When a food supplement business gets their product delisted from Amazon, every day counts. Sales can halt, and subsequently, revenue drops. This scenario plays out more frequently than you might expect, and it’s vital that it’s resolved quickly to ensure minimal impact on the bottom line.
Scarlet Bulmer, Regulatory and Technical Manager at Rubicon Technical, has seen it all. Working primarily with food supplement clients, she’s become an expert on the complex web of regulations that can make or break a product’s market success.
“We frequently see products getting restricted on Amazon due to compliance issues,” Scarlet explains. “Companies typically reach out to us, seeking urgent support to reinstate their products.”
The reasons behind these delistings are often issues companies never see coming. “Visual elements can trip you up,” Scarlet notes. “Something as simple as a moon image could be seen as a sleep claim under The Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation. It’s not just the obvious stuff – artwork, web copy, all of it needs checking.”
The devil is in the detail when it comes to food supplement compliance. Even fruit imagery can become problematic if not handled correctly. Having a strawberry flavouring in your product doesn’t automatically mean you can include a strawberry image on your packaging. The specific rules around ingredient imagery are more nuanced than most businesses realise.
Here’s how Rubicon tackles this: The team conducts comprehensive reviews of artwork, formulation and web copy, then categorises everything using a red-amber-green system. Green elements can stay as they are, amber items need minor tweaks, and red flags require complete overhauls.
This simple traffic light system gives companies a clear roadmap so that they know exactly what to fix and what they can keep. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.
The approach works because it’s thorough but practical. Amazon’s restrictions often stem from claims that cross into medicinal territory, but these can be subtle. A moon might suggest sleep benefits. A heart symbol could imply cardiovascular support. Even the way ingredients are listed can trigger flags.
“Obviously, being compliant in the first place is better than having to make amendments along the way,” Scarlet says. Getting it right from the start saves time, money, and the stress of watching sales disappear while you scramble to fix problems.
When every day of delisting costs money, having experts who understand the nuances can mean the difference between a quick fix and a prolonged revenue hit.
