REPORT FROM THE CONFERENCE

Another great day at The Conference: CRN's Annual Symposium for the Dietary Supplement Industry on Friday! Attendees heard from behavioral and market research experts to learn about what matters most—our consumers—in addition to gaining expert insights on developing markets in China and India, and the hottest hot topic: CBD. See highlights below. (Also available: highlights from CRN's Day of Science and Thursday's sessions).

Attendees on-site Saturday enjoyed a breakfast session with CBS News' Major Garrett followed by "Lessons in Leadership" from Jake Wood, sergeant-turned-CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit deploying veterans to disaster zones.

Some things you just have to be there in person for—so mark your calendar and plan to attend CRN's 2020 events!

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Experts share insights to enhance understanding of consumer behavior in today’s wellness boom

Day two of The Conference started with a morning devoted to the wellness consumer—their decision-making processes, how these decisions play out in their shopping habits, and how companies can shape their marketing and sales strategies accordingly. Best-selling author and financial columnist Jeff Kreisler noted, “Emotions are the forgotten factor in the equation of consumer behavior calculation,” emphasizing the importance of considering consumers as individuals—and not always rational ones. He shared concepts from behavioral economics that illustrate the how human nature can drive irrational behavior and advised on how some of these traps can be overcome by showing the consequences of people’s actions in more specific, more personal and more visible ways.

Jeff Kreisler, best-selling author, Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter

An increasing interest in wellbeing, Elizabeth Gretowski of WSL Strategic Retail explained, translates not only to the demand for dietary supplements but to nearly all products and services. Today’s consumers make purchase decisions based on what products across the board they believe will support and improve their wellness, and 39 percent of shoppers are willing to spend more on these products. She noted that the future is about caring for consumers.

Bob Sanders of Information Resources, Inc., and Steve French of Natural Marketing Institute offered recommendations on how dietary supplement companies can respond to these consumer behavior insights. Mr. Sanders discussed trends in distribution channels, highlighting shifts towards e-commerce marketplaces and away from dispensaries towards mainstream retailers for CBD products, all for convenience purposes. He noted that despite more mainstream stores entering the CBD space, specialty dispensaries will likely continue to serve as indicators for where the sector is heading. Mr. French explored the tendencies of dietary supplement users, “lapsed” users and non-users, and urged companies to invest in consumer education surrounding the health benefits of their products, as a primary barrier to usage for lapsed users and non-users is the misbelief that they don’t need these products. Companies able to tap into the consumer desires for wellbeing and convenience are the most likely to gain customer loyalty.

VIDEO: Conference attendee Stuart Tomc of CV Sciences reacts to Elizabeth Gretowksi's presentation on the 'New Rockin' Shocking World of WELL'

Global trends experts explore market challenges and opportunities in the dietary supplement space

Co-authors of “The Silk Road Rediscovered,” and leading experts in global trends and business strategy, Haiyan Wang and Dr. Anil Gupta discussed challenges and opportunities China and India offer for ingredient sources and consumer markets.

Haiyan Wang of the China India Institute focused on China’s health food industry, discussing obstacles foreign brands face, such as sourcing, Chinese regulations, channel development, brand recognition, and tariffs. Ms. Wang also explored what is driving the growth of the health food industry in China, pointing to rising income, increased disease among the population and crowded hospitals; interest in self-care and developing a healthier lifestyle; an aging society; and a government priority for preventive healthcare as reasons for growth in this area.

Dr. Anil Gupta, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on strategy, globalization and entrepreneurship, presented on the dietary supplement market in India and pointed to the country’s expanding digital presence as an opportunity for future industry growth. Following both presentations, CRN’s Steve Mister led a discussion to further address the diverse consumer marketplace of China and India and gave the speakers an opportunity to provide advice to companies that are sourcing ingredients from China and India. With such success coming to these countries as they focus on innovation in science and technology, it is in the best interest of dietary supplement companies in or attempting to enter these markets to commit to innovation, too.

CRN's Steve Mister with Haiyan Wang and Anil Gupta

Highly-anticipated CBD session addresses science, safety and best practices to support consumer confidence

CRN’s Andrea Wong, Ph.D., moderated today’s final session of The Conference , “The Buzz Around CBD-—What’s Science Got to Do With It?” Panelists discussed the current state of CBD science, supply chain considerations, CBD safety assessments and more.

Jamie Corroon, ND, MPH, from the Center for Medical Cannabis Education explained the differences between hemp and marijuana, and between extracts and isolates, and reviewed the history and discovery of the endocannabanoid system, presenting on the current state of CBD science. Additionally, he discussed emerging science regarding potential effects of CBD on pain, anxiety and sleep.

Offering a company perspective, Duffy MacKay, N.D., of CRN member company CV Sciences addressed considerations companies should make when evaluating hemp-derived CBD and supply chain safety, noting that seed-to-shelf evidence is a minimum necessity. Dr. MacKay expressed the importance of knowing your supply chain and the responsibility each individual company has to safety. “While CBD is generally safe, manufacturers each have an obligation to establish the safety of their own products,” said Dr. MacKay.

Marilyn Barrett, Ph.D., from Vanguard Global Associates continued the conversation on safety, sharing topline information from the firm’s CBD safety assessment commissioned by CRN. Dr. Barrett shared the firm's literature-based evaluation of the available data on pharmacokinetics, potential drug interactions, and liver and reproductive toxicity, which will be utilized to determine a tolerable upper intake level of CBD in supplements. Dr. Barrett also provided preliminary recommendations for cautionary labeling language and post-market monitoring. The safety assessment will be finalized in the coming months.

SafetyCall’s Rick Kingston, PharmD, offered a deep-dive into the thorough adverse event reporting system established by the Minnesota medical cannabis legislation of 2014. FDA often claims that adverse events are underreported to the federal system. However, the Minnesota reporting system was designed to ensure all adverse events are indeed reported. Counter to FDA’s statements, Dr. Kingston noted that the Minnesota system shows that incidents of adverse events are few.

David Khalaf of LegitScript wrapped up the session, discussing regulatory challenges and marketplace issues for CBD focusing on business development. “Widespread noncompliance, substandard products and high-risk financial activity must be addressed in order to shore up confidence in CBD products with both consumers and payment companies,” Mr. Khalaf said. He also shared LegitScript’s recommendations for solutions to these problems, encouraging companies interested in entering the CBD space to engage in self-regulatory initiatives, address jurisdictional noncompliance issues, remove impermissible claims from all marketing, and seek certification from reputable third-party entities.

Pictured here: CRN's Andrea Wong, Ph.D.; speakers: Jamie Coroon; Duffy MacKay; Marilyn Barrett, Rick Kingston, and David Khalaf