by Dan-N on September 28, 2009
Anyway you cut it, it’s been a bad few weeks for Advanced Wellness Research (now called Netalab) and their products - Pure Acai Berry Pro and New Pure Acai Berry Burn. As we reported in August, Advanced Wellness Research was named in a lawsuit by the Illinois Attorney General for deceptive advertising on their acai products. The same day, Harpo Productions (producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show) also sued Advanced Wellness Research for using Oprah’s image without their permission and misleading customers.
Well, it looks like September is not getting any easier for them. The Florida Attorney General has now also sued Advanced Wellness Research for deceptive marketing of their Acai berry products. As is often the case with Acai Berry Scams, Advanced Wellness Research was offering a “free trial” but then autobilling customers $80 a month.
“TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced his office filed a law suit against a Miami company, a related company and company principals over allegations the companies engaged in deceptive marketing practices. Advanced Wellness Research, Inc. allegedly offered free trials for its products, including Acai berry supplements and whitening toothpaste, but failed to provide reasonable notice that customers would be charged approximately $80 on a monthly basis for products they did not intend to purchase.
The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division began investigating the companies after receiving over 700 complaints about the companies. According to the complaints, consumers who tried to cancel the continuation program were unable to contact the company from which the products were purchased. ”
- Press Release from the Florida Attorney General”
Let’s hope that Attorney Generals from every state continue with these law suits against these Acai scam companies. If you live in Florida and have been victim to an Acai scam, you can contact the Attorney’s Generals office and file a claim - 1-866-9667226.
Additional Resources:
Full Press Release from Floria Attorney General
Oprah and Illinois Attorney General File Suit Against Acai Scam Companies
How I Lost $90 in 30 Days Using the Acai Berry
What Did Oprah and Dr Oz Really Say About Acai
Acai Berry Scams - How to Avoid Them
Acai Berry Maxx named Texas Lawsuit
Free Black Belt Course in Spotting Acai Berry Scams
by Dan-N on September 28, 2009
We have just returned from 4 days at the Natural Products Expo East (NPEE) show in Boston. What is the Natural Products Expo East you ask…
NPEE is a trade show that showcases all the latest products in the Natural and Organic world. Everything from supplements, foods and personal care items - if it is a natural product, you can be pretty sure it will be at NPEE. In all, more than 21,000 industry members, including retailers, journalists, pioneers and entrepreneurs, explored more than 1500 booths to find the leading natural products of tomorrow.
What Were the New Trends in Natural?
By walking the aisles and attending all the educational seminars we discovered two things. First, we learned about new products and research in the world of supplements and foods. Second, we learned that walking and talking to over 1500 vendors is exhausting! Since you probably do not care much about our second discovery, we will focus on the first.
[click to continue…]
by Dan-N on September 22, 2009
We try to keep this blog as non-commercial as possible, but every now and then we just need to bring up some things that we think, while commercial, are still fantastic.
Our love of Perfect Acai has been clear. Well, now things get even better with Perfect Acai Powder. This is Acai as pure as it gets - 95 grams of pure Freeze dried USDA Certified Organic Acai in a jar - that is it! No other ingredients - no capsules - just pure organic freeze dried Acai.
Why Less is More When it Comes To Acai
Most Acai berry products on the market are blends. This means you get Acai plus a bunch of other ingredients you really never wanted. In addition, Acai supplements tend to be filled with fillers and flowing agents - things like magnesium stearate, silica and rice.
Of course, if you have decided you want to try Acai… you really want to try Acai. You obviously don’t want a bunch of other ingredients you can’t pronounce and have no need for. The Perfect Acai Powder is everything you want - pure freeze dried USDA Certified Organic Acai - and nothing else.
What Do You Do With Acai Powder?
Freeze dried Acai powder is great to mix into smoothies, yogurt, juice, water, cereal, fruit salad… get the idea? Just take a scoop of the Perfect Acai Powder and mix it into your favorite drink or snack and you will feel like you are sitting in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest!
by Dan-N on September 18, 2009
Sometimes I really wish things were exactly as you would expect them to be. How easy life would be if you could buy Acai capsules and find out that… wait for it… they actually had pure acai berry inside. Of course, if things were this clear then you wouldn’t need us to spill all the industry secrets!
Hey, Who Put Those Fillers in My Acai Capsules?
If you look closely at the “other ingredients” listed on most Acai supplements you will see things like magnesium stearate, rice, silica and a few other things you can’t pronounce. These ingredients are called fillers or flowing agents.
Flowing agents are things that allow the Acai to run more quickly through the encapsulation machines. This allows a manufacturer to produce more bottles in a shorter time.
Fillers are just that… fillers. Some consultants figured out that consumers like to see their capsules full to the top. So, what do you do if you have just 300mg of Acai but the capsule holds 500mg? You fill it with fillers.
How do Fillers or Flowing Agents Help Me?
They don’t! Fillers and flowing agents allow manufacturers to produce Acai products at a faster speed and lower cost - there is absolutely no benefit to you the consumer.
How Do I Get Acai Capsules with Just Acai?
While 95% of the industry uses fillers and flowing agents, you can still find a few pure Acai products - they have nothing but Acai in the capsules. We of course love the Perfect Acai - 100% Organic Acai in a capsule. No fillers, no flowing agents, no acai seeds - just real freeze dried Acai.
If you want to shop around and find pure Acai in a capsule then you need to study the Supplement Facts panel on the Acai supplement. You want to look carefully at the “Other Ingredients” and make sure nothing is listed there. You also want to avoid any “proprietary formulas”.
I know it sounds simple, but if you want pure Acai in a capsule - just check and make sure the only ingredient listed on the supplement is Acai!
