ESM Technologies has scored a big win with a nationwide launch by Jamieson Laboratories of a joint care product that uses its patented NEM eggshell membrane ingredient.
“We’re excited they chose us for their product,” Micah Osborne, president of Carthage, MO-based ESM Technologies told NutraIngredients-USA
A lot of the joint care product you see in the mass market are mainly glucosamine chondroitin products that have been in the market for a long time,” Osborne said.
Jamieson’s Advanced Joint Care is launching nationwide in Walgreens locations. According to ESM, with NEM (Natural Eggshell Membrane) Jamieson is getting a branded, patent protected eggshell membrane ingredient that combines a small, once-daily dose with published safety and efficacy studies.
Smaller dose product
And it is that dosing requirement that provides a big advantage for NEM over existing joint care products, Osborne said. The smaller pill means a better consumer experience and better compliance.
“NEM is a smaller dose product. Glucosamine and chondroitin products usually come in many pills and the pills themselves are larger,” he said.
Then, there is the source of the material. Glucosamine is mostly derived from crustacean exoskeletons, which can be an issue for those with shellfish allergies (a vegan source of glucosamine is available). And chondroitin is derived from cartilaginous tissues of livestock, such as cows and pigs.
NEM, on the other hand, comes from a common food source, albeit a portion that people don’t generally eat, Osborne said.
“It comes from a familiar source—eggs—so it comes from something that people are used to eating,” he said.
In addition to the dosing advantages and the higher ranking on the squeamishness scale, Osborne said the thing that sets NEM apart is the data backing its efficacy.
“The biggest thing we saw in the trials is the product supports healthy joints and it has fast results,” Osborne said. “Our double blind placebo controlled trial showed results in 10 days.”
Joint health concentrated in pharmacies
NEM has been on the market for a number of years, but this is one of its first big splashes in the mass market, Osborne said.
“We are in quite a few products out there. This is one of the first ones in the mass market. When you look at the joint health category, the mass market is the biggest area; 70% of the purchases happen in the mass market,” he said. “(NEM) does have uptake in the natural channel, but the mass market is just so big.”
And Osborne said getting placement in a pharmacy chain was especially important, as consumers seem to be trained to look there first if they are having joint issues.
“Joint health is a category is one where people are much more used to picking up a product at a Walgreens or a CVS and taking it. In other categories, that’s not the case,” he said.