How my online mom group sent me down a rabbit hole of direct-sales supplements for kids

As it turns out, vitamins and supplements for children have joined the world of direct sales. Online mom groups are a hot spot for sales and promoting the goods, which makes sense; these virtual sounding boards are full of parents looking for answers about their little ones, whether for physical wellness, potty-training solidarity or the best books to teach a toddler about equality.

If you’re looking for answers about gut health and nutrition on a social media platform, don’t be surprised if ambassadors from Kids FundaMentals, Juice Plus+, Plexus XFactor Kids and Nature’s Sunshine reach out. These are just some of the brands with lines for younger customers that are often marketed through online gatherings. The people selling tend to be parents who have taken on a side hustle.

“My initial goal is just to pay for my own supplements and, eventually, would like it to be adjunct income,” said a Denver mom who reached out about the company she sells supplements for, Juice Plus+. (She spoke on the condition of anonymity because the company didn’t approve of her speaking to a reporter; Juice Plus+ didn’t respond to requests for comment.) Like nearly every other parent who messaged me, she stated her belief in the products and how much they had helped her little ones.

Vitamins are a billion-dollar industry. Research and Markets, a Dublin-based market-research firm, calculated that gummy vitamin sales reached $5.7 billion in 2018; by 2026 those numbers are projected to hit $9.3 billion. Those figures don’t even touch on the powdered and chewable vitamin industry.

With all these new products, many being pushed via social media, it appears the simple days of Flintstones chewable vitamins are long gone. Now parents can get a mixture of nutrients in powder form to add to their kids’ smoothies, gummy snacks that have extra vitamins, and even vitamin-enriched candy. These supplements also say they can do more than just make sure your kid gets the calcium, iron and vitamins C and B6 they need. As gut health has become a buzzword, products have popped up to help children regulate bowel movements and soak in all those good-for-you minerals and nutrients.

Stephanie Gebbia, a registered dietitian for Rocky Mountain Pediatric Specialty Clinics in Colorado, said she is a strong believer in probiotics and doesn’t see any harm in multivitamins. “In general, people should just be eating a variety in their diet, get vegetables and whole grains, but I recognize kids don’t always eat that way, and if parents feel like it’s going to help them, then go get some vitamins.”

But some experts don’t believe most kids need any of it.

“There are a lot of companies coming out with new vitamins and claims about different things,” said Rachel Rothman, a San Diego pediatric dietitian, feeding expert and founder of Nutrition in Bloom. “In my practice, when a parent asks me if their kid should take a multivitamin, I want to know what they are eating first.”

Rothman recognizes that kids can be picky, and some may not be getting the proper nutrition from the ideal source, food. But even if a child doesn’t eat a lot, most of the time, she said, they are getting enough vitamins and minerals. Still, she said, adding supplements isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if only to take some pressure off both parent and child. “My philosophy and my approach is never to put pressure on kids to eat a certain amount, bribe them or use coercion.”

Another Colorado mom who sells Plexus said she fell into selling nutrient powders, vitamins and probiotics after seeing them work for herself and family over the past five years.

“I’m a mom of two young boys, and my daily life consists of asking people how well they poop and slinging probiotics to improve immunity,” the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Plexus hadn’t approved her speaking to the media, said by email, adding that she came across the products from a friend on Facebook. “Honestly, I wanted my energy back and to feel good again, and my family’s health journey has changed for the better, and I help other mamas do the same for their own crew.” (Plexus didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

After receiving 43 comments and three private messages in response to my simple moms’ group plea, I still felt lost in the quest to get my 5-year-old to poop. When I decided to respond to one of the private messages, I didn’t realize the mom who reached out was peddling probiotics – and the opportunity to sell them myself. She did, I admit, sound confident she could help us.

But the program was expensive, and I quickly realized it wasn’t something I wanted to invest in. Yet, despite my “no thanks,” she continued messaging me new deals and specials for a couple weeks.

“My email reminded me that the kids and adult probiotics are BOGO 50% today only!!! You and your son can start to address anxiety and gut health sooner than you thought! I can send you an enrollment cart so you can take advantage of this now?” she wrote to me through Facebook Messenger, even after I explained we didn’t have funds for it. “So what I hear you saying is that I haven’t shown you how to make this work in your budget and get products paid for?”

I never responded after that, and decided to look into other methods to help my kid with his gut.

Finding other products wasn’t hard. There are so many kid-targeted vitamins on the market right now, from brands such as the Honest Co., Zarbee’s Natural, Natural Vitality Calm, Smarty Pants, Culturelle, Garden of Life, L’il Critters, Feel Great Vitamin Co., Nordic Naturals and dozens more. Yes, Bayer’s Flintstones vitamins are still an option, as they have been since 1968. Though now customers can choose from nine varieties in chewable and gummy versions.

In general, both Rothman and Gebbia suggest knowing what’s inside the items you’re buying. Also, find out from your pediatrician what your little one needs, be that more iron, vitamin D, calcium, protein and so on. Before purchasing, look at the labels to check how much sugar the supplement has in it (gummy vitamins are often mainly corn syrup). And when in doubt, ask your child’s doctor what he or she recommends.

“With social media, we are buying a lot of products from friends versus going to the store; it’s changing the landscape of what we are doing,” said Rothman, noting that multivitamins and supplements aren’t regulated to the extent that pharmaceuticals are. “I always want to make sure parents are buying a reputable brand and that it contains what the package says it contains.”

So how did I get my kid to poop? In the end I went with a the most recommended remedy from moms who weren’t trying to sell me anything, a mix of old and new: prunes in a fruit shake and a side of gummy magnesium supplements. I’m not making any extra cash for the family through these grocery store purchases, but our lives were certainly changed to run smoother.

Linnea Covington lives in Denver with her partner and two little kids. She has been writing about food, drink, travel and the glories of life in general for more than 15 years and doesn’t plan to stop.

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