Live from SupplySide Connect New Jersey 2025, Cassie Smith and Josh Long join Ben to talk about supplement industry uncertainty surrounding tariffs, FDA actions, and ongoing trends in Episode #164 of the PricePlow Podcast!
For Episode #164 of the PricePlow Podcast, Ben Kane sits down with Cassie Smith (Senior Editorial Content Director at SupplySide) and Josh Long (Associate Editorial Director at SupplySide Supplement Journal) for a dynamic discussion recorded live at SupplySide Connect New Jersey 2025. This wide-ranging conversation dives into the most pressing issues facing the supplement industry today, with particular focus on the regulatory uncertainty created by changing tariff policies, FDA oversight challenges, and the evolving landscape of GLP-1 related products and claims.
The panel unpacks the complex implications of recent tariff changes on supplement ingredients from China, the ongoing evolution of FDA enforcement priorities under changing leadership, and the controversial marketing practices surrounding GLP-1 mimetics in the supplement space. Throughout the conversation, they highlight a critical need for industry unity, more nuanced discourse on regulatory matters, and a stronger focus on quality products that genuinely benefit consumers rather than minimal-effort “functional” products with questionable claims.
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https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/supplyside-connect-new-jersey-2025-164
Video: Industry Trends & Regulatory Challenges at SupplySide Connect NJ 2025
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:48 — 47.7MB)
Detailed Show Notes: PricePlow Podcast with SupplySide Editorial Team
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00:00 – Introductions and Welcome to New Jersey
The podcast opens with Ben Kane welcoming viewers to the PricePlow Podcast, mentioning they’re broadcasting live from SupplySide Connect New Jersey (formerly SupplySide East, as Ben almost accidentally called it). Ben introduces the guests: Cassie Smith, Senior Editorial Content Director at SupplySide, who oversees content creation for SupplySide Supplement Journal, SupplySide Food and Beverage Journal, and conference content at both SupplySide Connect New Jersey and SupplySide Global events; and Josh Long, Associate Editorial Director at SupplySide Supplement Journal, who brings his legal background and over 12 years of industry journalism experience to the conversation.
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02:00 – Tariffs: The Hot Topic Dominating Industry Conversations
The discussion immediately turns to what’s on everyone’s mind at the show: tariffs. Josh discusses the recent exemptions granted for certain ingredients and the efforts by trade associations to request additional exemptions from the new tariffs on Chinese imports. He notes there’s significant uncertainty in the industry, with one C-level executive having spent four and a half hours in meetings just discussing tariff implications.
Ben shares that when walking around the show floor asking people about exciting trends, “everyone just responded ‘all we’ve been doing is talking about tariffs.'” The group discusses the lack of clarity around exemption criteria, with Josh mentioning that one likely factor is whether ingredients can be produced domestically. He notes that certain vitamins were already exempted, including niacin, but botanicals were not, which is concerning news for that segment of the industry.
Ben points out the challenging reality with botanicals: “Does America have the environment to grow those here? A lot of things are grown in specific areas for specific reasons.” He gives the example of creatine, noting that while people have talked about bringing creatine production to America for years, when companies try to establish facilities, they often face “not in my backyard” resistance. The conversation highlights how 77% of creatine used in America comes from China, making these tariff discussions particularly impactful for the supplement industry.
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05:00 – Supply Chain Shifts: Looking Beyond China
The conversation evolves to discuss potential supply chain shifts resulting from the tariffs. Ben expresses frustration with the timing and uncertainty: “Having this show on Tuesday-Wednesday when everything gets announced Friday, we’re in the middle of this and it’s all uncertainty.” He notes that while there’s been talk about bringing manufacturing back to America, many of his conversations at the show were actually about moving operations to India or other locations: “One company pointed out to me that when you look at like other industries like textiles or clothing, a lot of that moved to Indonesia or Thailand, not all of it is in China anymore, but as an industry we’ve still stayed pretty heavy in China.”
Josh shares insights from his regulatory reporting on China, particularly regarding FDA inspections. He explains that the FDA conducts “extraordinarily few audits” in China, estimating “half a dozen audits or something like that.” This led him to question how many finished products are coming from China given such limited oversight. While some trade associations claimed there aren’t many finished dietary supplements being imported from China, Josh notes: “I got a bunch of information from FDA recently and… there are quite a few lines of finished products coming from China.”
Ben expresses surprise at claims that finished products aren’t coming from China, pointing out: “Soft gels, gummies, all sorts of like white-label stuff going to Fulfillment by Amazon – there’s a lot of people bringing in finished product goods.” Both agree this presents significant safety concerns, with Josh stating the oversight in China is “woefully inadequate” and Ben adding that with recent cuts in FDA employment, domestic inspection capabilities are already strained.
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10:00 – FDA Oversight and Political Uncertainty
Josh shares insights from a Congressional oversight hearing he attended that morning regarding “keeping illicit products off the market.” He mentions former FDA Commissioner David Kessler’s testimony, noting that “in all the years I’ve been covering this industry, not one soul has said anything kind about the man.” Josh explains that Kessler was commissioner from approximately 1990-1997 and has been characterized as “anti-supplements.” At the hearing, Kessler expressed serious concerns about the Trump administration and RFK Jr.’s approach to the FDA, with Josh quoting him saying, “I fear we are less safe today” and “this may not be fixable, this may affect us for decades.”
The discussion touches on how different FDA commissioners have historically viewed dietary supplements, with Josh noting that the FDA bureaucracy has generally been “anti-supplements” over the decades. He cites examples of more recent commissioners who also weren’t fans of supplements, suggesting that most FDA leaders “come from the medical establishment” and therefore haven’t had a “glowing view of dietary supplements.” Josh points out the interesting contrast now with RFK Jr., who is “supposedly pro-supplements.”
Ben emphasizes that despite the political uncertainty, the industry continues to operate under the existing regulatory framework: “We do have existing regulatory framework and we get painted as wild west… it’s still business as usual because we do have regulatory framework that everyone is used to running with”. He expresses a wish that politicians would actually visit SupplySide to see “what a rich culture we have here of regulatory professionals and people who care about quality”.
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15:00 – The MAHA Movement and Political Divisiveness in Health Policy
The conversation shifts to the Medical Alternative Health Advocacy (MAHA) movement and the polarizing nature of health policy discussions. Ben expresses frustration with the lack of nuanced conversation around regulatory approaches, noting that people tend to be either completely for or against certain policies without considering middle-ground positions.
Josh reflects on how difficult it has become to have respectful debates on policy issues, observing that the supplement industry often appears fragmented rather than unified when engaging with Washington. Ben agrees, mentioning that he’s attended meetings with different trade associations in DC, highlighting the industry’s lack of a unified front. He notes that while the MAHA movement has put health at the forefront of national conversation, it has also created a divisive environment where expressing nuanced opinions can lead to immediate backlash.
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20:00 – Mandatory Product Listing Debate
The panel discusses the controversial Mandatory Product Listing (MPL) proposal, with Ben first defining it for the audience: “Mandatory Product Listing was an idea that any product – not ingredients, but if someone takes a bunch of ingredients and puts them together – before they go to market, you’d have to go to the FDA and have it approved.” Ben adds that while some claimed it wasn’t pre-market approval, “it was Mandatory Product Listing, which to me sounds a lot like the same thing.”
Ben questions the practicality of such a system given the FDA’s current resource constraints: “If the FDA can’t even go audit manufacturing facilities, how do we feasibly expect they have enough manpower to review all of these labels and approve them?” He raises further concerns about the criteria for approval: “What criteria are they approving it based on? Because right now, we can’t even agree with them on whether or not NAC [N-acetyl cysteine] is a dietary supplement, so how can we trust them to tell us that these supplements they’re supposedly going to approve are following some sort of criteria that we all agree matches DSHEA?”
Josh offers a different perspective, clarifying that from his reporting, MPL “was a listing requirement – in other words, you would… list your product with the agency. They don’t have to approve them, but they know at least what the heck is on the market.” He notes there was a provision that if companies didn’t comply, they could be charged with misbranding. Josh acknowledges Ben’s concern about FDA resources, agreeing that “FDA doesn’t always use the tools they have effectively, so it’s like, why give them more authority?” He mentions attorney Steven Shapiro’s point that companies are supposed to submit structure/function claims to the FDA, but “they just sit in a cabinet in the basement somewhere… you haven’t done anything with those for the last 30 years, why are we going to give you 100,000 labels? That’s ridiculous.”
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25:00 – GLP-1 Claims and Marketing Ethics
A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the trend of supplements making claims related to GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) pathways, which have become prominent with the popularity of prescription weight loss medications. Cassie mentions a recent session where the speaker warned companies to “enjoy your time in the sun because they’re coming for you if you do that.”
Ben acknowledges that while ingredients like berberine do legitimately affect these pathways, he finds it problematic when companies use “GLP-1” terminology on labels since consumers associate this directly with prescription drugs. He considers it “immoral” when companies leverage this mental connection, while acknowledging he has used phrases like “nature’s Ozempic” in videos himself, though he feels conflicted about it.
The panel discusses the ethics of such marketing practices and the regulatory risks companies face. Josh notes that while FDA enforcement may be limited at present, companies making aggressive GLP-1 claims could potentially face action from the Federal Trade Commission or even lawsuits from pharmaceutical companies. Ben observes that despite the GLP-1 hype in the broader market, there was surprisingly little GLP-1 focused messaging at the SupplySide ingredient show, while retail stores like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe have entire shelves dedicated to GLP-1 support products.
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29:30 – Weight Loss Drug Support Products
An audience member asks about protecting GLP-1 ingredient investments from becoming a “flash in the pan” like CBD, drawing parallels between the two trends. Ben analyzes this comparison, noting that while CBD was huge in the supplement space, it’s now legal in many states through the Farm Bill or recreational cannabis laws, causing many CBD companies to lose ground to dispensaries. He predicts a similar pattern might emerge with GLP-1 products once oral GLP-1 drugs become available: “If you’re selling berberine, very soon you’re going to be up against people who no longer need to inject, and I think that injection is a big issue for a lot of consumers who just don’t want to stick needles in their body.”
Ben’s advice to companies is to focus on go-to-market strategy rather than just creating products: “Don’t create products just hoping that consumers find them. It’s all about go-to-market strategy. You partner with GNC or Vitamin Shoppe, have great creators who can explain the products and get it selling on TikTok.”
Rather than competing directly with pharmaceutical GLP-1 drugs, Ben suggests supplement companies should focus on creating support products for people using these medications. He references a conversation with Jennifer Cooper who advised, “Don’t go out competing with this pharmaceutical – stupid. But there are a billion ways to support people who are on it.” Ben notes that Vitamin Shoppe has launched a protein product with HMB and Peptistrength to help maintain muscle mass, explaining that “most people who are on GLP-1 drugs are not eating nearly as much, and most consumers in the first place are not consuming enough protein. Then you kill their appetite, they’re definitely not consuming enough protein.” These support products could address multiple health concerns beyond just muscle mass, including skin health, bone density, and energy levels.
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34:30 – Peptides and Regulatory Gray Areas
The conversation turns to peptides, which Ben connects to the RFK Jr. discussion: “That’s also another funny thing with the RFK discussion – he asked about peptides. A lot of people like to talk about RFK’s love for peptides and for methylene blue, which are like really popular.” Ben makes a point to clarify, “I’m not going to call them supplements because they’re not supplements,” and notes the irony that while RFK Jr. is “going after the FDA in a lot of ways,” peptides have been “largely kind of banned from compounding pharmacies.”
Ben acknowledges the difficulty in discussing peptides in the current supplement conversation: “It’s a hard conversation to have because a lot of the sites that were popularizing these products were never really doing them legally.” He expresses that while many in the industry “would love to have access to these important products as consumers” and notes “there’s a lot of great safety data on peptides or methylene blue,” they simply don’t fit within the current regulatory framework.
The discussion highlights how significant regulatory changes (“DSHEA 2.0”) would be needed to bring peptides into the legal supplement space, but Ben expresses caution about “opening Pandora’s box” with major regulatory overhauls: “Once you start opening up DSHEA, a lot of things can be changed, and I’m really wary about people who don’t have our best interests in mind getting their hands in that.” He concludes that while he loves that peptides are part of the broader health discussion, “as of right now, it’s still technically more of a pharmaceutical discussion.”
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39:30 – Media Coverage and Industry Reporting Priorities
Josh asks what topics the panel believes media should be covering in the supplement space: “What the hell should we be covering? There’s just so much going on.” He explains that they wrestle with this question internally at Informa, adding “I would love to get feedback from the industry in terms of like, what are the most important issues to cover.”
Ben responds with an amusing anecdote: “It’s really funny because when Cassie called me about this talk six months ago, she asked what are we going to talk about, and I said I won’t know until two weeks out.” He emphasizes this is “100% true,” noting that “every single week we talk about something different.” Ben explains that he thought they’d be discussing general show trends, but instead he “had to become an expert in tariffs last weekend.”
When Josh asks what they would have been talking about if not for tariffs, Ben quips about the non-alcoholic beer he accidentally ordered before pivoting to what he’d actually wanted to discuss: “I do think functional beverages is like a macro trend that, if you remove the politics, I think functional foods and functional beverages is what I wanted to talk about today, to be honest with you.” He expresses his real interest in discussing “how we can take interesting ingredients that improve consumers’ lives or offer them benefits and put them in tasty solutions like drinks, foods, stuff like that” rather than being sidetracked by political and regulatory concerns.
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44:30 – Functional Foods and Beverages: Beyond the Politics
To move away from political topics, the discussion shifts to functional foods and beverages as a significant industry trend. Ben expresses frustration with products that claim to be “protein” foods or beverages while containing minimal amounts (like 6 grams) of protein, calling it misleading marketing. Cassie strongly agrees, adding it particularly bothers her when products use minimal amounts of collagen and call it a “protein cookie,” saying it “makes the industry look bad” when they’re “marketing nothing and calling it healthy.”
Cassie suggests that such products might represent “baby steps” in consumer education, as mainstream consumers are still learning about functional ingredients. Ben argues that mood and focus benefits, where consumers can actually feel the effect, might be the next evolution in functional products. The panel discusses the challenge of formulating truly effective functional foods that also taste good, with Ben questioning the purpose of having so many innovative flavor houses and development teams if the industry can’t produce products with meaningful doses of beneficial ingredients.
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49:30 – Economic Outlook and Consumer Spending
Josh asks about the economic sentiment among industry executives at the show, particularly concerns about a potential recession, noting that prominent CEOs have been discussing “the R word” and pointing to the loss of “six trillion dollars in two days in stock market value.” Ben offers a candid take: “The camps are so heavy that certain camps aren’t willing to admit there are things to worry about because other things are going in their direction, and they don’t want to question the people that they enjoy making the rules.”
Despite this political dimension, Ben notes that Q1 retail sales were actually quite strong, with foot traffic and interest in dietary supplements up across the board. He observes a trend toward simpler, more essential supplement formulations that are easier for consumers to understand and often less expensive than complex products, comparing today’s market to the past when some brands were “making all these crazy different muscle pills, consumers were spending hundreds of dollars on things that may not have been working all that well.”
Cassie adds that essential purchases tend to be maintained even during economic downturns, with consumers likely to continue buying supplements they view as necessary but potentially trading down to more affordable options: “If there is even now in this time of uncertainty, if you’re going to private label, probably go Costco. That Costco brand of multivitamin is probably going to kill it as opposed to whatever fancy one.” Ben suggests that post-2020, consumers have a greater appreciation for the value of preventative health measures, noting that “pre-2020, a lot of people didn’t understand what taking vitamin D regularly for themselves, or magnesium, or getting enough protein or fiber was, or how helpful that was for their health.”
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54:30 – Industry Unity and Positive Messaging
As the podcast wraps up, Ben makes a call for greater industry unity and more positive messaging. He criticizes marketing approaches that tear down competitors rather than elevating the industry as a whole, specifically referencing a recent video by a brand that portrayed a fake board meeting of “big supplement” executives laughing about ripping off consumers and avoiding FDA oversight. Ben argues that this type of messaging “doesn’t really point to a quality industry when we’re constantly making fun of ourselves.”
Ben shares that one reason he stopped making highly negative videos, beyond the toll of negative comments, was that “it didn’t help anything – I was only talking about negativity, I was kind of pulling all of ourselves down instead of lifting everyone up.” He emphasizes there are many quality people in the industry who care deeply about their work, and that should be the message communicated to consumers and regulators.
The panel agrees that more respectful dialogue among industry stakeholders with different perspectives would be beneficial. Josh wishes “there would be more respect for each other, more productive dialogue” even among people on opposite ends of the spectrum. The group concludes by affirming their shared commitment to promoting quality nutrition and making it accessible to everyone, with Josh noting, “I think we all agree that quality nutrition is most important – getting that out to everyone and protecting it.”
Where to Follow
SupplySide West is now SupplySide Global! Sandy Almendarez of Informa Markets sits down on the PricePlow Podcast for Episode #154 to explain the new rebrand and more!
- PricePlow Blog
- Cassie Smith on LinkedIn
- Josh Long on LinkedIn
- SupplySide Connect New Jersey
- SupplySide Global (formerly SupplySide West – see our Episode #154 with Sandy Almendarez for more on the rebranding)
Thank you to Cassie Smith and Josh Long for joining us on this episode of the PricePlow Podcast, and thanks to SupplySide Connect for hosting!
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