About Us
General Information
Disclaimers
Who are we and why are we here?
Supplements Compared is designed to help you find the best dietary supplement product for your health needs.
With an estimated 24,000 dietary supplements available in the UK choosing the right one for you can be a daunting and confusing task.
To find out more specifically about exactly what people find most confusing about the dietary supplements market, we asked a large group of ordinary people who regularly take dietary supplements. These are the questions that they MOST wanted answered:
- What do the different ingredients actually do?
- How much of these ingredients do you need to see a benefit?
- What quantity of active ingredient is in each product?
- Which products are likely to provide benefits?
- Which products are the best value for money?
Which supplements have we compared and why?
It is the intention of Supplements Compared to eventually assess all dietary supplements for sale to the consumer in the United Kingdom. However, as there are believed to be over 24,000 products on the market, we´ve started by assessing approximately 500, which includes the majority of the most popular consumer brands.
How are the products assessed?
We´ve based our assessments on two fundamental criteria:
1) Will it work? This assessment evaluates the likelihood of the product delivering the intended benefits for which it is designed. - This is the most important criterion and carries most weight in the assessment.
2) Is it good value? This assessment evaluates the cost effectiveness of the product in delivering these benefits. – This assessment becomes important once a product has satisfied the criterion of ‘likely to deliver intended benefits’.
As well as this, other criteria are taken into account which may be important for a particular product; for example, palatability in children’s products.
Who assesses the products?
To make the comparative product assessments, Supplements Compared has assembled an expert panel of health professionals made up of medical practitioners and renowned nutritionists. Please visit our section on the Expert Panel for more information.
How are we funded?
Supplements Compared has been devised and established by Dr Nigel Plummer who has worked in the research, development and manufacture of nutritional supplements for over 20 years. It is intended as an information centre to help build awareness of the contribution nutritional supplements may make to health maintenance and also help the consumer pick through the very complex dietary supplement marketplace and select the products most appropriate for their needs.
Supplements Compared provides a ‘level playing field’ for supplements, where each product is assessed on its merits. Any manufacturer may have their product reviewed and, unlike in the market place, branding, promotional spend and distribution channels make no difference to the outcome.
In time, Supplements Compared plans to assess every health supplement available to consumers. However, manufacturers who wish to have their product review “fast tracked” may do so for a one off fee to cover the panel’s expenses, on the understanding that the expert panel’s decision is final and that, whatever the outcome, the review will be posted on the site.
Manufacturers who are awarded “best product” and “worth a look” are given the opportunity to promote this fact throughout the site for an additional fee.
If a consumer is particularly interested in a manufacturer’s product and clicks on the link to their website, the manufacturer will be charged a small fee whenever that link is followed.
Independent health food stores are welcome to list their shop for free on Supplements Compared, and may further promote their store with a description and web link for a small fee.
OUR PROFITS GO TO CHARITY
Profits generated by Supplements Compared are donated to charitable causes.
The initial list of charities that will benefit is:
- Save The Children Fund
- Scope
- The Alzheimers Society
- The Samaritans
Please contact us at info@supplementscompared.co.uk for more information.
The future of Supplements Compared
As a new concept and website, Supplements Compared is still growing and will continue to do so. The site will be continually updated according to the following:
- The SC Quality Benchmark may change or be updated in light of new research or scientific trials.
- Product formulations may alter, which could change the assessment results.
- Further products will be added to categories as they are released, and discontinued products will be removed.
- New categories (such as Echinacea and Sports Nutrition) will be added to ensure that supplementscompared.com remains the most efficient and comprehensive place to find the right supplement for you.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PRODUCT ASSESSMENTS
1) Whilst Supplements Compared has made every effort to cite the correct and most up to date product information, all our information is subject to change where products are delisted, repriced and nutritionally altered.
2) Product prices are based on Manufacturers Recommended Retail Price or the price of the product bought, before discount, at the purchase point.
3) All products assessed were bought during 2007 or 2008 in the UK and all information including product image, label information and price is based upon product purchased.
4) All products will be re-assessed for their SC Value Rating every 60 days following the launch of the site on April 2nd 2008. The date of reassessment is quoted alongside the assessment of the product.
5) Following the launch of the site on April 2nd 2008, products will be reassessed within every 6 months to take account of any changes including product image, and label information. The date of the re-assessment is quoted alongside the assessment of the product.
6) To assist in helping to maintain maximum levels of accuracy, manufacturers and stockists are invited to submit amendments to their products and can email trade@supplementscompared.com
7) Manufacturers wishing to submit additional products for assessment on supplementscompared.com should email trade@supplementscompared.com
8) Retailers and practitioners wishing to be listed in Where to Buy should submit their requests using our online form or email info@supplementscompared.com
A brand´s right to exclusion from Supplements Compared
If a company representing a brand wishes to have its products removed entirely from the Supplements Compared website, this will be implemented as soon as confirmation in writing of the request is received. In these circumstances, all products will be removed.
If the brand at a later date requests to have products re-introduced onto the site, a fee may be charged per product and supplementscompared.com reserves the right to review and then list products within the range.
Supplements Compared reserves the right to place a statement on the website that the brand in question has requested that its products are not represented on the site.