Navigating Regulatory Challenges with EAT: A Guide for Natural Product and Wellness Brands

The wellness sector overlaps with some of the most highly regulated industries on earth, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, food, alcohol and the emerging cannabis and psychedelics markets. There are more compliance considerations than ever for executives navigating product development and operations, as well as marketing and public relations. 

Fortunately, Grasslands knows a thing or two about how regulatory compliance can impact marketing and PR strategies. After all, we’ve worked with cannabis brands for nearly a decade and watched how the compliance paradigm has evolved—and will continue to change, now that federal rescheduling is on the table. 

Believe us when we say it is possible to craft marketing and PR strategies that drive bold brands forward and meaningfully change the conversation around natural products without running afoul of health claims, labeling requirements and other regulations. It just takes a messaging approach that builds expertise, authority and trust (EAT, as it’s known in marketing circles).

Here’s what wellness brands need to know:

Building Expertise, Authority and Trust for Natural Product and Wellness Brands

First of all, when we say natural products and wellness brands, we mean market categories like:

• Food & beverage CPGs
• Herbal remedies and dietary supplements
• Essential oils and other botanical extracts
• Natural cleaning products
• Pet supplements and natural pet foods
• Cannabis and CBD products

The regulatory bodies overseeing these categories in the United States include the:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)

That’s not including state and municipal regulations, depending on the markets in which a brand operates. Although these agencies’ guidelines feel onerous for many brands in natural products and wellness, the goal isn’t to muzzle business owners and marketers. It’s to make it clearer for consumers where the credibility lies. And the goal for any smart marketing strategy is to establish the building blocks of credibility—expertise, authority and trust.

Brands can build trust among consumers through transparency. Instead of promising the moon—or weight loss or a cure for cancer—be honest with consumers. CBD salve brands, for example, can’t make the same pain relief claims as traditional topical analgesics because the FDA has yet to formally establish if CBD is safe and effective for treating various medical conditions according to their standards and processes. 

It’s OK to say that, and to share what scientific research has been done that makes brands feel CBD is still an ingredient worth offering. 

The Power of Third-Party Certifications for Wellness Brands

Another way to build trust within marketing restrictions is third-party certifications. Third-party certifications are also highly regulated and often have legal parameters and conditions—but meeting these standards clearly signals to consumers what they can expect. Some of these third-party certifications for natural products include:

• USDA Organic
• Non-GMO Project Verified
• NSF International
• Certified Vegan
• Fair Trade Certified
• B Corp Certification
• Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO)
• Leaping Bunny Certified
• Current Good Manufacturing Practices Certification (cGMP)
• ISO9001
• ISO22000
• Clean Green Certification
• Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) Certification
• Safe Quality Food Certification (SQF) 
• Kosher Certification
• Halal Certified Foods

Transparency Builds Trust

Openly discussing why a brand may or may not meet the FDA standards for certain health claims or why they worked to gain third-party certifications builds trust because transparency builds trust. And as we know from our personal relationships, transparency and consistency build loyalty. 

When brands communicate clearly and consistently about their product benefits and risks and the regulatory compliance that shapes their messaging, consumers feel like they are making clear-eyed purchasing decisions. 

That solves an essential pain point for nearly every consumer: decision-making fatigue. 

Label modesty is another trend in wellness marketing and PR that conveys healthfulness and simplicity without ever directly stating that a product is, say, low in sodium or “all natural.” 

You don’t need to make health or ingredient claims when you’re directly solving a problem for a consumer—namely, the chore of closely examining labels to determine if a product meets the shopper’s standards. 

A brand with nothing to hide will have no problem including required health disclaimers in promotional materials, linking to scientific studies on their website content as part of their pillar / cluster blog strategy or reminding consumers to ask their doctor about medical topics related to the product. 

The Role of Consumer Education in Building EAT

Consumers want to understand more about the world around them and why the products they like work for them. For many brands, consumer education can go beyond sharing information about a product or even how to use their products and incorporate them into shoppers’ busy lifestyles.

Consumer education can also teach consumers about regulatory compliance and how to make smart purchasing decisions that keep their families safe. That approach ultimately goes much further to earning the consumers’ trust than making a promise that a brand can’t keep. 

There are plenty of ways to build a brand’s EAT quotient that don’t involve making problematic health claims or leaning heavily on unproven or anecdotal data. For example, earned media not only includes PR tactics like proactive pitching, it can also include social proof like testimonials, reviews and online reputation management (ORM).

That’s one reason that influencer marketing is so popular for natural products and wellness brands. This tactic leverages the credibility of brand ambassadors and trusted aspirational figures to elevate the brand’s profile. 

Consumers love advice that feels personal and authentic, and the next best thing to getting a recommendation from an actual friend or the Facebook hive mind is one from a parasocial relationship, whether that’s a podcast host, a reviewer for a trusted publication, a TikTok influencer or a favorite journalist’s Substack.

Consumer Education Marketing

Transparent, consistent consumer education messaging can infuse not only PR tactics for earned media and social sharing but also a brand’s marketing strategy. Informative content marketing such as blogs, white papers, case studies and gated content can clearly express all the EAT qualities that build a brand’s reputation. 

That might include content on ingredient approval, safety standards and explanations of labeling and claims compliance. It can also include thought leadership, real-world use cases and highlights of strategic partnerships both within the industry and across product categories.

It’s also important for wellness brands to remember that consumer education can include journalist education too. Especially for products like cannabis, psychedelics, functional mushrooms and supplements, reporters and editors might not have heard of the key ingredients or understand how they are used. 

Deciding what to look for in a PR agency? Partnering with a marcomms shop that deeply understands complex business languages like cannabis marketing or one that knows how to build strong media relations is as key to building EAT as messaging directly to the consumer. As we often say, PR for cannabis brands is PR for the industry as a whole, and the same is true for any other wellness or natural product category. 

‍Grasslands is a Journalism-Minded Agency™ with a proven process rooted in deep understanding of what both brands and the reporters who tell their stories need to connect with diverse audiences. ‍The Grasslands team is always ready to talk through your brand’s unique needs and pain points to find a custom solution.

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