A European trademark to help the public identify sports nutrition products belonging to companies that are members of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has been approved by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
ESSNA is the voice of the responsible sports nutrition industry and its members sign up to its strict Code of Conduct, emphasising their commitment to quality and consumer safety and making a promise to the consumer that they uphold the laws put in place for their protection.
The trademark is intended to act as a guide for a largely unaware public that can help them differentiate between products that may be misleading them and/or breaking the law, and those that are members of ESSNA and sign up to its Code.
The trademark is part of the association’s European-wide campaign to educate the public on all things sports nutrition and ensure consumer safety and good health. This is in response to widespread common misconceptions around the industry and its products, and a handful of companies that operate outside the law and prey on the public’s perceived lack of knowledge.
Other educational activities include a new online resource that the public can refer to for more information on everything sports nutrition related, and a Facebook page to encourage consumers to report products they come across on the social media platform, which sees a high number of sales of sports nutrition products every day.
Dr Adam Carey, Chair of ESSNA, said “We are continuing to work diligently to improve consumer knowledge around our members’ products. The majority of the sports nutrition industry is responsible and law-abiding but unfortunately a handful of problematic companies still exist. Not only do these businesses pose risks to our consumers’ health by misleading them and potentially selling them illegal products, they damage the reputation of an otherwise responsible industry and result in unfair commercial practices. We recognise that many uninformed consumers gravitate towards these non-compliant products believing their misleading promises to be fact, and that’s what we’re trying to change with our campaign. We are hopeful that our new trademark will go some way towards helping the public make more informed decisions.”
ESSNA is the voice of the sports nutrition industry and is in dialogue with regulators and policy makers, campaigning in favour of proportionate EU legislation that protects consumers and does not adversely affect the industry.