Bold claim first: SuppCo is tackling a systemic problem in the supplement industry by introducing TESTED by SuppCo, a certification that verifies the actual contents of bottles and surfaces labeling gaps. This new program complements the existing TrustScore rating and expands on prior testing that uncovered roughly half of top-selling supplements failing basic label accuracy.
According to Steve Martocci, co-founder and CEO of SuppCo, TESTED builds an independent standard for transparency and accountability, helping consumers trust what they buy and giving responsible brands a way to prove it. The initiative launches in collaboration with brands such as Momentous, Thorne, Metagenics, Gaia Herbs, Designs for Health, Fatty15, Solaray, Niagen, Integrative Therapeutics, and Pendulum.
Certification focuses on what’s actually in the product and highlights failures, expanding the TrustScore’s role. Jordan Glenn, SuppCo’s head of science, explains that the certification is a logical extension of earlier tests on about 44 popular Amazon-sold supplements last year, which showed around 50% did not meet label accuracy standards. TESTED thus adds a practical verification layer to TrustScore, which already signals quality through formulation, manufacturing, and transparency indicators before a product reaches a lab.
Glenn notes, “TESTED tells you what’s actually in the bottle you buy off the shelf.” The two systems together create a closed loop: TrustScore helps users identify potentially trustworthy products, and TESTED confirms whether that trust holds up in real-world conditions.
Initial testing rounds targeted creatine, NAD+, urolithin A, and berberine. Results revealed that 22 products contained 0% to 3% of their listed active ingredients. Failures were especially common when brands claimed large serving sizes, with some concealing weak or absent actives. SuppCo summarizes these findings as indicative of breakdowns across quality control stages—from raw ingredient sourcing to final formulation verification—and notes that causes ranged from manufacturing shortcuts and supplier variability to internal testing gaps or supply-chain deception. The end result is products that claim robust benefits yet deliver little of what’s promised.
TESTED operates with independent ISO 17025–accredited laboratories. Products earning at least 95% of their labeled active ingredient claims receive certification; all results are published on SuppCo’s product pages, certified or not, to empower consumer decisions. With over 650,000 users tracking their supplement routines on SuppCo, certification outcomes, including failures, reach consumers directly at the point of purchase.
Testing is repeated annually to ensure ongoing compliance, and products not meeting the standard are directed toward remediation and retesting. Brands pay a certification fee to cover independent testing, program operations, and licensing.
Industry context matters: SuppCo is part of a broader move toward greater marketplace scrutiny and self-regulation in supplements. Jordan Glenn observes that consumer expectations are rising, regulatory scrutiny is increasing, and independent verification is becoming a baseline rather than a differentiator. Brands partnering with TESTED at launch recognize that transparency is a durable competitive advantage in a noisy market. Verification, accountability, and transparency are becoming the baseline, not optional features, and brands that bake quality into their processes and prove it independently help define the category at scale.
Jeff Byers, CEO of Momentous, echoes this view: delivering on big quality claims is hard; proving them is harder still. Momentous joined TESTED because trust and accountability drive the industry forward, and transparency should be standard practice, not an exception.
Like established players ConsumerLab, NSF International, and the United States Pharmacopeia, SuppCo aims to seal supplement label accuracy, identity, purity, and quality. TESTED differs by purchasing products anonymously, off the shelf, after typical retail aging, so results reflect what a consumer actually buys rather than the best-case production sample. This approach closes a crucial loophole where a passing test on a curated lot does not guarantee real-world performance.
The marketplace has precedent for this kind of independent scrutiny. NOW Foods, a prominent natural products manufacturer, has conducted numerous rounds of testing on generic supplements purchased largely from Amazon since 2017. Their findings—across ingredients like St. John’s Wort, methyl B-12, berberine, resveratrol, and others—have frequently described results as alarming or persistent warnings of labeling and potency issues.
Overall, TESTED by SuppCo represents a concerted effort to address a core weakness in the supplement sector: the gap between what brands claim and what ends up in the bottle. It invites ongoing consumer dialogue and invites stakeholders to weigh in on whether this level of verification should become standard practice across the industry.
