Why are some supplements more expensive than others?

The prices of food supplements can vary greatly and although it can be tempting to go for cheaper options, there’s usually a reason when supplements are priced significantly lower than others. It’s often the case that bulking agents or other unnecessary additives are used in the cheaper supplements which makes them less expensive to manufacture. Of course, the consumer gets a cheaper product, however, the supplement is rarely as pure or as effective.

In this blog, we will cover a few specific things you can look out for which indicate a good quality supplement. You’ll also likely notice that cheaper supplements do not share the same traits, and the general rule of thumb is that better quality supplements are likely to cost more.

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Certification

When looking for high quality supplements, you’ll want to look out for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification. This is a production standard that medicine manufacturers need to follow and is usually indicative of a supplement being high quality.

If a supplement doesn’t have approval from GMP or a similarl body, it’s unlikely to be as high quality and won’t have been subject to the same regulations. Supplements with GMP certification or similar are usually more likely to provide you with better health benefits because they are of a higher quality. This also usually results in the supplements being more expensive.

Higher Quality Raw Ingredients

Raw natural ingredients are often more expensive to produce due to the labour involved in the production process. The growing, harvesting and general processing of natural ingredients all affect the higher cost of sourcing them. Comparatively, synthetic ingredients are much quicker and easier to mass produce, as well as being cheaper as less labour is involved in the production.

However, likewise with the food we eat, the more processed supplements are, the worse they tend to be for our bodies. Although opting for cheaper supplements can be tempting, choosing supplements with higher quality raw ingredients is likely to be the healthier option and give you more benefits.

The other downside to taking supplements with synthetic ingredients is that it’s unclear how well they are absorbed in the body, especially when compared to natural ingredients. If you want to be sure of taking a supplement that is more likely to give you the health boost you seek, you’ll want to choose a supplement that contains pure ingredients and no additional fillers or binding agents.

Supplements are Tested Independently

If a supplement has not been tested by a separate independent third party, the manufacturers could be putting anything in the ingredients. This is why extensive testing is incredibly important, as you want to know that the supplement you’re taking has been thoroughly tested by independent laboratories using valid methods and ethical practices.

Some supplement manufacturers use ‘skip lost testing’ which means that only a small sample of products are inspected and tested. Whilst this method saves time for manufacturers, it’s not usually in the best interest of consumers, as it can allow contamination to pass through the testing without being checked.

At Savant, all products stocked are checked and tested independently as we only want to supply supplements that are of the highest quality and that will have the best health benefits.

Testing can also be costly, which is another reason that cheaper supplements that have only been subject to skip lot testing are priced at the cost they are, whereas higher quality products that have been through stringent independent testing tend to be more expensive.

When it comes to purchasing the highest quality supplements, there are often several reasons that they are more expensive than more generic or lower quality supplements. However, it’s often worth spending that little bit extra to ensure you are getting the most out of your supplementation, and it usually guarantees that the ingredients you are putting into your body are of a purer and higher quality.