Amazon Releases New Changes To Dietary & Supplements Category
If you started selling products in the Amazon Health and Personal Care category in 2013, you’d barely recognize the process to start selling on there now. Basically, it’s now much harder for sellers to get access. And that’s a good thing.
Amazon makes it difficult to get ungated in this category on purpose. They state the facts explicitly on the Health & Personal Care requirements page. Amazon’s just looking out for their customer experience. And in the Health and Personal Care category, they’re also paying attention to something bigger–customer safety.
Counterfeit products with unauthorized ingredients can pose a serious health risk, and these new requirements will likely deter careless or counterfeit sellers.
Amazon recently released new category changes to the Dietary & Supplements Category. If you are currently selling in this category, here’s everything you need to know.
What are the new category changes to Amazon’s Dietary & Supplements Category?
Back in early December, Amazon released new category changes to the Dietary & Supplements Category, which required specific documentation for category approval. This category approval suppressed multiple ASINs in a product catalog for various sellers and there’s only two way to get through this delisting.
Either appeal the requirement or to apply for a Dietary & Supplement approval.
For Dietary Supplements, you must submit:
1. Certificate of Analysis (COA)
Certificate of Analysis (COA) from an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory for each dietary supplement you are applying to list. A CoA must contain the following information:
- Product name.
- Batch/lot number or date code of product.
- Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor.
- Quantitative analysis to support the active ingredient concentration as claimed on supplement facts panel.
- The active ingredient name on the supplement facts panel should match the active ingredient name on the CoA.
- The concentration units on the supplement facts panel (i.e. mcg/mg) should match the unit of measure on CoA.
Additional CoA requirements:
- CoA submitted to Amazon must have been issued within the past 9 months.
- Laboratory test results of an expired product(s) will not be accepted.
- CoA documents must be accompanied by legible product images as referenced below in Item 2 (“Product Images”).
2. Product Images
Product Images must meet the following requirements:
- Have all sides of the product label visible, including batch/lot number or date code.
- Have a clear image of the supplemental or nutritional fact panel and ingredient list.
- Contain the name and address of the company.
- Contain product name.
3. Letter of Guarantee
A letter of guarantee from the manufacturer of the product that meets the following requirements:
- Is on official manufacturer letterhead.
- Contains complete product name as listed on label, and labeling.
- Assurance that the product is manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practices as listed in 21 CFR Part 111.
- Assurance that only lawful and safe, as defined in section 402 (f) of the FD&C Act, ingredients are utilized.
- Assurance that the concentration of active ingredient(s) as stated on the label and labeling is safe for consumption.
How long does the approval process take?
The approval process should take 48 hours (or less) if all the provided information is correct.
Pro-tip: The support members reviewing this take everything very literally, and it should be a 1:1 with everything they listed. If it is not an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory, then it will not be approved. This change is happening at an ASIN level – so sellers will need to have a certificate for each type of product.
“I would recommend brands have this information organized and ready to upload for their products in this category. It’s not clear if it is a one-time thing, annual or every 6 months. However, we do know that they require the CoA to be no older than 6 months. So it should be something to consider when planning for new product launches and budgeting costs.”
– Emily Leung, Marketplace Operations Associate at Tinuiti
How do I know if my ASINs need approval?
To try and see if the ASINs require approval to sell, you can plug the ASINs in the Add a Product tool to see if an Apply to Sell button pops up. However, there is no other way to get ahead of it, besides being prepared with the proper paperwork. If you don’t have the paperwork, then your listings could be down for a long period of time until you do.
For more information on the Dietary Supplements category (and the appeal process), visit Amazon’s Help page.
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