Sambucol feedback thread - non-testers: What do you do to support your DCs immunity? £100 hamper prize draw! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

This thread is for the 100 Mumsnetters who tested out Sambucol Kids Teddies to leave their feedback.

Here's what Sambucol say, "Sambucol is a great tasting food supplement packed with thousands of Black Elderberries. Black elderberries contain naturally occurring flavonoids. Sambucol also contains Vitamin C, which is well known for its ability to support the immune system. Sambucol is made from Black Elderberries which have twice the natural antioxidant capacity of blueberries and more than 50% the overall antioxidant capability of cranberries. Antioxidants strengthen the immune system by helping neutralise the harmful effect of free radicals."

Non-testers: How many episodes of colds and sniffles do you have to deal with in an average year with each of your children? What do you do to help support your DCs immunity?

All non testers who add a comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 hamper of Skin Doctor cosmetics.

Testers: Below are some questions we'd like you to answer but feel free to add any other thoughts you have.

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?
Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Q5. Any other comments?

All testers who add their feedback to the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a hamper of Skin Doctor cosmetics worth £250.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Non-testers: How many colds and sniffles in an average year? Over the age of two - one to two so far.

How do I boost immunity? Healthy diet, lots of fruit and vegetables. Keep active. Nothing clever.
What did the trick? Six months of nursery when they were wee gave them all every virus and sniffle going. Sigh. After that they were pretty hardy.

Ive never even heard of these before! My eldest could do with extra vitamins but because he's a fussy eater and doesn't get his vitamin intake that way.

In an average year id say we face around 3-4 colds which I don't think is bad going. My youngest is 9 months old and has 1 cold and bronchitis at the beginning of December. In general we tend not to give them and medicine at the first sign of a sniffle to build their own immune system up and I think its sort of worked. My eldest has only ever been properly sick twice.

Q1: My daughter is 5 years. She likes the teddy shapes & bottle. She said they tasted a bit fizzy and asked why they were purple - but she does love them.
Q2: I think it should contain more vitamins plus the vit c & black elderberries - overall quite surprised with the product.
Q3: Yes i would recommend to a friend as they actually taste nice and my daughter is more than willing to take them, unlike other/s she has tried.
Q4: Way too expensive, i think if they were ever on offer or BOGOF id buy in bulk, other than that id have to think twice to justify spending that much on them.
Q5: Great tasting novel way of getting children interested and wanting to take a vitamin supplements just a shame the price is too high. :(

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?

DS is 6 and was more than happy to try the vitamins and liked the taste-we did tell him that it was blackcurrant though. DD is 11 and insisted on trying them too. For the purposes of testing, I also tried them and through they were tasty too!

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?

We liked the shape of the bottle-but did seem large as it had a wadge of cotton wool in it. The bottle will be recycled when empty.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would mention trying these vitamins if it came up in conversation. It will be interesting to see if it reduces any colds we have in this house this winter.

Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Wow how much! We do buy vitamins in the winter months - generally Bassetts or Tesco own at a significantly cheaper price. I would need convincing that these are worth the extra cost though - at over 21p per tablet.

Q5. Any other comments?

Thanks for the opportunity to take part in the testing.

Non-tester: I use antibacterial had gel for my LO and don't let him near other children with coughs/colds as he has a floppy windpipe which makes his breathing really bad when he gets a cold. I give him vitamins and a good balanced diet too. At 19mo he is obssessed with washing his hands which cannot be a bad thing.
Boots do a cold defence nasal spray for children which if he didn't oppose me spraying it up his nose so much I would give it a go.
Last year he had 3 really bad colds and hand, foot and mouth and 2 lousy sick bugs.

Non tester: my children don't seem to pick up too many bugs and colds really and recover quite quickly when they do. My eldest age 4 takes haliborange or bassetts chewy vitamins daily and as soon as my little one, age 1, gets older she will be taking them too, she has had vital baby liquid last winter but isn't having anything at present.

Non tester.
I don't use any product to help DD(5)'s immunity.
She gets about 4 or 5 colds a year, never sufficient to merit missing school.
She eats plenty of fruit and veg, as well as her fair share of crap.
Fresh air every day and lots of sleep.
I guess we're just lucky (so far!).

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?

DD1 and 2 both wanted to try them so we agreed they could share !! They are 11 and 9. DD1 likes the taste and is happy to carry on taking them. DD2 doesnt like the taste and so has withdrawn her offer of sharing!!!

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?

Quite liked the teddy shaped bottle, but it seems to direct the consumer to a younger target market. Does it need to have such a big wadge of cotton wool in the top? Could it be a slightly smaller container? Would have liked a bit more nutritional/product info on the bottle also.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

I will certainly mention it but the price, for me, is too great.

Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Unlikely to buy a "single supplement" for this price. I nearly fell over when I saw the RRP? I would prefer to buy a multivitamin or iron tonic to do the same job for this price.

Q5. Any other comments? I will come back and update on progress when DD1 has finished taking them.

Non tester
DD and DS, ages 9 and 6, have had few colds. DS had some sniffles a couple of weeks ago and his nose was red. A day or two later DD had a swollen nose and was sniffy. It passed very quickly. I boost their immunity with lots of fruit and vegetables. If I think they have a cold, I give a vit c tablet or two or one of those fizzy tablet vitamin drinks.

Non-testers: How many episodes of colds and sniffles do you have to deal with in an average year with each of your children? What do you do to help support your DCs immunity?

My daughter rarely has colds. I don't use any anti-bacterial stuff or get obsessed about germs. I try and make sure she eats well, sleeps as much as she can and mixes with lots of people.

Tester reporting back...

Q1 - DS1 is 8 and DS2 is 5. They were both amused by the teddy shaped bottle and tablets. DS1 was given the syrup version last year as his immune system was pretty low after virus after virus so he can compare the 2 . He doesn't eat sweets as he dislikes the flavours (don't worry he eats chocolate and fudge) so getting him to try them was hard work. He said the taste wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Praise indeed. DS 2 who does like sweets LOVES these and gets excited when its time to eat them.

Q2 - I liked the shape of the bottle though I guess the initial excitement from the kids would wear off.There seemed to be very few tablets in there for the size of bottle. I like the idea of a product of helping boost an immune system even though both kids eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg.

Q3 - I would recommend this product to other people as a short term immune boost though I am unsure if it is actually better than a regular and cheaper priced product?

Q4 - Blimey that sounds expensive and I doubt many people would actually buy it at that price. So if your giving a child the highest dose it would only last 30 days with one child and 15 days if you had 2 like me. Saying that, it does work out cheaper than the syrup so I would be more likely to buy the teddies over the syrup.

Q5 - Overall the product looks good and tastes fine. The price would be a real sticking point for a lot of people as multi vitamin supplements can be bough much more cheaply.It's great that such a lot of effort has gone into the production of this item and would stand out on a shelf instore.Though I wonder if the overall cost of the item could be reduced by a regular shaped bottle and regular shaped pills? Or even the teddy bottle and regular shaped pills may bring the price down and still appeal to the kids. I wish there were a more affordable way of making and selling this item so more kids could benefit from the excellent immune boosting ingredients.

Thank you MN for letting us try this item.

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?
My eldest DD who is 6 is trying them. She loves the teddy bottle and vitamin shape and she says they taste good!

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yeah I do like it, it appeals to kids so she enjoys taking them.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'm not sure, the price is a bit much for what it is. But I would reccommend a vitamin for their children, it would be up to them what brand they bought.

Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably not, I think the price is a bit much, especially as it is only vitamin C as opposed to a multivitamin, there are alternatives on the market a lot cheaper that do exactly the same job so I don't see the point in paying more.

Q5. Any other comments?
I like the fact they are not jelly vitamins.

Non-testers: How many episodes of colds and sniffles do you have to deal with in an average year with each of your children? One or two for 1 yr old
What do you do to help support your DCs immunity? Citrus fruits , probiotics, milk with turmeric!

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?

All 3 dcs have been trying the Teddies. They love the packaging and the 'teddy' tablets, and think the whole thing is great fun. They smell, look (and, apparently, taste) enough like sweets for them to regard the trial as a massive treat and are all very on-the-ball about reminding me to give them their teddies every morning after breakfast DS (8) and DD1 (6) are slightly more keen than DD2 (3.5) but she'll never admit she doesn't like something that the older two are enjoying

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?

I love the packaging and the look of the tablets, although DH is less keen as he's not convinced that 'medicine' (even vitamins) should be packaged quite so attractively.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

Probably - they smell great, the children love eating the teddies and I can't see any draw-back to a Vitamin C boost in the winter.

Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

That's seems a bit steep - ouch! All 3 dcs eat tons of fruit and vegetables in raw and cooked form every day (we're 'nearly' vegetarians), so really don't need the extra vitamins, and definitely not at a cost of £1.30 a day (6 tablets per day between 3 dcs). I can buy an awful lot of kiwi fruit, oranges, apples, carrots, broccoli and so on for that amount: plus I'd rather they got all the trace minerals, other vitamins and so on that they get from 'real' food. Having said that, I can imagine being tempted to buy them again if the children all came down with a really bad cold, for a short-term boost.

Q5. Any other comments?

I'd like to lid to be a little more child-proof, as I'm a bit concerned it would be too easy for the dcs to open the tub without an adult around. Apart from that (and the price!), I think they're great: thank you for including us in the trial :)

Non tester- the amount of colds our family gets every winter varies a lot. Best way to boost the immune system IMO is a healthy diet

How many episodes of colds and sniffles do you have to deal with in an average year with each of your children?
One or two a year, if that.

What do you do to help support your DCs immunity?
I let them eat cat biscuits off the floor.

My daughters, age 12 and 10 are both trialling this product. They liked the appearance and taste.

I liked the product - would appeal to children of all ages, and would be easy to get children to take regularly.

If someone was seeking out such a product, I would certainly suggest this one.

Abit too expensive for me to purchase regularly, sorry!

Non tester: ds prob has 1 episode of sniffles/cold a year. He is robustly healthy, which I put down to being outside lots whatever the weather, and a really good diet.

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies? What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not?'
6, 9, 11. Only ds has tried them so far but he was the one I thought would refuse them, he came with me to pick the parcel up and was really intrigued with the bottle and shape. asked a few questions about them and decided he wanted to try one , he liked the taste and said they were nice, he said he would like different shaped products I think teddies are not that cool to him. monster trucks maybe...

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I thought the product looked a bit strange,dusty looking but the teddies were cute and the bottle shaped meant that they looked really child friendly and interesting. they smell nice.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
I would recommend them if a friend or family member asked me for advice on vitamins perhaps if their child would not take generic shop bought ones
Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
The price I think is really high compared to other brands and could get very expensive with three children in the house I would be tempted if there were some kind of reduction or offer on but cant see us paying that amount when other just as good brands are much cheaper.
Q5. Any other comments?

I am a non-tester and this thread caught by eye because I have just bought some liquid Sambucol stuff from the health shop for my dd.

She has had one permanent cold/cough since September! She is 18mo now. She goes to nursery 1 day a week and a cm two days - it sounds silly but I am 90% convinced her germs come from nursery, not cm. She was going to cm only before and had nothing unusual in terms of colds/coughs. I was giving her NHS Healthy Start vitamin drops and boosting her with home made rosehip syrup (supposed to be very high in vit C). She also has a decent diet with plenty of fruit and veg.

I was at my wits' end this morning hence the Sambucol purchase... I shall see how it goes...

How many episodes of colds and sniffles do you have to deal with in an average year with each of your children? What do you do to help support your DCs immunity?

My children probably have 1-2 colds a year each and they cope with them with the odd paracetamol or early night. (they are 12 and 13) They rarely, if ever have any time off school and are irritatingly healthy. They used to take vitamins when they were younger but I now rely on them having a balanced died which gives them what they need. We also believe that fresh air cures most things (obviously not serious ones) and that being outside, exercise etc really help.

However, as my son ages, he becomes more and more his own person - determined to stay indoors and hunch over a screen. So, given we live in the frozen North, I am tempted, once again, to get them onto supplements: vitamin D and vitamin C and some fish oils. These teddies sound good but my children would balk at anything "childish". They do see me taking stuff every day, however, (calcium and multi vits) so they would be very open to being dosed again.

Non tester:I have 17month old twins, had a virus, hand, foot and mouth and a cold in the past year. To boost their immunity I give a multi vitamin and omega 3 daily. I ensure they have a healthy and varied diet and get them out for exercise often.

non-tester: I think DS 1 and DS 2 have about 2-3 colds a year. the only thing we are giving them is a healthy diet and refusing to push sugar at them in the form of sweets biscuits and pudding

non tester

we do boots teddies vitamins, like haribo, in winter and vit d. i also give ds iron

Q1. How old was the child who tried the Teddies?9
What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not? liked at first, then disliked
Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not? seemed good smelt nice.
Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not? no, as my child did not like
Q4. Sambucol Teddies' RRP is £12.99 for 60 teddies, do you think you'd be likely to buy it again or not? If so, why? If not, why not? no far too expensive
Q5. Any other comments? needs choice of flavours and be cheaper