With one year under its wing, the industry-wide dietary supplement registry includes 10,000 labels.

April 25, 2018

2 Min Read
The Supplement OWL product registry reaches first anniversary

Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Supplement OWL (Online Wellness Library), the dietary supplement product registry that includes more than 10,000 labels.

The Supplement OWL is an industry-wide, self-regulatory initiative designed to provide a robust and more complete picture of the marketplace for regulators, retailers and industry stakeholders.

“The Supplement OWL is a clear demonstration of what can happen when industry chooses to collaborate and speak with a united voice,” said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the dietary steve-mister-headshot_0.jpg

supplement industry. “We all have the same goal: consumer safety. Working together to bring the OWL to fruition, we are helping regulators keep bad actors off the market, giving retailers a new tool to curate their product offerings, and underscoring our industry’s accountability to consumers.

“Responsible companies recognize the importance of registry participation and understand what the absence of labels suggests. If a company is not willing to be transparent, it’s only natural to wonder what they’re hiding. I’m confident that as the OWL enters its second year, soon the majority of responsible industry will be represented,” he continued.

A year in review: Supplement OWL milestones

  • January 2017: CRN launches a six-month-long, industry-wide Supplement OWL ad campaign to build awareness of the registry.

  • February 2017: The registry’s microsite launches with 10 companies beta-testing the technology platform.

  • April 2017: The Supplement OWL launches for public use on April 27.

    • The American Botanical Council, The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the Natural Products Association, NSF International, and Tom Aarts, founder and co-chair of the NBJ Summit, announce their support of the registry.

  • June: The United Natural Products Alliance announces its endorsement of the Supplement OWL.

    • CRN and the American Herbal Products Association join forces on Capitol Hill for a joint fly-in event to demonstrate industry’s proactive involvement in self-regulatory efforts.

  • July: The Supplement OWL receives a 2017 American Society of Association Executives ‘Power of A’ Award, which showcases association initiatives that solve problems, advance industry and professional performance, kick-start innovation, and improve world conditions.

    • The OWL library includes information on 5,000 labels.

  • August: AHPA expresses its public support of the Supplement OWL.

    • At the Conference of Western Attorneys General, Supplement OWL representatives demonstrate the program and how it can help the prosecutors identify products in their states.

  • October: The Supplement OWL forms its advisory board, bringing together stakeholders from all corners of the supplement industry to discuss the future of the registry.

Since its launch, the Supplement OWL has been featured in 100 articles published in industry trade press, reaching more than 1.4 million viewers; 17 presentations and demonstrations to lawmakers, regulators, retailers, and other industry stakeholders; and six industry-wide webinars.

Source: Council for Responsible Nutrition

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