Emergen-C vs Airborne vs Generic Multivitamin

I compared the ingredients of Emergen-C, Airborne, and Target's up&up brand women's multivitamin. Both Emergen-C and Airborne advertise illness prevention.

Emergen-C is a dietary supplement that boasts "1,000 mg of Vitamin C, other essential nutrients, antioxidants, and Electrolytes." A 30 pack goes for $9.99 at target, costing you $0.33/packet. Each dose is a little bag of powder that gives you a "Super Orange flavored Fizzy Drink with Natural Flavors."

Airborne is an "Immune support supplement" that contains a "BLAST of Vitamin C, plus 13 Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs." It takes the form of little tablets that dissolve in water, giving you an effervescent, fruity drink. A 30-pack costs you $15.19 at target, so each tablet costs about $0.51.

Target Up&Up Women's Multivitamin advertises that it "supports bone, heart, and immune health. It also supports healthy skin, a healthy reproductive system, and energy metabolism." A pack of 300 costs $5.59, costing about $0.02/pill.

Main differences I found:
-Emergen-C and Airborne both contain 1,000mg of Vitamin C (which is 1,667% of our recommended daily value). There are no proven benefits to taking this much Vitamin C daily, as it is water soluble and will leave your body via your urine. There are actually some potential health consequences to taking over 1,000mg of vitamin c daily, such as interfering with other medications, *possibly* increasing risk of cataracts, and can possibly increase the risk of kidney stones in certain people. The Target Mulivitamin contains 60mg of Vitamin C, which is the recommended daily dose.

-Airborne, overall, was the most different from the other two. Airborne contains fewer vitamins overall and contains a "proprietary herbal blend" consisting of echinachia, ginger, and other fruit & flower ingredients. Airborne's claim to effectiveness is at least more unique than Emergen-C because it contains more unique ingredients that might actually help mitigate a cold.

-Emergen-C and Target Multivitamin had nearly the same ingredients and quantities. Other than Vitamin C, the target multivitamin had pretty much the same ingredients as Emergen-C and contained them in higher quantities. For example, Emergen-C contained 25% daily values of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, and Manganese, whereas the target multi contained 100% D.V. of all of those. The Target Muli-Vitamin literally contains all the same nutrients, usually in higher quantities, and costs significantly less money. One $5.59 package of target multis will last you almost an entire year, whereas you would need to spend $100 on the equivalent amount of Emergen-C.

Conclusions
Both Emergen-C and Airborne are tasty (or at least tastier than swallowing a big vitamin), and are sort of an "event." With a vitamin you just swallow it and it's over, making it seem less like you're actually "doing something" for your health or illness. Contrastingly, both Emergen-C and Airborne dissolve in water, giving you a fizzy drink that you drink in more time than you swallow a pill. In my opinion, these acts make individuals feel like they're "doing something" for their health and illness prevention. Additionally, Airborne and Emergen-C both have significant and sophisticated advertising presences. They both market as unmatched in what they do, as if no other options for ingesting vitamins and minerals exist. Emergen-C also uses rhetoric of "emergence", (like, Emerge Refreshed, Emerge Revitalized, Emerge Energized) implying that taking this supplement will change you almost instantly. In the case of a generic multivitamin, little to no advertising goes into it. Additionally, (hopefully) no one that takes a multivitamin expects to see immediate change. It's usually something people take every day to supplement their vitamin intake when their diet doesn't suffice. Most people with well-rounded diets do not need to take a multivitamin, so it really doesn't make sense to spend more than a small amount of money on them. However, if Emergen-C (and Airborne) can convince consumers that they will receive INSTANT health and IMMUNITY from illness, it makes sense that they're so popular!

Overall, Emergen-C seems like the biggest scam to me, as it is almost exactly the same as a generic multi vitamin. Airborne has more herbal ingredients, which may help in ways that haven't been studied or quantified by science. However, if you're looking for echinacea, ginger, and other natural ingredients, you're probably better off with tea, as it's cheaper, and doesn't contain all the sugar/flavoring of Airborne.

https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/is-it-possible-to-take-too-much-vitamin-c/too_much_vitamin_c/
https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/do-vitamin-c-supplements-help-prevent-cataracts/vitamin-C_cataracts/
https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/vitamins/overloading-on-vitamin-c/