Dr Courtney Stewart

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Dr Courtney Stewart | Food Label & Claims Expert (RNutr, PhD)
Helping food brands launch & scale with compliant labels & health claims (no $$ reprints, delays!)
👇🏼 FREE 6 mistakes costing brands thousands

I recently completed a scoping review for a company comparing three different ingredients and their effect on the same h...
16/01/2026

I recently completed a scoping review for a company comparing three different ingredients and their effect on the same health outcome.

Once the evidence was collated and assessed, it became clear that two of the ingredients didn’t have a sufficient evidence base to support a self-substantiated general level health claim under the Food Standards Code, while one ingredient clearly did.

That distinction mattered.
It meant the business didn’t waste time or budget investing in full systematic reviews for all three ingredients. Instead, they could focus resources on the one pathway that actually stacked up.

From there, we completed a full Schedule 6–compliant systematic review for the selected ingredient, supporting a health claim that:
– aligned with regulatory expectations
– differentiated the product in a competitive market
– and highlighted where competitor claims were likely being overstated

This is the value of doing evidence triage early.
Not all ingredients can support the same claims, and choosing the right one first can save significant cost, time, and rework.

Want to chat about how we can do this for you?
Comment 'CALL' and let’s chat.

15/01/2026

If my competitor is saying it - it must be compliant… right?

Shelf presence is not approval.
And assuming it is can quietly cost food brands a lot more than they expect.

One of the most common - and risky - assumptions I see is this idea that “if someone else is saying it, it must be allowed.”
It feels logical. It feels safe.
But it’s not how Australia’s system actually works.

There’s a critical gap between what consumers see on shelf and what brands are legally required to stand behind. And that gap is where many labels unravel - often months after launch, when fixing it is far more expensive.

Most brands don’t get caught because they’re reckless.
They get caught because they confuse visibility with validation.

Watch to the end - because the question you should be asking is very different from the one most brands ask first.

Want to avoid the most common (and expensive) label mistakes before they happen? Download ‘The six biggest mistakes food brands make with labelling & health claims’ - comment MISTAKE below 👇

Collating all published evidence since the beginning of time on a single food or nutrient sounds impressive, but volume ...
14/01/2026

Collating all published evidence since the beginning of time on a single food or nutrient sounds impressive, but volume alone doesn’t create a usable claims strategy.

For this brand, we built a complete evidence dossier on wholegrains:
a structured, regulator-ready database of every relevant study they could draw on to support research, product development, and broader business decisions.

But the real value wasn’t in having “all the papers”.

It was in:
– understanding which evidence actually matters for claims under the Food Standards Code
– separating research that informs innovation from evidence that can support on-pack or marketing claims
– and building a system that prevents teams from over-claiming, under-claiming, or locking in risk early

That’s how evidence becomes a commercial asset, not just an academic archive.

Comment 'MISTAKE' to get my free guide: The six biggest mistakes food brands make with labelling & health claims

When I finished my PhD, I was very clear on where my values sat.My training was grounded in public health. I cared deepl...
13/01/2026

When I finished my PhD, I was very clear on where my values sat.

My training was grounded in public health. I cared deeply about evidence, equity, and the long-term health of populations. Like many people coming through academia, I’d absorbed a fairly one-dimensional view of “industry” - that commercial interests and good science were fundamentally at odds.

Taking a role in the food industry felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, and it came with a lot of internal questioning about whether I was compromising something important.

What I actually experienced was far more complex.

I sat in meetings with international research consortia, where funding decisions were debated carefully and conservatively. I saw how tightly controlled research processes were, how deliberately arm’s-length funding structures were designed, and how seriously regulatory and dietary guideline boundaries were taken.

I worked on policy submissions, health professional education, and public health-aligned campaigns - not fringe products or exaggerated claims. We were talking about plain milk, yoghurt, cheese. Core foods. Evidence that had to stand up.

That experience didn’t erase my public health lens - it sharpened it. It forced me to move beyond black-and-white thinking and understand how evidence, regulation, funding, and real-world decision-making actually interact.

It’s one of the reasons I’m so careful now. I’ve seen what good practice looks like from the inside - and I’ve seen how easily assumptions can oversimplify a very nuanced space.

Most food brands don’t have a design problem.They have a clarity problem.When this brand came to us, their label wasn’t ...
09/01/2026

Most food brands don’t have a design problem.
They have a clarity problem.

When this brand came to us, their label wasn’t “bad”, it was just trying to say too much, to too many people, all at once.

So we didn’t start with fonts or colours.
We started with the buyer.

Who is this actually for?
What outcome matters most?
What needs to be clear in 3 seconds at the shelf?

From there, we rebuilt the label like a landing page:
• a clear message hierarchy
• credible, compliant claims
• fewer words, stronger intent
• trust without overwhelm

The result?
A label that doesn’t just look better, it converts better, while standing up to scrutiny.

Launching or relaunching a product?
Want to chat about how we can do this for you? Comment 'CALL' and let's chat

08/01/2026

If you didn’t see my post the other day, you might not know that this marks the end of the women’s health and skin nutrition era on this page.

I’ve genuinely loved every minute of sharing my personal experience, continuing to learn, and educating myself - and then passing that knowledge on to you through the lens of my nutrition qualifications. That chapter has meant a lot to me.

What you may not know is that alongside this work, for several years now, I’ve also been working closely with food companies on food labelling, health and nutrition claims, research, and policy work - and this lights me up in a completely different way. I have my PhD, I love research, and being able to work at the intersection of science, regulation, and real-world impact is something I genuinely love.

The challenge with splitting my time across two very distinct areas of nutrition was the depth required to do both properly. Reading journals, keeping up with CPD, staying across evolving evidence - and showing up from a truly evidence-based place - is non-negotiable for me. Something had to give.

While I’ll always care deeply about women’s health and skin nutrition, my heart is fully in the food labelling, claims, research, and policy space - and that’s where I do my best work.

I’m so excited to start sharing more of this here (so much so that I’ve already filmed a 10-part series and loved every minute of it). From here on, you’ll see a shift in the content on this page - and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who chooses to stay and support my business through this next chapter.

Thank you 🤍

Health claims can be one of the biggest growth levers for a food or supplement product or one of the fastest ways to der...
08/01/2026

Health claims can be one of the biggest growth levers for a food or supplement product or one of the fastest ways to derail a launch.

I see it all the time:
well-intentioned brands using language that sounds right, but doesn’t actually meet regulatory requirements.

And the problem?
You often don’t find out until labels are printed, retailers push back, or regulators start asking questions.

Health claims aren’t just marketing. They’re regulated, and they need to be evidence-based, precise, and compliant.

If you’re unsure whether your claims stack up, that’s not a failure, it’s a signal to check them before they cost you time, money, or momentum.

Save this post as a reminder to audit your claims early.

And comment MISTAKE to get your copy of ‘The six biggest mistakes food brands make with labelling & health claims’ so you don’t do these! 💬

Health claims can be one of the biggest growth levers for a food or supplement product or one of the fastest ways to der...
07/01/2026

Health claims can be one of the biggest growth levers for a food or supplement product or one of the fastest ways to derail a launch.

I see it all the time:
well-intentioned brands using language that sounds right, but doesn’t actually meet regulatory requirements.

And the problem?
You often don’t find out until labels are printed, retailers push back, or regulators start asking questions.

Health claims aren’t just marketing. They’re regulated, and they need to be evidence-based, precise, and compliant.

If you’re unsure whether your claims stack up, that’s not a failure, it’s a signal to check them before they cost you time, money, or momentum.

Save this post as a reminder to audit your claims early.

💬 Comment MISTAKE to get your copy of 'The six biggest mistakes food brands make with labelling & health claims'

For the past two years, this space has focused on women’s health - and over the last year, very specifically skin nutrit...
06/01/2026

For the past two years, this space has focused on women’s health - and over the last year, very specifically skin nutrition.

But toward the end of last year - after the launch of Merry & Mindful - I took some time away from social media and stepped back to look at my business as a whole.

Alongside this page, I run a consulting business where I work with small to large food companies on their food labels, health and nutrition claims, research activities, and policy responses. Women’s health and skin nutrition had become something I was doing alongside that work. And honestly, my capacity was capped.

Taking an evidence-based approach is non-negotiable for me. Staying up to date with the science, showing up properly for clients, and communicating information responsibly matters - and trying to do that across two fast-moving areas made something very clear: I needed to choose.

The work I do in food labelling and claims is where I’ve had the greatest impact, the strongest results, and where I’m genuinely known for my expertise. It’s work I deeply enjoy - and work that matters.

So this space will be transitioning.

I know some of you followed me for skin, nutrition, and women’s health - and I completely understand if this content is no longer for you. If you’d like referrals to incredible practitioners who continue to do amazing work in that space, I’m more than happy to share them.

There will still be education here for you - how to read food labels, interpret nutrition and health claims, and understand what companies can and can’t say (and whether it’s actually backed by evidence). If there’s a product you’re curious about, send it through. Auditing labels and claims is something I genuinely love doing.

There will also be education for new and start-up food brands - especially those without the support that larger companies have - to help get labels and claims right the first time, and avoid unnecessary costs, reprints, and compliance headaches.

For now, this marks the end of the women’s health and skin nutrition era here.

Thank you for being part of it. 🤍

Address

Brisbane, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

https://calendly.com/nprconsulting/collaboration/

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