The Supplement Industry Is Getting A New Independent Certification Program

SuppCo’s Tested program will analyze supplements in an independently accredited laboratory, with products that meet or exceed 95% of their labeled active ingredient claims earning a “Tested by SuppCo” certification

As consumers browse the in-person and virtual supplement aisles, they’re met with a mountain of conflicting information and uncertainty not only over which products will best support their health goals, but also which brands are trustworthy.

That’s a big part of why SuppCo was founded. The brand has maintained its mission of overhauling the largely unregulated supplement industry, holding brands accountable to their claims and product potency through an app that allows consumers to analyze supplements based on ingredient quality. 

Now, SuppCo is upping its game, with the launch of Tested, a new independent certification program that anonymously purchases and tests off-the-shelf supplements to verify their active ingredients.

Tested builds on SuppCo’s trademark TrustScore quality rating system. The process works by bringing products to be tested in an independent ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, a formally recognized lab known to produce accurate, reliable results under an international standard that sets requirements for competence, impartiality and consistency.

Products that meet or exceed 95% of their labeled active ingredient claims will earn the Tested by SuppCo certification, with all results being posted on SuppCo’s product pages.

“SuppCo was born out of my own frustration trying to make informed decisions about supplements, and I quickly realized this wasn’t a personal challenge, but a systemic failure of the industry,” said SuppCo CEO and co-founder Steve Martocci. “With Tested by SuppCo, we’re setting a clear, independent standard for transparency and accountability so people can finally trust what they’re buying and responsible brands can prove it.”

Testing will be repeated annually to ensure compliance. Products that don’t meet the standard are guided through remediation before re-testing, and ​​brands pay a certification fee to cover the cost of independent testing, program operations and licensing.

The Tested program will debut in partnership with some of the industry’s top brands, including Momentous, Thorne, Metagenics, Gaia Herbs, Designs for Health, Fatty15, Solaray, Niagen, Integrative Therapeutics and Pendulum.

“It’s easy for brands to talk about quality and boast big claims about their products, but it’s much harder to prove it,” said Momentous CEO Jeff Byers. “We chose to participate in Tested by SuppCo because trust and accountability are how this industry moves forward.”

“Transparency should not be optional and the brands that stand behind their products, like we do, should be willing to step up to the plate and prove it,” Byers added.

SuppCo has increasingly shed light on gaps in ingredient quality and transparency among supplement brands. Last year, after testing 10 NAD+ products, SuppCo found that half failed, having ​​minimal or no NAD+ at all. The platform also found that several top-selling creatine-gummy brands contained little to no creatine in their products.

Having that transparency is crucial when building the ideal supplement stack, which nowadays can vary widely — even among longevity-focused doctors — from the most basic of vitamins to routines that cost over $1,000 per month.

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