Pharmavite Introduces New Herbal Products, National TV Ad Campaign

Pharmavite expects two new herbal supplement products for stress relief and cholesterol management to hit store shelves in June.

The company officially unveiled the additions to its Nature's Resource supplement line at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim March 17-20.

Nature's Resource StressEez is "a gentle, natural, herbal supplement that helps individuals manage everyday stress and mild anxiety," according to the firm.

The product contains a combination of botanicals, as well as high levels of B vitamins to replace those that may be depleted by physical and emotional stress, Pharmavite says.

The product's herbal ingredients include gotu kola (Indian pennywort) and bacopa (water hyssop), herbs used in traditional Indian medicine to manage stress, tension and anxiety and promote mental acuity. StressEez also contains valerian, an herb known for its "safe, non-addictive relaxant properties," the firm adds.

GarLife , the other new Nature's Resource supplement, is intended to promote heart health and maintain normal cholesterol levels.

The product contains 500 mg of high-potency garlic, as well as folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12.

StressEez and GarLife will be sold in 60-count packages for the suggested retail prices of $11.99 and $9.49, respectively.

Pharmavite also plans to launch a national direct response television (DRTV) campaign for Nature Made products Triple Flex and CholestOff in April, as well as ads for its MoodPlus line later this year.

The DRTV spots mark the company's first TV campaign in three years. The one- and two-minute commercials allow consumers to receive product information, scientific background and thorough user testimonials, Pharmavite maintains.

The ads direct viewers to a toll-free number and product websites to obtain more information and coupons. The phone numbers provide the company with a tool to track inquiries and gauge consumer interest in specific markets, Pharmavite explains.

Ads for Triple Flex "target women 55-64 who take glucosamine-based products for joint stiffness or discomfort," while CholestOff spots "target women 45-64 who choose foods labeled 'low cholesterol' and diet to lower cholesterol," the supplement maker says.

The ads target women because they are the primary decision-makers in household supplement purchases, Nature Made Senior Product Manager Charles Conroy notes.

Both spots will run on women-focused channels such as AMC, Bravo, Hallmark, Lifetime and Oxygen. TripleFlex ads began March 28 and will run for 10 weeks; CholestOff spots will begin airing in mid-April and run through the end of May.

The TV campaign will be accompanied by testimonial-based print ads running in national newspapers and magazines throughout the year.

Other promotional activities include an "extensive consumer and healthcare professional education campaign that incorporates consumer events (e.g., Arthritis Foundation's Arthritis Walks), healthcare professional conferences and public relations activities such as satellite radio and television media tours," Conroy continued.

The ad campaign for Triple Flex, a glucosamine and chondroitin product intended to improve joint comfort, mobility and flexibility, comes at a time of unresolved safety concerns over the use of COX-2s and other NSAIDs for arthritis relief.

Literature for Triple Flex Bone & Joint formula touts the product as able to do "what pain relievers can't." Glucosamine and chondroitin taken together "may improve cartilage health," the company says.

Advertising comparing the safety profiles of arthritis treatments has been employed by other companies in recent months.

For example, Naturopathic Labs' radio ads for Joint-Ritis topical arthritis ointment and cream aired after Merck's withdrawal of Vioxx and mentioned the COX-2's connection to heart attack and stroke (¹ (Also see "Joint-Ritis Topical Pain Relief Radio Ads Capitalize On COX-2, NSAID Fallout" - Pink Sheet, 3 Jan, 2005.), p. 8).