Marketing Tactics

Vitamin Marketing

During a shopping trip I made a stop to the vitamin sections just to browse. A product caught my eye, it had a really catchy label design and it was marketed to improve mood. Curious, I picked up the bottle to check the ingredients. I couldn’t believe that this bottle of 60 gummies, which cost over $25, really only contained Vitamin D 800 iu and sugar!!! 

Vitamin D

Yes, Vitamin D does improve mood but you can get it for free by going out in the sunlight for 15-20 minutes. This company was marketing was really on point, I have to say it was convincing. To the average consumer this could have been an easy buy, but to someone with a medical background it felt a little like a scam. Comparable vitamin d products cost $5 for 100 capsules of the same strength, does it have a pretty label (no) but does it work equally as well (yes). As a pharmacist, I wondered how often people bought into this good marketing. 

Check the Labels

Beyond the marketing, and high price tag the product was loaded with sugar. I wondered if the benefits of this “mood boosting” gummy vitamin were from the quick sugar high. Maybe the sugar was added for this effect?  The purpose of this blog post is to encourage anyone reading this post to think twice before buying the cute vitamins. Check the ingredients and know what you're buying. If you want to boost your mood, spend some time outside in the sun and get some fresh air.