There are from 500 yuan to thousands... Why is the price difference between health food so big? The pharmacist teaches you to find good products from "marks"

When smiling pharmacists accept public consultations, they are often asked, "It is obviously all fish oil, why are the price difference between different products so big, so how can it be that the bad-hearted store is raising the price?" In fact, the sales price of health foods is related to many variable factors. If you do not ask, observe and verify it, it is difficult to distinguish the difference between dark-hearted products and high-standard products.

1. Health foods have a big price, one cent, one cent,

The gross profit of various health foods on the market, regardless of opening a chain, online sales, direct sales, TV shopping, etc., is within a certain range and will not be much different (except for private brands). However, the cost of health food is not only the product production cost, but also includes a series of serious processes such as marketing, research and development, verification, tax, and transportation. The production cost of two bottles of products with the same composition may be greatly different depending on the different variables in the process.

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According to an example, many people will find that the price of fish oil sold in large-scale markets or pharmacies is as different as the price ranges from 700 yuan to 3,000 yuan for a bottle of 60 capsules, but they are obviously fish oil with 50% content of Omega-3. Why is the price difference so big? The difference lies in the source, process and scale of the fish oil, freshness, complex quality and verification level of the fish oil. Many market fish oils are extracted from large fish. Based on the principle of food chain accumulation, the fish oil produced by large fish extract contains a high proportion of heavy metals and pollutants. However, it is not said that fish oil products made from large fish cannot be touched, but it depends on the product's unqualified verification.

Maybe you are not surprised that the source of product raw materials, process, and manufacturing plants will affect product prices, but many people are not very particular about the "certification level" of products! In fact, various products are given to various stamps and certifications, which cost a lot of time and expenses, especially the higher the certification, the more expensive it consumes, so the price is often not high. This is like a three-star Michelin meal hearing, because chefs need to spend money and effort to improve themselves. Their delicate workmanship and superb handicrafts can make every meal amazing and the price is also quite impressive. But after looking back, I decided to spend money on "health care" food to maintain health, but is it putting the cart before the horse when choosing quality? If this is the case, it’s better not to buy it!

2. Privilege is not necessarily good, but cheap ones should be carefully considered

The cheap ones are unreliable. Is it better to have expensive ones? In fact, it is not the case, and the reason for the price is expensive must be clearly stated. Some products cost high in raw materials, technology, storage conditions, and verification, some are expensive in marketing techniques and sales structure, and some are even expensive in brand or difficult to explain. Consumers must judge whether the price of the product meets its quality, otherwise it will easily become a wrongdoer.

There are hundreds of probiotics on the market, and they are obviously probiotics in the kidneys. Why do some formulas cost 30 packs in a box and sell at a price of up to 1,000 yuan, while some formulas cost only 500 yuan in a box and 60 packs in a box. The reason is the type of bacteria, the total number of strains and the proportion of each bacteria. Some formulas even list the various strains, but the content of each strain is not clearly marked. How to determine whether this formula meets your needs?

Although you pay for one cent, not all health foods must pursue high prices. For example, the B group of general nutrition supplementation, as long as you choose the required nutrients, you can also get good goods when you are cheap!

3. See the ingredient marks and product information clearly

Under the situation of food safety explosion, people must be particularly cautious when buying health foods, especially in the current generation of rising private brands, "understanding" the ingredient marks have become a whole picture. For a clear example, the dosage marking of commercially available eye protection products often hides unknown little secrets. The main ingredient markings in the following figure show that each ingredient extract has a marked content, but the "concentration" is not specified. For example, most of the leaves of the leaves that prevent the disease of yellow spots are extracted from golden chicken flowers, but if the ingredients are only 30 mg of golden chicken extract, you don’t know how much leaves of the leaves are actually contained. To improve dry eyes and increase the fish oil absorption by leaves, if only 200 mg of fish oil is marked, the actual Omega-3 content cannot be determined. Furthermore, many manufacturers now provide anthocyanins to improve fatigue, and have launched eye products rich in mountain mulberry or black currants, but often do not indicate anthocyanins concentration, which makes consumers feel confused. How to judge whether the product is suitable for them.

Therefore, Smiling Pharmacist suggests that when examining health foods, it should not only look at the ingredients and content, but also the "effective ingredient concentration". The following diagram is as an example. The obvious mark should be 30 mg of Shanmangzi extract (anthocyanin content XX mg, or anthocyanin 25%, etc.), golden chicken extract (containing XX mg of leaves, or 20%, leaf yellow), and fish oil 200 mg (60 mg of Omega-3, or 30% of Omega-3). Only in this way can the public judge the health potential that health products may bring.

4. Smiling Pharmacist's advice

The prices of all health foods are not absolutely correct, but relatively. The price cannot determine the product's disadvantages. Consumers must carefully inquire about the relative value of the product, where the product is, and whether it meets current needs. If it is not necessary, no matter how high the product is, it will be a waste of money or waste for you. But if high-standard products are very suitable for current health care purposes, it is worth it to make the price slightly higher. Finally, Smiling Pharmacist suggests that everyone can reasonably allocate the needs of various health foods. If they can be obtained from diet or life, why do you need to rely on processed health foods? But if it is a health care ingredient that you need urgently, you might as well understand the differences between different prices.

This article was authorized by Liao Wei to submit a pharmacist. The original text: The price difference between health foods is large, what is the difference?

Author Introduction_Liao Weicheng

Director Department of Taipei Medical Hospital, registered pharmacist from the Republic of China, diabetes mellitus teacher, and home pharmacist care qualified pharmacist.

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