Article
Tincture Labeling & Marketing: Herbal Product Claims, FDA & FTC Basics
How should a business market herbal tinctures?
Focus on truthful, supportable product information such as botanical identity, ingredients, sourcing, extraction method, ratio, production practices, and traceability. Health-related claims in advertising should not be misleading and should be appropriately substantiated; businesses should also understand the FDA requirements applicable to their product's labeling and regulatory category.
Marketing a botanical product involves more than what appears on the bottle.
Websites, product descriptions, social media, videos, advertisements, and even implied messages can communicate claims about a product.
FTC guidance says health-related advertising should be truthful, not misleading, and appropriately substantiated, and the agency evaluates both express and implied claims.
Product Information vs Product Claims
A producer can communicate factual information such as:
- botanical identity;
- plant part;
- extraction ratio;
- extraction medium;
- bottle quantity;
- ingredient sourcing;
- manufacturing process;
- batch information.
Problems arise when marketing crosses the line from describing the product to making unsupported claims about what it will do for the consumer.
Express Claims
An express claim directly states the claimed effect.
Implied Claims
An implied claim can be communicated through:
- context;
- imagery;
- testimonials;
- headlines;
- before/after presentations;
- surrounding statements.
FTC guidance specifically states that marketers are responsible for both reasonable implied messages and explicit claims.
Websites Count
A product claim doesn't become safer simply because it appears in:
- a blog;
- FAQ;
- video;
- social-media post;
- testimonial;
- infographic.
Marketing should be reviewed as a whole.
Disease Claims Require Particular Caution
Avoid casually describing products as diagnosing, treating, curing, or preventing diseases.
Commercial operators should understand the distinction among product descriptions, permissible claims for their product category, and claims that could affect regulatory status.
Better Marketing Subjects
The original Cottage Craft Works plan identifies much stronger subjects for botanical businesses:
- botanical identity;
- sourcing;
- extraction method;
- batch consistency;
- craftsmanship;
- transparency;
- testing where applicable;
- traceability;
- bottle size;
- extraction ratio;
- production method;
- customer education.
Testimonials
A customer testimonial should not be used as a backdoor to communicate a claim that the business could not appropriately make itself.
Substantiation
FTC guidance states that advertisers need adequate support for objective product claims before disseminating them, with a particularly rigorous standard for health-related representations.
Disclaimer
This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Regulations and requirements may change and vary by product, location, and intended use. Commercial producers are responsible for determining and complying with all current federal, state, and local requirements applicable to their products and operations.
