Sixty one percent of New Zealanders supplement their diet daily with multivitamins, according to the findings of an independent survey of multivitamin suppliers.

The survey by Canstar Blue asked Kiwis to rate their satisfaction with the multivitamin they'd most recently purchased. Healtheries received five star ratings for overall satisfaction, value, pill size, effectiveness, taste and availability. Rival supplier Centrum was also awarded five stars for taste and range. Thompson's scored five stars for the effectiveness of its multivitamins and Nutra-Life received five stars from customers for the taste of their pills.

Derek Bonnar CANSTAR - New Zealand National Manager said the survey revealed that baby boomers were the most likely to supplement their diet with multivitamins. Men were also more likely at 64% than women (59%) to take a daily multivitamin.

"Our findings showed that Dunedin residents (65%) were a little more concerned with supplementing their diet with a daily multivitamin, than Wellingtonians at 60%. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed admitted they buy multivitamins and then forget to take them! Forty one percent of women surveyed as opposed to 34% of men admitted to having good intentions, then forgetting to follow through.

"The survey results also highlighted that most Kiwis don't rely on advice from a medical practitioner before selecting and taking a multivitamin. Only 22% of those surveyed said they'd sought medical advice before starting their multivitamin. However, 45% of respondents said they were confused by all the public information available about multivitamins and the best one for their needs," says Derek.

Amongst those surveyed the most common gripes about Multivitamins include:

• The large size of the tablets
• The price
• The taste, and aftertaste
• Uncertainty about the effectiveness of the vitamins.

Canstar Blue commissions Colmar Brunton Australia to survey 2,500 New Zealand consumers every few months to measure their satisfaction across a range of products and services. The outcomes reported are the results from consumers who have purchased a multivitamin within the last 12 months, within the survey group - in this case, 1041people. Multivitamin suppliers must receive at least 30 responses to be included.

Canstar Blue is a division of financial research and ratings company, CANSTAR which has been operating in New Zealand for nearly a decade.

Canstar Blue provides New Zealanders with the latest customer satisfaction ratings on products and services free of charge via the website www.canstarblue.co.nz.

"Consumers will undoubtedly feel more confident about a purchase if hundreds of other Kiwis rate it highly," said Derek.

To view the full results of the Canstar Blue survey go to: www.canstarblue.co.nz