This distrust has been stoked by an increasing number of public accusations and class action lawsuits alleging that certain vitamins are dangerous or even toxic. \u201cPeople are really pushing authorities towards stricter oversight of what supplements are,\u201d said David Hamlette, a wellness insights analyst at Mintel. <\/p>\n
While Hamlette predicts such scrutiny will soon lead to tighter government regulation, distrust of government bodies such as the FDA themselves are beginning to grow, driven by the Make America Healthy Again movement.<\/p>\n
While reform to DSHEA is frequently discussed, they\u2019ve yet to materialise. Right now, consumers want safety, transparency, value-for-money and clean ingredients. Meanwhile, supplement formats will continue to proliferate beyond pills and gummies with experts predicting a boom in functional foods and beverages that contain ingredients like protein and fibre.<\/p>\n
Brands hoping to cash in will have to understand how to cut through the noise of a saturated market with efficacious, benefit-led products. But they\u2019ll also have to prepare for an intensely scrutinous customer base \u2014 ones who won\u2019t be won over by claims on a label alone.<\/p>\n
Regulating a Murky Market<\/p>\n
In a courtroom, Kourtney Kardashian-Barker takes the stand. The Lemme co-founder is grilled by her sister Kim Kardashian<\/a> \u2014 the prosecution \u2014 about her stellar gut-health and glowing skin. Lemme\u2019s newest Colostrum gummies and liquid are quickly found guilty.<\/p>\n While the courtroom-based advert was timed to coincide with the launch of Kardashian\u2019s new legal drama \u201cAll\u2019s Fair,\u201d it skirted closely to the legal scrutiny Kardashian-Barker\u2019s own brand has endured. In 2024, a class action litigation firm launched an investigation into the brand for misleading marketing claims for a number of its products. Earlier this year, the brand\u2019s GLP-1 gummies sparked a similar suit. Lemme declined to comment.<\/p>\n The Kardashian clan\u2019s promotion far predates Lemme, which launched in 2023. Throughout 2016, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner posted a series of paid-adverts for SugarBearHair, a line of vegan gummies designed for hair growth and overall wellness. An investigation into the gummies by independent testing company Labdoor revealed a number of discrepancies between the ingredients listed on the bottle, including \u201crelatively high\u201d levels of lead. Today, there is currently no hair vitamin product in the category<\/a> ranked above a B+.<\/p>\n Classed by the FDA as food, VMS products are regulated differently than drugs, which require FDA approval before going to market. Unless they\u2019re introducing a brand new ingredient to the market, supplements don\u2019t have to prove safety or efficacy. The FDA can ban or limit use of any food product \u2014 including dietary supplements \u2014 if it is deemed unsafe after it reaches the market, but a \u201cwait and see\u201d approach won\u2019t inspire much confidence in a sceptical consumer. <\/p>\n Nor will the recent October 2025 investigation from Consumer <\/a>Reports<\/a>, in which two-thirds of protein powders tested contained unsafe amounts of lead. Though the report may have sounded worse than it was, its aftermath showed how the FDA treats some high-profile cases of consumer scepticism: By largely ignoring them, and keeping the onus of responsibility on brands and third-party testers. <\/p>\n Beyond heavy metals, other serious concerns have been raised about the safety of supplements, and particularly ones intended for liver health. In the last year alone: a 26-year-old developed a major injury<\/a> after five months use of Nutrafol; a National Geographic investigation linked 20 to 40 percent of drug-induced liver injury in the US to herbal and dietary supplements; and a similar claim about the safety of melatonin was recently instigated by The New York Times<\/a>, who concluded that while the studies on the ingredient\u2019s link to heart failure were insufficient, they highlighted how little is known about the safety of what we\u2019re consuming.<\/p>\n Obstacle to Opportunity<\/p>\n Instead of serving as a roadblock for brands, higher scrutiny could be an opportunity, said Mintel\u2019s Hamlette. \u201cIt\u2019s this idea of \u2018we\u2019re doing this before it\u2019s necessary,\u2019 which helps to build trust and value with the consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n While clinical testing is expensive<\/a> \u2014 costing anywhere between $25,000 to $100,000, according to beauty software company Good Face Project <\/a>\u2014 proving a clinical result is non-negotiable. It can also make for great selling points. <\/p>\n US labels like Pharmavite-owned Nature Made and Unilever\u2019s Olly have invested in their testing by way of certifications from National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), which is an independent third-party organisation conducting testing and audits. A wide range of Nature Made products are also certified by the United States Pharmacopeia, a rigorous verification that involves a manufacturing facility audit, lab testing, review of quality control documents and random off-the-shelf testing of products submitted. It\u2019s working: Euromonitor and Mintel experts say the brands are excelling.<\/p>\n On a whole, consumers\u2019 expectations of testing have levelled up in recent years. This is something supplement brand Ritual is counting on: instead of just complying with existing regulation, the brand often publishes reports in peer-reviewed journals and calls for stricter regulation and testing in its marketing campaigns. It\u2019s also upgrading its own testing processes in the mid-term with a commitment to have human clinical trials on all products by 2030. <\/p>\n Elsewhere, increased stringency has also become an opportunity for specialised VMS retailers, who act as their own unofficial regulatory body. Vitamin retailer Healf credits its stringent curation process to its recent success. \u201c<\/b>At any one time we\u2019re only working with, say, maybe 300 to 350 brands, versus Amazon or Holland and Barrett, where there\u2019s just realms and realms of product,\u201d said Stephanie Sinclair, Healf\u2019s UK commercial lead.<\/p>\n \u201cBrands that aren\u2019t effective will become obsolete with time,\u201d added Ariana Pergola, head of buying at Healf in the US. \u201cIt\u2019s putting the onus back on the brand to make sure that they\u2019re making products that truly work.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Kim](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6IS2JGE7XNEQDAKIPOOLXXG62E.jpg\")
Kardashian was one of the many celebrities who promoted SugarBearHair in the mid 2010s. (Instagram) <\/p>\n