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

[tiredandsadmum]

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 8 1/2. He really liked the taste and so did I! Lovely and sharp and slightly fizzy.

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

Very creative design. DS loved the bottle and the teddie shapes. They are small enough not to be offputting to a child and fun. The cotton wool did seem a bit silly. I had trouble getting into the bottle so can definitely vouch for it being child-proof!


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 taste. But couldn't possibly recommend effectiveness as I have no idea!

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?

Sorry not for that price when the evidence to support claims is weak. DS has a good balanced diet.

Q5. Any other comments? I'll repost if anything comes up.

[gloriafloria]

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 Son is 7. He loved the look of the Teddies and how they tasted. He liked that he got to have two as he normally only gets one vitamin.I

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

I liked the look of them but I feel a multi vitamin may be more beneficial rather than just a Vitamin C supplement.

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 don't know whether I'd recommend but I would comment that my Son liked the taste and that he was more than happy to take them.

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?

I don't think at the moment I would buy them as my children normally take a multi vitamin that has vitamin C as well as other important vitamins.

Q5. Any other comments?

[orangina]

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?
DD is 8 and she quite likes the teddies, though she says they are very sweet.....
DS is 6 and doesn't want to eat the teddies, as he says they are much too sweet....!
Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Overall impression is reasonably good, though slightly concerned by the comments that they are twoo sweet from a 6 and 8 year old!
Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Not sure, based on the too sweet issue. I suppose I could recommend them if other children were fussy about eating a vitamin, in which case the sweet issue might act in their favour.....
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, not likely, given the comments above. Also, while some additional vitamin C might be useful, I would generally prefer a multi-vit.
Q5. Any other comments?
Why so sweet? The DC do eat other brands of children's vitamins, and none have elicited this comment. Am concerned that sugar levels in all foods have been rising in general, why get children used to such sweetness at such an early age?

Thanks for letting me test them though!

[Selina]

How old was the child who tried the Teddies? 11 years
What did they think overall of Sambucol Teddies? Did they like the taste or not? liked the taste - but felt it made her have a tummy ache
Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not? I liked it - it looks appealing and should help reduce infections
Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
yes
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, as its is quite expensive
Q5. Any other comments?
nice colour and the packaging is appealing to children too

[lilrahi]

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 always seems to have a bit of a runny nose, he's always sneezing with a lot of ammunition, lol. He loved the taste and ran to tell DD (aged 3) about his lovely 'sweets'.

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
He loved the bottle and is already planning what he's going to do with it when its empty! I thought the bottle was child friendly and the shape made him more receptive to eating the vitamins. I would have preferred it if it was a multi vitamin

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
3 days in, I couldn't make a decision, maybe at the end of the bottle, but the price is quite high

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?
If DS's runny nose/sneezing improve as a result, I might consider it but then again I might try another cheaper brand to see if I can get the same result.

Q5. Any other comments?
None apart from making the price a bit more parent-friendly

[Spirael]

Non Tester. I'd say DD (3YO) gets about 3-4 colds per year, but even when she's coughing and her nose is streaming it doesn't seem to bother her particularly.

As for helping her immunity, she's up to date with her vaccinations (including the flu vac) and enjoys a healthy, varied diet. Besides that, I don't keep my house immaculate or disinfect her every time she touches mud/the cat/etc, so her immune system should be relatively robust.

[MsInterpret]

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?
DD aged 4 - really liked the taste

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Knew it would be a definite hit with children, particularly the teddy-shaped bottle and sweetie-style of the vitamins. I liked it.

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 as they've gone down really well

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?
Argh! I'm afraid I could not justify spending this much on vitamins. I think the teddy gimmick is a good one, but definitely not worth paying this much extra for a product that doesn't seem dissimilar from other vitamin products on the market at half to a third of the price!

Q5. Any other comments?
Just a real shame they're so pricey. Thank you very much for letting me try them - DD very happy (and hopefully healthy!)

[janeyh31]

Non tester
My daughter's don't tend to pick up to many colds/ bugs so have been quite lucky really. I think we got through that when they were a lot younger & as they have got older had less colds. I tend to try & boost their immune system by eatting healthy. I try to give them a good balanced diet. I find keeping them active & being out in the fresh air helps to.

[tinypumpkin]

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?
4 years old. DD2 really liked the taste of the 'teddie sweeties'. I tried one and liked it too. I am a bit older than 4 though!

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I actually liked it more than I thought it would. I liked the container although agree with another poster who said that the cotton wool was not needed. A smaller container without the cotton wool would have sufficed. I thought the product tasted better than I thought it would.

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 liked the product but the issue would be that of money. I think it is too expensive. I can't comment on how effective the vitamins are at this point but even if they were great, there are other cheaper products on the market.

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, see above comment about the item being over priced. It's not competitive.

Q5. Any other comments?
Thanks for letting my DD2 try them. I am impressed but not enough to fork out £12.99 in future sadly.

[Nodney]

Non tester - I give my DS6 a multi vit everyday and pay particular attention to his diet ie I make sure he gets plenty of fruit and veg, and iron-rich foods too. I am strict on a good and consistent bedtime routine and do my best to ensure a good nights sleep for him. I also try to make sure he has time outdoors each day, and drinks plenty of water. He eats some sweets, but I limit them to a few a day

[MimsyBorogroves]

Tester here:

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?
DS1 is 5. He loved the packaging and thought it was "really cute". He liked the taste of the Teddies, but said "I wish they were chewy rather than crunchy". He much preferred them to vitamins we've had in the past which had an awful liquid centre.

Q2. What was your overall impression of the product? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
I tasted one and I was pleased with the taste - not chalky in the slightest which I'd thought they were likely to be. I thought the packaging was cute, but rather wasteful - half the bottle was empty and stuffed with cotton wool. I'd prefer a multi vitamin/omega three capsule for the price, though.

Q3. Would you recommend Sambucol Teddies to friends/family if it came up in conversation or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
Perhaps - if I knew a child with really low immunity and someone was looking for a recommendation of a palatable supplement. However, I think that they are highly overpriced for a Vitamin C supplement, particularly as there's little evidence that they actually "work" - whilst DS hasn't had a cold whilst taking them, and I know there are colds going round, there is no evidence that he would have caught it without them.

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. Way out of my budget (especially at 2 a day) and not enough evidence that they actually give results.

No other comments at the moment, but will revisit as we continue taking them.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

Non-tester.

My top tips for avoiding colds and sniffles are to eat plenty of fruit and veg, get lots of fresh air and to encourage good hand/sneeze hygiene. My DDs don't get ill often and I am thankful for it. DH on the other hand has had man flu twice this winter so we're making him eat more fruit.
:)

[Hopezibah]

Non-tester: Colds and sniffles seem to start in september when schools go back and keep going until around May when the warmer weather comes. I would estimate around 10 lots of colds and sniffles per child although it can be hard to estimate as sometimes two episodes run together in a row and it feels like they've been ill for ages!

I encourage the kids to drink plenty and also to practice really good hygiene with handwashing. They do take a vitamin supplement throughout the year and a diet of plenty of fruit and veg helps.

[zipzap]

Non tester here.

DS1 (8 - at junior school) and DS2 (5 - at infant school) probably get 3-5 colds a year, although (touch wood!) the last couple of years, the colds haven't been bad enough to keep them off school. DS2, who was breastfed for over 2 years, still gets fewer colds than ds1. Couldn't bf ds1, although he was fed ebm for 3 months, does seem to come down with more bugs in general and when he has them, tends to get them more badly than ds2 (only exception was chicken pox which ds1 had badly, ds2 had really badly).

To support their immunity, I try to make sure they eat a reasonable diet with plenty of fruit and veg in, and supplement it with the little packs of Boots vitamin gummy bears - 5 in a pack, one pack a day - although they don't get them every day. When there are lots of colds around, I try to encourage them to eat manuka honey - ds2 isn't convinced, but in the last couple of years ds1 has gone from hating honey to actively asking for it, both when there are colds around and when he has a cold or cough to help soothe sore throats and coughing fits. If they do have a cold then I try to encourage them to keep their hands washed and avoid rubbing their eyes if one of the other members of the family has a bug.

Getting them out in the fresh air to run around and play in the garden or park is also good - although again, ds1 is much better at doing this than ds2.

I think that actually getting lots of little colds and bugs is probably a good thing to help build up immunity and that living in a hyper clean, sterile environment isn't a good thing as it doesn't give their immune systems a chance to develop. That's my excuse for not keeping the house as clean and sparkling as a show house and I'm sticking to it

[jameela1]

Q1. My daughter,who tried the Teddies,is 5 years. She loved the bear shaped bottle! She quite liked the taste and the shape of them.
Q2. I liked the packaging of the product and that it contains no chemical nasties added,which you can find in a lot of other vitamins for kids. I liked the combination of elderberry and vitamin C.
Q3. I would definitely (and have already!) recommend Sambucol Teddies to other moms,i think it's a brilliant product with a unique blend.
Q4. I think that £12.99 for 60 teddies is quite a lot,compared with other high quality vitamins for kids priced at about £6-£7. I might buy them if there's a promotion,not sure otherwise. On a shelf of vitamins with prices starting at just £1- £2 (supermarket own) this kind of price would look huge.

[MadMonkeys]

Non tester - I'd estimate about 10 colds per child per year. I'm being much more diligent with giving them vitamins this year. We have a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and veg, although whether they actually eat the veg is a different matter...

[EstoyAqui]

I give my DCs a healthy balanced diet. I ensure they are in bed at a sensible time and that they are adequately protected from the weather when we are out. My DS has anaemia so he regularly takes an iron supplement. Both DD and DS take a multivitamin. We drink lots of water and get lots of exercise. We wash our hands before eating and after using tissues. I do not use antibacterial gel as I find it dries out delicate skin and would rather get the kids in the habit of washing their hands.

Before DS was diagnosed as anaemic he was ill quite a lot. Since being on medication he is like a different child. DD gets the average coughs and colds that come when they start back at school. Other than that they are generally healthy.

[lorka]

Non tester - we only have maybe one or two coughs or colds a year. I make sure my children have a balanced diet and eat plenty fruit and veg as well as plenty exercise.

[Jodunne]

Q1 - my three girls aged 5, 10 and 12 were keen to try the teddies due to the novelty shaped container and the small teddies inside. They all liked the taste and were more than happy to have them.

Q2 - I thought the product was great, totally different to other vitamins

Q3 - I would recommend this product as they are new and different and children are more than happy to have them.

Q4 - If they were on a promotion I might be interested but as I have 3 girls who would all like them and the elder two would need 2 a day that would mean using 5 teddies per day so I would have to buy a new pack every fortnight!

Q5 - Many thanks for letting me take part we will certain finish the jar!

[MinesACuppa]

Q1: 8 and 10. Loved the taste, which is a rarity, because they are fussy about their vitamins! They liked the teddy shape and also the teddy packaging
Q2: I think it's a good product because it won't get wasted! Also I like the idea of the immunity boost
Q3: yes - because I've had to give away/throw away so many vitamin tablets in the past because my kids didn't like them
Q4: probably. Although I'd keep my eye out for special offers and stock up then
Q5: very happy with the product.

[MinesACuppa]

Forgot to say, my kiss want to keep the empty bottle!

[MinesACuppa]

*kids

[StillNoFuckingEyeDeer]

Non-tester

DD1 is almost 3 & has had a bad cold/cough/fever etc about 2-3 times over the last 2 winters. We try to get her to eat plenty of different fruits - especially blueberries - and eat a generally healthy, balanced diet. If I thought I could get her to drink it, I'd get her a probiotic yogurt drink like Yakut, because I think they're great. She gets plenty of fresh air, but picks up bugs from nursery.

[skyeskyeskye]

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 daughter is almost 6. She was very impressed with the cute bottle and the cute teddy shaped "sweets". She will not easily take medicine, so I told her they were sweets but she was only allowed two . I also told her that they were blackcurrant flavour. She loved them so much that she wanted more of them. She did actually then eat another two when I wasn't looking. Not sure how she opened the bottle as it appears to be child proof . Hoping that there will be no ill effects as it says not to take more than two .

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

The bottle is great, very child friendly and encouraging them to want to try it. The teddy bear shape is a great idea too and very helpful in getting them to take them. I like the product very much.

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

My daughter is not very good at eating fruit and veg, so these tablets would be great for her and I would recommend them but am very shocked at the price, which I would think would put most people off.

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?

I would love to buy them again, but at £12.99 for a months supply, I would not be able to afford it which is a very great shame. If the price is brought down to a more affordable and acceptable level, then I would buy them again. I wil definitely finish off the bottle and see if DD's health improves regarding getting colds etc, but they really are too expensive.

Q5. Any other comments? Having just gone back and read other testers comments, I see that the resounding reply is that they are too expensive. Hopefully Sambucol will take note of this and reduce the price.