volla-ga perhaps you want to head this one up. i'm reposting a request
to name our food based supplement product/company which will customize
vitamins in packs and the primary distibution channel will be doctors,
spas, and allied health professionals. the names so far in the running
are med-essence.com, and eesentia.com. My request is to focus on the
art which comprises... "essence, mystry, bios, earth, and the
science/medical which holds the packet, customized, medicine,
longevity aspects.
i believe especially after reading a link volla sent that the name
should carry meaning...it could be a hybrid also...(meaning and sound)
but i think it should be grounded in more meaning. i will pay the 100
to whoever can hit this squarely but i will also divvy up the 100 even
if we do not score 100% does that make enough sense. i have a good
track record with this and hope to get some good leads at least.

Hiya Steve,

Great timing ... I was just putting the finishing touches on my answer.

By now, I suppose you've read through quite a bit about the mysteries of 
product naming.  It's a multi-level process usually involving 
linguists, lawyers, and loopy graphic folks.  I'm afraid this is just 
an initial step on your product sojourn.

A while back, I had done some research on the cost of pharmaceutical 
branding and while there's an extra scientific and linguistic layer of 
investigation, those figures vary between $50,000 - $250,000.  The 
nutraceutical industry may not have its feet held to the same FDA fire,
but I'm sure the naming process is equally competitive and stringent.

"The major business isn't picking a particular name, but getting it 
through the regulatory process. Because of that, it costs about $250,
000 to come up with a major brand name, and then $500,000 to $750,000 
to get it registered as a trademark around the world -- a major 
expense but still only a fraction of the $900 million or so needed to 
market a new drug.
http://www.brandinstitute.com/news1.htm
http://www.nurseweek.com/features/97-7/drgname.html

After you've prescreened some of these names (and hopefully you'll ask 
for others' input as well), no doubt you'll have to seek the advice of 
a knowledgeable trademark attorney for your next product phase.

So here's my round of contenders and I hope there's at least one 
that's a good fit for your product.  I've listed the pluses/minuses 
for each name along with any word or product associations that came to 
mind and some running commentary.  The 'pak/packet' concept was a 
difficult one to expand or thesaurusize, so it's pretty much used 
throughout.

--Organivite/Organipak.com

--OrganiRx.com
(organic:  simple, healthful, and close to nature)

--Omegaoats/Omegaoatpak.com
(omega is often associated with 'best' but also has 'end,' 'death,' 
and 'extreme' connotations; oats might sound too agribiz)

Word/Product/Place Associations:

(omega)  watches, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY- the nation's largest 
holistic learning center, Omega-3 oil.
(oats)  highly nutritious grain filled with cholesterol-fighting 
soluble fiber.

Wild Oats - nationwide chain of natural and organic food markets, 
Quaker Oats, Wild Oats Records - independent Nashville record label, 
"sow your wild oats" expression.

You could also use alpha- which has an alfalfa grain association also.
I'm not particularly keen on the double vowel pattern in the name and 
not all that sure there are even oats *in* your product but it has a 
generic 'green/grain' appeal.  Again, we're flying blind on your 
product ingredients so we're trying to cover a lot of ground.

--Alphaoats/Alphaoatpak.com

--Biograin.com
from Greek 'bios' meaning 'life.'
The Biotal Company has an antimicrobial treatment process for grain, 
but I don't know if the process is trademarked/patented.
http://www.biotal.co.uk/cereals/biograin/biograin.html

and there's Bio-Grain bread made by Nutriforce but the domain name is 
unclaimed.
http://www.nutriforce.ca/english/products.htm

--Quinoatein.com
(quinoa, pronounced keen-wa, called the "supergrain of the future")
http://www.quinoa.net

--Botanipak.com
botanical:  drug, medicinal preparation, or similar substance obtained 
from a plant or plants.

--Nuvoceuticals/Nuvopak.com
nuvo/new:  changed for the better; rejuvenated

--Sprigmatics.com (or Sprigmatix.com)
(sprig:  something leafy + delivery on the automatic)

--Gigaherb.com
(giga -- one billion; has a tech-ish appeal from "gigabyte" + herb; 
may connote one very large marijuana cigarette for the aging hippy blunt-ish crowd)

--Cellavite.com
cell (nourishment) + a (by way of, from) + vitamin; caveat here as 
Cellvite:  Cellfood MultiVitamins already marketed)
http://www.samsstore.com/celvit.html

--Corcaps.com or Cortabs.com
(core + capsules; cor also means 'heart' so if your product contains 
anything proven to have cardioprotective elements, that would be 
incorporated in the name)
Similar product names:  Corzide, Corgard and many other drugs ending 
in -cor.

Replenity.com or RepleniPak.com
(F. replenir 'to fill up')   I'm rather partial to this one but it 
might sound too similar to a beauty product, like L´Oréal's Plenitude.

There's also a nutritional product called Replenz
http://www.nutritionstreet.com/replenz.shtml

--SaluTab.coms or SaluPak.com (probably my second choice)
salutary/salubrious (favorable to health, wholesome) beneficial; from 
L. salutaris 'healthful, from salus (gen. salutis) 'good health.'  
'Salutary effects' is a standard bit of phrasing in medicine but if 
might not carry the immediate recognition you're looking for.  It 
works for me and in PharmaWorld there are similar sounding drug 
formulations:  Prevacid SoluTab and Remeron SolTab.

--Ultivite.com or Ultipak.com
from ultimus 'last, final,' superlative of *ulter* 'beyond' + vitamin

--Elemend.com (elements + healing) I like this one, too, but don't 
know if it's generically tailored enough to your product.

--Elemedica.com (organic elements + medicine)

--FuturoMed.com
from L. futurus 'about to be'
With all the problems with our food supply and additives to extend its 
shelf life, nutrition in pill form may be the wave of the future.  Of 
course, we'll lose a lot of folks in a mass gastronomic suicidal vat 
of creme brulee if that happens!  The Six Feet Under staff is standing 
by in obsequio domini just in case.

--Fiberfuel.com
I'm not sure if your product line contains all that much fiber, which 
is coarse indigestible plant matter that 'fuels' the intestines, but 
I'm throwing it in anyway.  There's also a biodiversity company called 
Fuel and Fiber.

--Sustamed/Sustavite/Sustapak.com
from 'sustenance':  something, especially food, that sustains life or 
health.
Similar product names:  Sustacal and Sustagen, enteral nutrition 
formulas; check for trademark infringement issues.  My guess:  You'd 
probably be toast.

--Genuvite.com
from L. genuinus 'native, natural' from root of gignere "beget"  + 
vitamin; although it might also sound like a joint supplement -- in 
particular the knee -- as genu also means 'knee,' i.e., genu varum.
Similar product name:  Geniherbs
http://www.geniherbs.com/home.htm

--qdailypak.com
from the Latin medical abbreviation q.d., quaque die (every day); 
qdaily.com is domained (looks to be by a news site) so you'd need to 
check if this is ownable.

You could also capitalize on the 'bene-trend' of 'good feeling' or 
'well' like some of these products:
Benefiber® , Benecol®, BeneFIX®, Benefit cosmetics, Beneful® dog food, 
Benefon telemetics, and a variant spelling Benicar®, an 
antihypertensive.  There's a bit of bene-backlash and some figure 
we've reached a bene-tipping point with this prefix, so there's that. 
http://www.yourdictionary.com/about/topten2003.

--BeneNutria.com

--BeneCaps/BenePak.com

Then there's the eu- Greek prefix meaning 'well,' 'good,' or 
in words like euthyroid, eurhythmia, euphonious, eugenics, euphoria.  
Phonetically, you'd have to domain the 'u' sound as well.

--EuTerraPak or UTerraPak.com

--Eugrainia.com or Ugrainia.com

--AlloPak.com
(building on the idea of allopathic medicine)  The allopathic (allo 
means against, path means symptoms) approach would be to oppose the 
symptoms. Those techniques that strengthen the body?s ability to heal 
itself are by definition safe, as they don?t interfere with the body?s 
processes, but help promote health. They use non-toxic products, 
derived from nature, or such methods as massage or acupressure, which 
have been used safely for centuries.

Vivo/Viva (L. to live, to sustain, support life)

--VivoPak/VivaPak.com

Vital/Vitality (vital - 'of or manifesting life,' from L. vitalis 'of 
or belonging to life,' from vita 'life,' related to vivere 'to live.'  
The sense of 'necessary or important' is from 1619, via the notion of 
'essential to life' (1482). Vitality is from 1592; vitals 'organs of 
the body essential to life' first recorded 1610.

--VitaliPak

--GroVita or GroVitaPak.com

--Cultivite.com

--GoVitaPak

--Theravite

--VitaPran/Viprandia/Viprapak.com
(vitamin/life + prandium (L. for 'meal')
Similar sounding words:  Pandia ("all-bright") was the daughter of 
Zeus and Selene.  She was a (minor) goddess of brightness.  Also the 
name of a search engine.

Earth (terra, gaia, geo)

--TerraMega.com

--TerraEssential.com

--GaiaPak or GaiaVite.com

--GeoVitaPak.com

A few for fun:

--wowpak.com
wow:  to have a strong, usually pleasurable effect on (health).

--agrini/agrinipak.com
agri- from agriceuticals; sounds like Italian 'greens.'

--agrinoo.com
noo from plant-derived nootropics "smart drugs"

--agricadabra.com
'magic greens'

*************

Resources:

Etymology Online
http://www.etymonline.com

Your Thesaurus/Dictionary
http://www.yourthesaurus.net

Word IQ
http://www.wordiq.com

Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book 2004 (offline source)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0721617212/104-8040044-2474317?v=glance

Cassell's Latin Dictionary (offline source)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0025225804/104-8040044-2474317?v=glance

Greek/Latin Roots
http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/KSD/MA/resources/greek_and_latin_roots/transition.html

Network Solutions (all names checked for domain availability)
http://www.networksolutions.com

Let me know if I can be of further help before rating my answer.

Best regards,
V

volla puts forward a unique combo of hard work and out of the box
creativity. very generous with the other researchers as well. joy to
work with.

I'll toss out a couple of possibilities...

Essentialife.com or Essentia-Life.com

volla...the good thing about naming a supplement is that it doesnt go
through the same process as a drug.  there are no regulatory agencies
save for getting it trademarked...
your answer as usual was terrific..i have some leads and more ideas
but no ka-chungs yet. let me know if you feel like you have done the
100 worth of work and if so i will consider the question answered and
then re post it slightly differently to the community.
thanks
e

Hi Steve,

That's a difficult one to call.  If you're basing it purely on time
spent, my research was pretty much an all-Sunday affair.  Also it
would also include whether you're paying for our creative inspiration
and ideas.  I went deep into 'language zone' to find addition word
stems in which to build a name, so that's all a part of the process.

It's good to know that supplement names don't go through the same
scientific regulatory process as pharmaceuticals, but the trademark
process is very strict unto itself.

Could we do this?  Pull out a couple names you prefer on this list and
if you'd like -vite, grain, mineral, tab, cap, or Rx omitted from the
equation and I'll have another go at it.

From your choice of LifePak, I'd assumed you wanted something more
functional rather than conceptual.  Names like Centralis, Nutricity,
(both domained) or Biosentia (available) are more evocative and
invented words; LifePak or any names ending in  -vite are more
concrete and functional, so if you could point researchers in a
direction that would be extremely helpful.  I realize it will be a
slam dunk when you hear it, but right now your favorites are LifePak
(functional) and Essentia (evocative), so I'm a wee bit confused.  As
I'm sure realize, it's difficult to capture the multiple features of
your product in a very short, memorable, single-word title.

Give me a shout and researchers can always offer their ideas in the
comments.  If anyone hits on a unique idea, you can post a separate
question to them.  You've proven yourself a man of your word and
researchers shouldn't hesitate to work on this particular naming
question.

In the meantime, I'm put my creativity cap back on and have another
crack at this during the upcoming week.  Everyone understands the
importance of brand in the marketplace, and we'd like nothing more
than to fashion that perfect name for your product.

Let me know how this works for you and I'll be back in touch,
V

volla, you should be confused! the essence of this product crosses
both into science and the wonder of life itself so i understand. i am
going to leave things where they are for now. i have rated your answer
and consider this approach very helpful. i'm going to take a couple of
days and sit with everything. I am so impressed with the whole google
approach...and yours in particular.
thanks and i'll be talking at you again!
Steve Ellis

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the 5 stars and you know I'll keep pitchin' for ya.  Here
are a few more possibles retrieved from today's brainpan

...bioest.com (or bioesta) -- bio (life) + est (L. for 'to be') and is
also a superlative degree suffix tacked on to adjective/adverbs; this
is a noun-combine to indicate 'best life.'  Association would be to
'est,' the human potential movement from the '70s.  The -esta ending
makes me think of a 'life fiesta.'  Olé!
http://skepdic.com/est.html
  
...primagest.com -- prima (first; important) + gest (from 'ingest' --
to take (food) into the body as nourishment)

...vitalaunch.com -- launch yourself into life with your product.

...viquesta.com -- many companies use ViQuest (several connected with
health); none have copyrighted ViQuesta yet.
http://www.uhseast.com/1110.cfm

...biocalcia.com -- 'calcia' usually connotes 'calcium' but it has a
generic ring to also indicate something complex, i.e., calculus.

...amalgamend.com (not knowing what is exactly in your product, I went
with the all-inclusive 'amalgam' concept -- a combination of diverse
elements; a mixture -- with the accompanying amenpak -- hallelujah!)

...biomorpha.com ('morphing' is a fairly trendy word so it connotes a
life 'reinvention')

There is design company who has trademarked the Biomorph interactive
desk so I don't know if this is hamstring city.
http://www.biomorph.com

...biomorphis.com (this name is also available -- biomorphis: a
process of morphological change that occurs continually from
conception to death, i.e., from the embryo, to the infant, to the
young adult, to the middle aged, to the young old, to the old old,
e.g. changes in height and statue due to morphological changes in
bones from embryo to the old old.

Also, it sounds like 'Morpheus' the god of sleep and dreams ('dream of
a good life') and also The Matix guy who hopes to save us all from
being turned into a Duracell.

...mesolife -- meso (middle) + life.  If you're aiming for the baby
boomer market, this one might work.  There's also a mesotherapy trend
for sports injuries and a beauty treatment along with an anabolic
steroid called MesoRx.
http://www.mesobeauty.com
http://www.meso-rx.com

I was toying with the name 'CentraRx' and I happened onto this
branding firm who also likes it for a media name.  It's interesting
they have a $2,000 nonrefundable order fee just to get a peek at some
names.  Yippers!  You might want to take a look around though.
http://www.namesale.com/custom_guide.php

"Sign and return the Agreement and pay the non-refundable order fee of
USD 2,000. This will entitle you to review the Custom Names we've
created, but not to use them in any way, nor present them to any third
party."

My guess is we can keep you way under budget but it may take a GA hive
mind to get you there.  I hope you can be patient with us during the
'creation' process while keeping your proprietary information private.
 It's a tall order sometimes.  Hang in there with us!

*V*

volla your a trip...thank you...i'm going to sit with these names tonight. 
and thanks to the "hive" 
best,
e

I always thought of myself as a Fourth Forgotten Pip but 'trip' works,
too.  So lemme see what I've got in my crazy lingo bag for you
today....

...biomera.com.  
Don't know if you have any seaweed in that packet of yours but there's
a lot of good stuff coming out of the ocean these days.  There's a
company called Mera Pharmaceuticals and they have a little mini-health
hatchery goin' on.
http://www.aquasearch.com/business.htm

and there's a biotech firm, Biomira, working on cancer therapeutics.
http://www.biomira.com

...salveda.com.  
Still tryin' to sell you on the sal- (healthy) concept + veda
(knowledge) and all the ayurvedic remedy tie-ins.  It's on the tres
mysterioso side and also sounds a little like 'salvation' which we
could all use.

Runnin' about 3 quarts low in the creativity department, but I'll try
to do some subtle colleague arm-twisting for some fresh insight if
none of these make you go ah-ha!  Right now I'm still rolling around
ideas in my own head.

Gotta catch that Midnight Train to Georgia now...woo-woo {insert Pip
train whistle move}
*V*

Okay, Voila and Steve, here are my ideas:

Supplessence or supplessent. I like the idea of suppleness from
supplements - though it also makes me think of suppositories, which is
a drawback.

Fenical, fenicham, chamech, and so on.  These come from taking the
first letters of popular supplements/herbs (iron=Fe, NIacin, CALcium,
CHAMomile, ECHinacea) and smushing them together.  The drawback is
that I've not been able to come up with ones that are evocative of
nutrition supplements - and Fenical sounds like a weight-loss drug. 
But it could always be "Chamech Nutritional Packs" or something... Um.

Salvessence or Salvessent - I also like the salve* ideas - Salvia is
the Latin name for sage, a popular herb (I have at least 4 varieties
in my garden).  Salve is both a cream that heals and the Latin for "be
well".

Will keep thinking, too!

to the "hive".....thank you everyone!  this culture reminds me of the
60's..hitchiking around trusting folks..its a little hard to get used
to. so i'm definately hitching rides of thought here and very
appreciative for the time and energy...thanks librariankt and volla of
course..i do like were your both going. supplessence is neat and so is
biomera...not slam dunks but worthy..very worthy.
i'm not there yet but please ease off the pedals and glide for a
while. if something knocks you out and i like it i'll lay the money
down..outside of that coast with me for a while..k?
gracias
steve e.

Can do.  I think doing the right thing is a trans-decade concept but
if helping your brother is 60s related, count me as a permanent
resident.  Lord knows, that decade had much better music!  If you need
me, I'll be coasting at the Motown Kibbutz.  Ring for service and I'll
keep an eye on your question.

Thanks for playing, LKT.  This is a tough one and I liked your salvia
idea, too.  I've timed out of more than one session on Network
Solutions trying to find something original and relevant; {sigh}
however, this question is stuck in my head until I help Steve find his
'basketball.' ;-)

Yes, and then we could do takeoffs on Stevia - an herb that's a
natural noncaloric sweetener but which the FDA only allows in the US
as a dietary supplement (http://www.stevia.net/ and
http://www.stevia.com).  Also a fun way to incorporate Steve's name! 
LKT

Steve -

"replenamin" -- replenish (both the person taking it and the packs
themselves) + vitamin?

jbf777...nice to know your still in the pack...replanamin is cool but
not "it"  i think for now were hanging in with med-essence and
possibly eesentia.

more later
e