Connor Link 1, Senior Editor

March 21, 2012

1 Min Read
With Swisse, the Australian supplements invasion begins

For me, one of the most intriguing supplement launches at this year’s Expo West was Australian supplement maker Swisse’s entrée into the United States. Swisse is one of Australia’s second-largest supplement companies—behind market leader Blackmores—and sells a full range of vitamins and condition-specific supplements. Its top sellers include men’s and women’s multivitamins, krill oil, an immune booster, and a sleep supplement.

Swisse also sponsors a dizzying array of Australian athletes and celebrities, most of whom are too obscure for Americans to care about. swisse

Still, Swisse excites me for a couple reasons:

  1. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Australia’s equivalent to the FDA, the TGA governs supplement sales down under with much stricter standards, both for manufacturing and health claims substantiation. Australia’s GMPs are hallowed among supplement manufacturers, though not among U.S. consumers … not yet at least. If Swisse leads with a quality angle, they could find great purchase in U.S. retail.
     

  2. Their bottle is unique. The supplements industry is a desert when it comes to savvy design, and even a sexy new sticker barely differentiates one plastic bottle from the next. On a supplement shelf packed with rounded pill bottles, Swisse stands out like a gunshot.
     

  3. They’re a fixer-upper. The bottle is unique, yes, but still—as many have pointed out to me—it looks like it’s meant to hold a urine sample. And the company’s woefully awkward tagline—“Tired? Stressed? You’ll feel better on Swisse!”—could definitely use a redo. Nothing especially groundbreaking about this company, but I think with just a little bit of polish, Swisse could be a standout brand on store shelves.

About the Author(s)

Connor Link 1

Senior Editor, New Hope Natural Media

 

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