Comments on: Can you help me on this product label design?

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:58:20 +0000

Mark – I see expiry for credit cards, but I think it’s more of a British term. I heard it in New Zealand too. Anyway, since Vaidya Mishra is marketing mainly in the US, we should use the local jargon.

Good point about the name being a reminder of why the patient is taking the product.

By: Dr Mark Vinick

Dr Mark Vinick — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:24:23 +0000

Yes, I just checked. Expiry is a commonly used term for expiration, or death, in England. I don’t recall ever seeing it used on a product here in the U.S. I think the idea of an updatable expiration date and batch number is a great idea. The comments on the extended sun rays and centered picture of Vaidya are good also. Someone mentioned that since Vaidya’s products are individually recommended by practitioners, the competitive feature of labels with other products is not an issue. This may be, but I have found that patients need to be continually reminded and encouraged to take their supplements. If the label has the proper info, and speaks to the person in such a way that they are continually reminded of why they are taking it in the first, their complience is much greater. That is why we see so many products called “mental clarity”, “tranquil mind”, “digest ease”, etc. I personally like Sanskrit names on products, but my experience is that when the average person sees a word they don’t recognize on a label, it is alienating for them. The idea of marketing is to give the consumer what they are looking for. Its all about them. If the names used are for the doctor, and are alienating to the patient, you have dramatically increased the likelihood of them not following thru with the recommendations… these are not just my own observations, but have patients in the marketing and merchandising fields, who have seen Vaidya, and they have mentioned this to me several times.

Hope this is helpful. Glad you are improving the packaging. Vaidya’s products are the best on the market, but the merchandising is perhaps the worst. People are attracted and follow thru on what is soothing (sometimes stimulating) to the mind, and pleasing to the senses. You are moving in the right direction…

By: Todd Smith

Todd Smith — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:05:04 +0000

Mark – Thanks for your comment and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I have made it a point to try to keep lettering as large as possible (preferably above 8pt).

Expiry is a valid word (not used as commonly in US, but I’ve seen it a lot). We will probably end up with just “Exp” and I’m working with them to get a stamp to apply this to the labels. That way they can print larger runs of the labels using a professional printer and just update batch numbers and expiration dates as needed.

I saw talcum in one of the products too… I’ll look into that and see what’s up there.

I’m not sure what an excipient is, but I’ll ask about it.

Thanks again for your feedback, Mark.

By: Dr Mark Vinick

Dr Mark Vinick — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:20:08 +0000

Hi Todd,

Looks like you have been working quite diligently on the labels. Most of the comments on the necessity of branding, legible labels, consistency, etc. are all things I have mentioned for years. Am glad you are working towards this. I would emphasize that the lettering needs to be larger and made easy to read. Also, many of the terms on the package are…. well…. I don’t think they are actual words….such as “expiry”????? and some of the ingredients…. talcum???
Vaidya mentioned to me that it was not in the product. Also, I noticed that on some of his newer labels there are no excipients mentioned. Have they been eliminated, or just not mentioned???

take care,
Mark

By: cynthia

cynthia — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:44:58 +0000

Hi Todd,
I do Dr. Mishra’s Ayurvedic Marma Facials in Windsor and love working with his products. I am delighted to see improvements in his labels and also hope the website will follow. personally, i love the idea of a lotus to identify his work, as he says that one heals with the heart, not the head. So I also like to colours of pink. Both of these, I use on my business cards. Just thoughts after the fact…just saw all of this today. Good work.
Cynthia