Lead:
Childlife, a best-selling infant nutrition brand in China, the founder of "United States Pediatrician" is actually a graduate of a technical school in New Zealand who repairs computers?
After moving to the United States, the "pediatrician" only experienced one year of "homeopathy" training, and obtained the title of "Dr.", who was neither a doctor nor a doctor, but enough to confuse people, and his study of "homeopathy" was also "faked" by various "fakes". Before founding the infant nutrition brand, his biggest connection with medicine was that in the early 90s, he opened a Chinese medicine acupuncture studio in United States.
Although the brand vision is very good, the counterclaim of the "Minister" who once left the brand shows that the "pediatrician" founded the brand in the hope of making a lot of money, selling the company, and then going to New Zealand to enjoy life......
Image source: Childlife official website
Why, in a brand with such a wide audience of maternity, infant and child groups, there are still two faces?
1. Well-known brands have been questioned repeatedly, and the identity of the founder is "doubtful".
The maternity, infant and child nutrition market has grown rapidly in recent years, and from the perspective of the development stage of the industry, the current mainland nutrition market is still in a "large and scattered" situation, and the concentration of head brands is much lower than that of mature categories such as milk powder and diapers. Therefore, at the just-concluded 2024 CBME International Maternity, Infant and Child Exhibition, the nutrition track continues to be strongly watched.
However, in this year's CBME, some media found that a highly questionable figure appeared - Murray Clarke, founder of the Childlife brand.
Image source: 2024 CBME International Maternity, Infant and Child Exhibition
At CBME, Murray Clarke, founder of Childlife's childhood, also came to stand for the new product, and when he told the development of the brand, he told everyone that the brand "first entered Taiwan, and then entered the Chinese market." Some media questioned what his real intention was in this emphaticism.
In addition, Murray Clarke has been emphasized in ChildLife's brand campaign as a pediatrician:
Image source: Childlife official website
署名时他的头衔全称是“Dr.Murray Clarke,N.D.,D.Hom.,L.Ac.”
In the United States, M.D. is written for medical doctors, and Ph.D is written for Ph.D. for doctors of science, and these "Ds" are the English word diploma, which is diploma. To Murray Clarke:
N.D. means Diploma in Naturopathic Medicine;
D.HOM means Diploma in Homeopathic Medicine;
L.Ac. Indicates a practice qualification issued by an acupuncture and moxibustion association in United States.
Therefore, his professional experience is not directly related to pediatric medicine.
In addition, on the official website, there is a timeline of the founder Murray Clarke and the history of the Childlife childhood time brand, but there is no mention of his resume before 1984, nor does it say which university he graduated from as a pediatrician, and was later picked up, Murray Clarke obtained a diploma in computer science from Auckland City Institute of Technology (a vocational and technical school) in New Zealand in 1983;
In 1984, he came to the United States and began to change careers;
In 1987, he received a certificate in acupuncture and traditional medicine from Emperor's College of Traditional Medicine in California.
In 1991 he obtained his certificate in homeopathy at the Hahnemann School of Homeopathy in London......
Generally, M.D. doctors in Europe and the United States start from the undergraduate degree and have to study and practice for more than ten years, but how long does it take to get a D.HOM at Hahnemann College in London?
The answer is - 1 year.
So why can you be called Dr. instead of a doctor? Because with this certificate you can become a doctor of the Homeopathic Association, he is also "Dr. Murray Clark." ”
So Clarke is neither a "doctor" nor a "doctor", he does not have the authority to prescribe drugs, nor is he a doctor recognized by various state and federal government departments in the United States, and can only advise "patients" to go to the supermarket to buy various over-the-counter products or health supplements.
No, in 1998, he began to develop various health care products, but before that, Clarke only had experience in opening private Chinese medicine clinics, and the company had no R&D background at all.
Image source: Childlife official website
In addition, the "homeopathy" that MurrayClark learned is often dismissed as "pseudoscience", and in European and United States, the main "use" of homeopathy is now to "treat" colds and musculoskeletal pain, and these problems are self-limiting.
Ji Lianmei, director of the pharmacy of United Family Rehabilitation Hospital, once wrote an article in China Medical News that most of the ingredients in homeopathic products are actually water, which basically plays a role in psychological comfort. Many young mothers expect to be able to find some safe products to replace medicines through purchasing agents, and homeopathic products just meet this psychology of mothers. Ji Lianmei also pointed out that the mainstream view in the medical community is that for the treatment and prevention of any disease, the efficacy of homeopathic products is comparable to that of placebo. To this day, no scientist has been able to give a complete and reasonable explanation for the efficacy of homeopathy.
Image source: China Medical News-Scientific Medicine "It's not cost-effective to cross the ocean to buy "water" - a brief discussion on the rise and fall of "homeopathy" Author: Ji Lianmei
In this way, founder Murray Clarke's academic background really does not stand up to scrutiny, and he describes his career experience: "Having worked in Los Angeles for many years, I have accumulated a lot of experience in children's nutrition during my career, including vitamins and minerals and immunity boosting, and the use of nutrients to stimulate children's immunity and bone development. It's just a hard "rubbing" the title of doctor, and its brand has no research and development background, which makes the doubts behind the Childlife brand constant.
2. Making money and returning home is the big business of Clarke's "doctor".
Although the identity of the founder has been picked up many times, why is Murray Clarke still willing to promote and stand on the brand as a "pediatrician" every time there is a new product?
Because parents attach great importance to the "professionalism" of their children's nutritional products, with the "endorsement" of doctors, it will naturally attract more traffic, but it is unknown what the founder's "abacus" played.
Not long ago, a counterclaim in the California Superior Court revealed the "little ninety-nine".
The plaintiff in the counterclaim, Dickinson, is vice president of sales and marketing for Childlife United States, where he worked for nearly eight years (2011-2019), bringing in more than $190 million in United States sales for Childlife, up from $2.2 million in United States sales in 2010, the year before he was hired.
Image source: Counterclaim of the Superior Court of California
Another colleague, Dickinson, recalled, complimented "Dr. Clarke" on how remarkable it was to create Childlife to "help all the babies and children in the world." Clarke replied, "Don't mention helping babies all over the world, it's about making all of us a lot of money, we're getting rich, and you're taking your commission!" ”
Image source: Counterclaim of the Superior Court of California
Also, Clarke "Doctor" seems to be very keen to sell the company, and then return to his hometown New Zealand, and at every turn he and his subordinates draw cakes is "let's make money and sell the company, and then move to New Zealand, New Zealand's life is healthy and pure":
Image source: Counterclaim of the Superior Court of California
From this counterclaim, it is not difficult to guess that Clarke's "doctor" appeal is to "make money", and then "return home" and move to New Zealand to live a life in a sunny villa, such a typical "businessman's thinking" is very different from the image he created in his external propaganda. Driven by such values, how can we talk about accompanying children to grow up?
It is precisely because of these values that in recent years, food safety issues have frequently appeared in Childlife's childhood:
In 2015, some bloggers questioned that Childlife Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc was a risky supplement that far exceeded the needs of babies:
Image Credit: Blogger One Hour Dad
In 2016, some bloggers questioned the use of probiotics using Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium brevis, but these three strains were not in the list of probiotics that could be eaten by infants and young children in mainland China that year:
Image source: Review blogger Cage Bao Baba
In 2018, some consumers questioned the pitiful amount of vitamin D3 contained in ChildlifeVD3 in childhood, and it was useless for the baby to eat.
Image source: HomeTest Ding Ma Home Lab
Dr. · was more serious, and directly contacted Dr. Murray, the "doctor", and asked him, your product quality is not good, what do you explain? The next day, I received a reply from Dr. Murray, and the main idea was one sentence: "The method of your Chinese testing agency is not good, VD3 is difficult to measure, and the test results are easily interfered with by solvents and other components." Then the real Dr. · blogger also carried out a series of operations such as changing the testing agency, and found that the VD3 content of the product was not enough.
Last year, the China Consumers Association tested childlife's nutritional supplements for preservatives;
Image source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph
Image source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph
Regarding the issue of adding preservatives to infant food, there are clear provisions in the relevant national food safety standards for infants and young children issued by the mainland. The revised version of the General Requirements for Children's Snacks, which has been implemented since June 15, 2020, was released in May last year, which clearly requires that "synthetic preservatives, synthetic sweeteners, and synthetic colorants should not be used in children's snacks".
Also last year, a report from a third-party testing agency showed that S23C098 batches of Childlife's fish oil DHA products were found to have a serious peroxide value of this product after being tested by Eurofins Analytical Technical Services (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.:
Image source: Eurofins Analytical Technology Services (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. test report
Some industry insiders pointed out that under the values of Childlife, which focuses on economic gains and ignores product development and compliance, it is not surprising that product problems will occur. After all, the high profits, high growth rate and high added value of the maternity, infant and child nutrition track have attracted a lot of down-to-earth enterprises, and also attracted a lot of speculators, who use some concepts and gimmicks to incite parents' anxiety, which can naturally bring a lot of benefits.
3. Focus on marketing and light on R&D? Not the path of long-termism
Since the "milk powder incident" more than 10 years ago, China has ushered in a new era of consumption of pregnant women, infants and children, and parents are eager to become a sharp-eyed "ingredient party", and marketing tricks sometimes cannot confuse some consumers. In the process of Childlife's entry into the domestic market, many consumers and institutions have found the shadow of "heavy marketing" on its body.
Taking calcium supplementation products as an example, many brands have now embarked on the research and development of volume ingredients and volume technology, and verified the positive effects of their products on bone calcium improvement through authoritative institutional testing and clinical reports. Childlife's calcium, magnesium and zinc liquid calcium products are much more simple and crude, and there is no data support in their publicity, so they "hint" to consumers that they may be able to solve the problems of "short stature", "late teething, crooked teeth" and "thinning hair".
It is true that calcium supplementation can lay the foundation for the development of your baby's bones and teeth. But can Childlife liquid calcium products really solve the problems of calcium deficiency in babies growing up as advertised? Obviously, there is still a question mark when you don't see the relevant proof. In addition, this product was also pointed out by the evaluation agency a few years ago, proud of the sweet and sour taste, half of which is due to the added fructose, a spoonful of feeding to eat 2g of sugar, and at that time the Chinese Nutrition Society recommended: The food of babies under 2 years old should remain original, without additional sugar, salt and various condiments.
Image source: Evaluation agency Choose with confidence
In addition to calcium, magnesium and zinc liquid calcium, Childlife's vitamin C nutrient solution, echinacea drops and first defense solution were also known as "natural anti-cold!" "At that time, there were institutions that questioned it.
Image source: Independent assessment agency "Rest assured"
Despite the advertisement, the bottle reads: "The above efficacy description has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and FDA, and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, treat or prevent any disease." ”
Image source: "Rest assured"
Isn't this really an IQ tax?
Image source: Childlife Overseas JD.com's self-operated flagship store (July 2024)
In addition, there is also a problem with the rhetoric of accompanying millions of United States babies and children to grow up, and in 2016, its promotional draft claimed that it had accompanied millions of United States children for more than ten years.
Image source: Baidu website
In the less densely populated United States, the number of newborns has stabilized at more than 3 million in the last decade or so, and if millions of United States children have been accompanied, it means that 10% of United States families will use this brand's products. If it's limited to California, where the brand is based, it means that everyone has to use it to reach that number. Combined with the lawsuit filed by Dickinson, the plaintiff in the counterclaim above, Childlife sales before 2011 were only a few million dollars a year, and the "moisture" in the data can be found.
Someone else curiously conducted a small survey and asked 16 families living in the United States with children at home. These include ABC, Chinese immigrants, and non-Chinese families, 60% of whom live in California, where the brand is based. The conclusion is very interesting, about 1/3 of the 16 families did know about this brand, and the proportion was not bad, but the reason for the contact was basically "relatives and friends in China asked to buy some to bring back home".
Although the sample size of 16 households is too small, such a result can also remind consumers that the brand has invested a lot of money in promoting in China? In particular, the safety of the product cannot be guaranteed, is there a suspicion of coming to China to "cut leeks"?
After all, when it comes to what nutritional products children should eat, the scientific method is rigorous and low-key, while advertising and marketing are just the opposite, and the more people who know about profiteering, high-profile, the better. This allows some brands to seize on the mentality that parents are willing to spend money on health for their children, confusing concepts and misleading purchases.
In the final analysis, the product safety of the maternity, infant and child track is a systematic social project that requires the joint efforts of all parties. In the industry, it is necessary to abandon Clarke's idea of "doctor" making quick money, correct values, and do things with conscience. For consumers, it is necessary to carefully identify the brand history, so that the "big flicker" of the industry can show its original shape. Both ends of supply and demand are under a good value, which will drive product research and development, brand evolution, and form a perfect and positive cycle market.