Do parents come into your store distracted and hurried by their children? It can be overwhelming for a parent to read supplement labels and decide with confidence which supplements will help his or her child. Some parents feel it is impossible. But a retailer can help—especially those parents who have children with the epidemic disorders of food allergies, autism, asthma and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The consumer base for such a marketing strategy is huge: As many as one in three children are estimated to suffer from these disorders, totaling 16 million in the United States:
- 3 million have food allergies;1
- 4 million have ADHD;2
- 9 million have asthma;3 and
- 278 thousand have autism.4
These disorders are growing at epidemic rates of 200 to 400 percent (autism is much higher) during the past 20 years and now food allergies appear to be rising at an estimated 20 percent per year.
Retailers can help address the situation by setting up a research center; training staff on how food allergens can cause symptoms of other disorders; providing emotional support tools; and offering efficacious dietary supplements. One important note—retailers should be careful not to play the role of a doctor by recommending specific supplements or diagnosing a child with a disorder or food allergy.
To start, consider establishing a research center that provides parents a single place to go in the store that houses books, dietary supplements and take-home-forms to fill in that allows space for a supplement name, purpose and strength. Staffers working in that section should have been trained about food elimination and the importance of nutrition in addressing situations such as food allergies and asthma.