Why Consumer-Centric Advocacy Is Key to the Future of Supplements

Speaking live from the SupplySide Connect show floor in Secaucus, New Jersey, Karen Howard, CEO and executive director of the Organic & Natural Health Association, emphasized the growing importance of consumer-centric advocacy in shaping the future of the dietary supplement industry.

Howard highlighted her organization’s strategic shift toward unifying industry voices through initiatives like My Health Alliance, which brings together multiple organizations to collectively represent consumer interests. Rather than relying solely on legislative action, she underscored the importance of presenting a cohesive message that prioritizes the needs and understanding of consumers. According to Howard, fragmented advocacy efforts diminish industry impact, whereas collaboration amplifies influence, particularly in complex regulatory environments where multiple proposals compete for attention.

Drawing on her experience working on Capitol Hill, Howard noted that regulatory success is unlikely without consistently centering the consumer. She described current legislative efforts at both state and federal levels as disjointed, likening them to “ships passing in the night,” and stressed that meaningful progress depends on aligning policy initiatives with real-world consumer outcomes.

Howard also discussed the association’s broader initiatives, including Nutrient Power, regenerative agriculture efforts, and campaigns focused on nutrient deficiency awareness. These programs reflect a multi-pronged approach to public health, combining education, advocacy, and industry engagement. However, she made clear that education remains the cornerstone of these efforts.

With thousands of supplement options available to consumers, Howard pointed out the growing challenge of decision-making in an increasingly crowded marketplace. She argued that without proper education on issues such as product quality and nutritional needs, consumers are unlikely to benefit from regulatory changes alone.

Ultimately, Howard reinforced that the future of the natural products industry lies in bridging the gap between policy and consumer understanding, ensuring that every initiative, whether legislative or educational, delivers tangible value to the end user.

A transcript of her conversation can be found below.

Nicholas Saraceno: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome, welcome. We are live on the SupplySide Connect floor here in New Jersey, Secaucus, NJ. I am Nico Saraceno, senior editor of Nutritional Outlook magazine. I’m joined today by Karen Howard. She is known as the CEO and executive director of the Organic & Natural Health Association.

Karen, thank you so much for taking time to join me.

Karen Howard: My pleasure.

Saraceno: I know you've had a busy day. You just had a session too, so I literally had to grab you as you came off. Thank you for taking the time.

Howard: Absolutely.

Saraceno: First of all, your association has emphasized several things, including collaboration between consumers and industry stakeholders. This is interesting too, because you're doing this instead of relying heavily on legislative action. How is this approach shaping your advocacy priorities? I guess is 1A, and where do you see it having the greatest impact in today's regulatory environment?

Howard: Great question It’ll be a year this fall when we were on the Hill for the first time with My Health Alliance, representing millions and millions and millions of consumers, letting all these organizations do their own thing, and coming together for a highly successful reception. We did that intentionally, because we know that independently, if we're all trying to go out and do our separate things, we have less force.

Even though we're not constantly saying the same thing—AHPA was there as an example. They had a certain legislative agenda. This was a place for us to gather the energy and focus in on the actual consumer his or herself, instead of the regulatory process. Now, we have all of these disparate proposals that are coming at FDA and everywhere else. Are they going to be legislation? It is like ships passing in the night. The only way to maintain any kind of significant success, in my view, having worked on the Hill, is that you have to constantly have the consumer at the forefront.

Saraceno: Definitely, now there's been campaigns that you've been a part of, such as Nutrient Power. There's also been ongoing efforts in regenerative agriculture and nutrient deficiency awareness. This association has been very involved, and it's taken a multi-faceted approach to improving public health outcomes, which is very admirable. How do these initiatives line up with your long-term vision for the role of natural products and dietary supplements in health care overall?

Howard: I go back to this conversation that people are having around state issues, and so the states are trying to legislate changes that are protecting consumers. We all know that this is misguided legislation, but if you're not educating the consumers along the way, you're going to lose every single one of those battles. Our constant going out and educating people on nutrient deficiency, testing, how to select a quality dietary supplement. I did my research. There are 1000 dietary supplements on a target shelf. How can a consumer ever make a good decision and not be overwhelmed with all of that information? So to me, they have to intersect and merge. There's no point of doing any piece of legislation in our industry without it having a direct and immediate impact on a consumer.