midwife-turned-executive in the natural products industry, was struck by the dramatic impact that vitamin A has on a child’s development, yet how very few of the children who needed it had access to it. This realization inspired him to form Vitamin Angels. Since then, Vitamin Angels has expanded into other proven, high-impact, evidence-based nutrition interventions to stop malnutrition from the start for mothers and children worldwide. Last year, Vitamin Angels reached more than 70 million at-risk pregnant women and children annually in 65 countries, including the U.S. Under Howard’s leadership, Vitamin Angels has become the largest distributor of vitamin A to the non-profit and faith-based community globally. In 2018, Howard announced a new goal for Vitamin Angels: to eliminate infant mortality surrounding childbirth due to vitamin deficiency diseases by the year 2030. To improve birth outcomes and save lives on a global scale, the organization is aiming to reach 50 million women annually with prenatal vitamins and minerals by 2030. Howard and Vitamin Angels’ work have been featured in a number of major news and media outlets including TODAY, CNN Money, Reader’s Digest, KTLA, Medium, Forbes, NY Post, Money Magazine, and Good Day LA as well as numerous industry specific publications. Under Howard’s leadership, Vitamin Angels has twice been named a Top 10 “Highly Rated Charity Relying Solely on Private Contributions” by Charity Navigator in addition to earning ten consecutive 4-star ratings. Vitamin Angels has a Platinum rating from GuideStar.

Join us on the NutraStrong™ podcast as Stratum Nutrition Director of Product & Brand Strategy, Alexis Collins, explores the world of product marketing, consumer trends and hot new products on the horizon for 2023. Topics of focus include the rise of female focused ingredients (and research), mental stress and anxiety, the “free from” craze, and a certain supplement delivery format has surpassed the capsule! Plus, listen in as Alexis shares how the traditions and culture she grew up with has helped shape her appreciation for natural health products and wellness today. ___ Alexis has been working in the dietary supplement industry for over 10 years, with a large focus on ingredient research and development. She enjoys teaching others about interesting ingredient research and working together to find the best way to fit an ingredient into a formulation in a marketable and compliant manner. 

Listen in as Trust Transparency Center CEO, Len Monheit, joins us on the Nutrastrong podcast to discuss the various initiatives he and the team behind Trust Transparency Center are leading in our nutra industry.  Hosted by Nutrasource President and CEO, William Rowe.

Today we explore brand protection, specifically the world of trademarking, with Amanda Roach and Angela Kalsi, Partners of the Amin Talati Wasserman law firm. In this lighthearted episode, we dive into the basics of trademarking, the value it brings to companies and, interestingly, why it should be regarded as a capital expenditure rather than an operating cost. Learn more on how trademarks work in relation to patents and how to create the strongest types of trademarks (in forms that you’d never expect!). Plus, discover the niche of Trademark Squatting and find out what’s happening in the world of CBD product trademarking. _____ About Amanda Roach Amanda's practice focuses on the trade111ark lifecycle. Since 2006, Amanda has counseled clients on brand selection. portfolio strategy, trademark application prosecution, brand enforcement and defense, due diligence, anti-counterfeiting measures. and trademark maintenance stretching from the  United States to more than 140 countries around the world. Her  extensive knowledge of trade111ark law is much appreciated by her clients as she often secures rights that would be otherwise  unattainable using creative. outside-the-box approaches.  Amanda is proud to have represented businesses of all sizes from Fortune 100 companies to promising start-ups to not-for­profits allowing her to tailor trademark strategies that respect  each client's unique needs and botto111 line. Her clients operate in a wide array of industries including food, dietary supplements. cosmetics, pharmaceuticals. medical equipment, water reclamation, oil and gas. household goods and fixtures. employment, and entertainment.  When not hard at work with her amazing trademark team. Amanda enjoys playing with her kids. exploring new cities with her husband. and revising her novel.  About Angela Kalsi A seasoned trademark attorney, Angela kalsi understands that a company's most valuable asset is its brand. Angela works with companies large and small to develop robust brand protection strategies. Having managed trademark portfolios for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups. and everything in between, Angela is adept at tailoring her advice to fit a particular client's needs. Angela has worked with companies in a diverse array of industries and brings this broad-based experience to every problem she solves.  Angela specializes in US and international trademark prosecution, guiding her clients in trademark selection, registration, and maintenance. Her practice spans over fifty countries. Angela has a proven track record of resolving her clients' trademark disputes, including in cases before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Angela's experience also includes registering works at the Copyright Office and authoring a variety of intellectual property agreements.  An art lover, Angela worked at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival prior to practicing law. She brings this love of creativity to her work and never tires of seeing what her clients create. Whether it is an imaginative tagline or an eye-catching logo, Angela feels passionate about her role in protecting her clients' brands and creations.  When she is not hard at work for her clients. Angela delights in reading great novels. trying new restaurants. and perfecting her karaoke repertoire. 

We love the way Diana puts it, "Party with purpose!" In this episode of the Nutrastrong™ podcast, join us as we learn about the vision behind What's Up With Supps with Founder, Diana Morgan. Listen in as we explore what's next for What's Up with Supps and how Diana is working to inspire the next generation of industry leaders. Also available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo7wIvkJSC4&t=408s  __ About Diana Morgan, MS, CISSN Innovative and Entrepreneurial strategist with 15 years of experience in the dietary supplement industry in areas such as Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, Technical Services and Sales coupled with a personal passion for nutrition & health

In this episode of the Nutrastrong podcast, we are joined by ResBiotic Founder and CEO, Dr. Vivek Lal and explore a variety of concepts particular to the microbiome and lung health. Dr. Vivek Lal shares some of the key discoveries behind the gut-lung axis and how beneficial bacterias are related to lung health, an area of the microbiome that is gaining a heavy amount of interest in recently. Plus, learn more about the ongoing clinical research related to lung health and how the associated benefits are important for natural health products. Another interesting concept explored is how exercise integrates into the overall picture for wellness including balancing supplementation with diet. This is particularly important for consumers looking to be empowered and take control of their health and wellness. Look ahead as Dr. Vivek Lal shares future applications of the gut-lung axis and the lung microbiome in research, academic and medical settings. ___ C Vivek Lal MD FAAP is the Founder and CEO of ResBiotic: a microbiome nutrition company pioneering probiotics for lung health. Dr. Lal is a physician scientist entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in lung research, clinical management, and healthcare entrepreneurship. He completed his clinical and research training at the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and serves as the Director of the Pulmonary Microbiome Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and American Heart Association (AHA). A neonatal intensivist and pulmonary biologist by training, he has authored over 100 original scientific publications, chapters, and abstracts, including groundbreaking articles on the critical role of the microbiome in chronic lung diseases. Prior to his current role leading ResBiotic, he also founded Urgent Care for Children: the leading pediatric urgent care provider in the Southeast.

Chris Kanik, CEO and Founder of Smart Cups, joins us on the latest episode of the Nutrastrong™ podcast. Listen in as he shares how he went from being a young chemistry wiz to stand up comedian to founder of the innovative and sustainability driven technology company, Smart Cups. In this candid interview, learn how the Smart Cups technology was established, and how it’s making an impact not only in the health and wellness space, but also in humanitarian and eco-friendly applications. Plus, get an inside look at what’s to come with new Smart Cups prototypes and product applications including CBD and cannabis. _____ Chris Kanik is the CEO and Founder of Smart Cups, a sustainability-driven technology company whose flagship product, an energy drink, hit the market in 2018 as the World's First Printed Beverage. Smart Cups utilizes a patented delivery system technology that allows flavors and active materials be printed on substrate surfaces. These applications can be used in a myriad of industries, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and more, allowing for a reduction in storage and transportation requirements resulting in a reduction of the world’s overall resources. Today, Chris oversees Smart Cups' 23,000 square foot manufacturing and R&D facility in Mission Viejo, CA. Born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, Kanik’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit can be directly attributed to being the first generation born of immigrant parents. Having experienced first-hand the struggles and inequalities that exist among socio-economic classes, Chris has always been drawn to disrupting the status quo and designing better solutions to systems. He first entered a lab at age 12 to study the chemical degradation of aspartame in diet sodas over extended storage periods at room temperature. At 14, he joined a research team in the Nutritional Sciences Department at Rutgers University to study adipocyte metabolism in adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) knockout mice (aP2-/-) after short-term high-fat feeding. His work contributed to the discovery of a functional compensation by the keratinocyte-FABP. From there, Chris went on to join a research team working on a NASA-funded project developing biologically based nano-robots at Rutgers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Rather than pursuing the conventional path after graduating from Cornell University with a BA in Economics, Chris blazed his own trail and pursued his passion for stand-up comedy on the New York circuit. His quick wit and even quicker ability to handle audiences made him a regular on the New York comedy scene. He has toured nationally at the Improv opening for some of the most popular and well-known acts. Chris has also headlined internationally and performed in front of large stadium crowds.

You won’t want to miss this fireside chat with Ingredients by Nature President, Rob Brewster, on the NutraStrong™ podcast. In this episode we explore several key topics including pet and human nutrition including hot market trends which ingredients have potential in the pet supplement market why companies are moving away from fads in light of the COVID-19 environment Plus, learn from Mr. Brewster’s perspective what the #1 ingredient is that has potential to help with severity of sickness of COVID-19 and what the some of the top trending categories are in women’s health. ____ About Rob Brewster As a third-generation ingredient manufacturer for the natural products industry, Rob Brewster is proud to be part of the health and wellness world. He followed in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps, helping their company Brewster Foods grow since he joined in the 1990s and then partnering with Syntech to form Ingredients by Nature, a world leader of citrus bioflavonoids and extracts. As president, Brewster takes pride in citrus science and continues to invest heavily in citrus flavonoid science for condition-specific applications and holistic wellness. Rob holds degrees in Business Administration and Biology from California State University, Northridge.

We’re proud to introduce you to Nutrasource’s very own, Dr. Susan Hewlings, RD, PhD. Not only is Dr. Hewlings our Director of Scientific Affairs but an athlete, health and wellness advocate, nutrition educator and #NutraStrong member of the team.  You’re in for an action packed episode where we explore a variety of topics including sport performance, personalized nutrition, and making sense of the many biochemistry reactions that take place in our bodies. Plus get a good understanding of the mental game behind long distance running and how Dr. Hewlings prepares for successful run. ______ Dr. Hewlings brings over 20 years in nutrition, sports nutrition and scientific consulting for the dietary supplement and medical industries. As Director of Scientific Affairs, Dr. Hewlings oversees scientific and nutrition projects for the dietary supplement and medical industries to help companies substantiate claims and gain market entry globally. Dr. Hewlings is a full-time professor at Central Michigan University and Co-Founder of Substantiation Sciences LLC where she assists companies in supporting their market launch strategies with scientific evidence. She is the author of Nutrition: Real People, Real Choices and has published multiple articles on dietary supplements, pharmacokinetics, and nutrition in peer-reviewed medical journals.