Can a Beverage Make You Happy, Lower Stress or Clear Your Mind?
With product names like “get gorgeous,” “get relaxed,” and “get happy,” The Republic of Tea is selling much more than just the health benefits associated with consuming its loose-leaf teas. Drinkers of Kombucha Wonder Drink are told they will experience “longevity” and “mental clarity.” And NeuroBliss, a lightly carbonated beverage that contains added vitamins, says the product reduces stress and improves concentration.
Welcome to the new frontier of food marketing, where brands take their claims past the biological and into the psychological—even spiritual—realm. These appeals to consumers’ desire for “higher-order benefits” were even included among a list of natural and organic food trends compiled by Boulder-based consulting firm Sterling-Rice Group that was recently published by Food Business Insider. Apparently, no longer are consumers satisfied with their food and drink being “zero calorie” or “immune-boosting”—we want our vittles to bring inner peace.
You may wonder, though, how companies can make these rather un-provable declarations in light of stringent Food and Drug Administration policies regulating other health claims by food makers. For answers, we turned to Dr. John L. Stanton, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University, whose research centers around food claims. He says that a few different factors are at play in this new realm of food marketing.
First off, if actual measurable health claims are being made, the FDA must investigate them. In the case of the kombucha that promises mental clarity, asterisks abound on the company’s website, reminding visitors—in tiny type at the bottom of the page—that “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” The company may have seen legal trouble brewing down the road regarding its claim of “inner serenity,” because the phrase—which was reported as being part of the company’s selling points in 2012—appears to have been removed from the product description.
With the FDA’s plate full of so many products to investigate, however, products will sometimes risk it with iffy claims until they are called out for it by either consumers or the agency, Stanton tells TakePart.
“If [a company] can get away with selling something for a year without getting caught, they’re ahead of the game,” he says. “And generally, [the FDA] won’t make you stop selling the product once they find out.”
But what of the “get gorgeous,” “get relaxed,” and “get happy” teas, which appear to be making claims that are impossible to prove? (“Our Be Well Red Teas allow you to experience the comfort and joy that comes from being your best self.”) Simple: These teas aren’t making any claims—those are the names of the individual products.
“The law is you can go out and create any product name, you just can’t make a claim,” Stanton says.
This means The Republic of Tea may never be held accountable for its teas’ ability to help drinkers lose weight (“get lost”), detox (“get clean”), sleep more deeply (“get some zzz’s”), or cure constipation (“get it going”)—because these are names, not claims. But can the average shopper tell the difference while perusing the tea aisle?
“No,” Stanton says, calling the distinction a “fine line.”
What this trend is really about, he adds, is selling more product, not backing up every claim—whether stated overtly or implied—with scientific proof. In an increasingly crowded tea market, companies must set themselves apart. One way to do that is to make consumers think they’re receiving much more than just health and nutrition benefits. And if the soothsayers are correct, we can expect to see much more of this kind of advertising from food companies.
Stanton, for his part, isn't buying what they're selling: “I don’t believe any of it,” he says.
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