Several types of trademarks can be used for dietary supplements

For conventional dietary supplements, the core of legally available trademarks cover three categories, namely the 5th category of medical nutrition products, the 30th category of convenience foods, and the 35th category of advertising sales services. Some businesses that grow their own raw materials and prepare nutritious foods may also use related items of categories 29 and 31.

Let me tell you a true story that I encountered two years ago. There was a boss in Hangzhou who made collagen peptide powder. When he first started his business, he heard someone said that dietary supplements only need to be registered in Category 5. He only spent a few hundred yuan to register for a Category 5 label. As a result, when the product was ready to be put on Tmall, it was directly rejected by the platform - his product The product complies with the general food standards for solid beverages and does not have a blue hat logo. The platform determined that it does not fall within the scope of use of Class 5 trademarks. In the end, I rushed to the 618 promotion and could not wait to re-register. I spent more than 30,000 yuan to buy a ready-made Class 30 label with a dietary supplement sub-item, which cost dozens of times more.

Many people are not sure about the trademark classification of dietary supplements. The essence is that the attributes of this category itself are overlapping. Let’s talk about the most controversial Category 5 first. Two factions in the industry have been arguing for several years: One faction believes that any product that “supplements dietary nutrition” falls under the category of medical nutrition and must be registered in Category 5. ； The other group believes that products that have not received the approval of Jianzihao are ordinary foods and are not qualified to use Category 5 trademarks. In fact, there is no need to fight. You just need to see if your product has a blue hat logo - that is the blue "health food" logo on the packaging box. If it has the approval of National Food Health Notification or Food Health Preparation, then it is absolutely fine for you to use the trademark of Category 5 0502. If it does not, don't join in the excitement of Category 5. During random inspections by local municipal supervision bureaus, if ordinary food is found to have a Category 5 trademark, it is likely to be counted as false advertising.

Oh, by the way, if you are making ordinary dietary supplements without blue hats, such as probiotic powder, dietary fiber powder, meal replacement shakes, donkey hide gelatin cakes, etc., just choose category 30. Focus on 3005 honey nutritional products, 3006 For the small items such as "Nutritional Supplements" and "Medical Nutritional Foods" under convenience foods, don't just buy them just because the big items are Category 30. I have seen many people buy the Category 30 labels that only cover coffee and candies at a cheap price. They can't use them when they go back, which is a waste of money.

Don’t think that it’s enough just to get the trademark corresponding to the product. Category 35 is something that most businesses will miss. If you plan to open an online flagship store, open a franchise chain offline, advertise, or even do OEM to sell goods for other brands, 35 categories of 3501 advertising, 3502 franchise management, and 3503 promoting for others are a must. Last year, a meal replacement blogger came to me crying. He said that the name of his account that he had been doing for three years had been registered in 35 categories. The other party directly complained about the infringement of his account name and either changed the name or spent 120,000 yuan to buy the bid. In the end, he could not bear to part with hundreds of thousands of fans, so he had to bite the bullet and buy it.

There are also some special categories that do not need to stick to these three categories. For example, if you make nutritious dietary supplements such as freshly stewed fish maw and ready-to-eat sea cucumbers, you need to apply for a category 29 trademark.； If you grow your own wolfberry, Dendrobium officinale and other medicinal and edible raw materials and sell them directly, you will also need to register for the relevant items of Category 31. These are adjusted according to your specific products and are not mandatory requirements.

I usually give suggestions to clients and I don’t just ask them to sign up. If the budget is enough, it is definitely safest to bet on the three core categories (5, 30, 35) together. If the budget is tight in the early stage of starting a business, just follow the product first: if you are making blue hat health products, bet on 5+35 first, if you are making ordinary dietary supplements, bet on 30+35 first, and then add other categories when the subsequent business is established. Some colleagues will also recommend that customers register for all categories. I personally think it is not necessary. Unless you have reached the level of By-Health, the annual trademark maintenance fee is a large expense, and there is no need to waste money.

In short, there is never a standard answer to the matter of trademarks. Don't listen to what is said on the Internet. When you are not sure, find a reliable agency to ask questions about your product packaging and implementation standards. It is much more useful than trying to figure it out for a long time on your own.