Stop trusting supplement companies

By: Matt Tullman, Co-Founder

In the five years since we started Complement, this is the hardest blog post I’ve ever had to write. I say that because, after all the typical ups and downs a startup goes through, we’ve finally reached a point with the Complement business that resembles stability and comfort. But comfort was never the reason we started this company. And as tempting as it is to just not rock the boat, that’s not how we make progress and improve the world.

I know this is going to upset a lot of our peers in the supplement industry, and maybe cost our company some allies. But I’m okay with that, because I don’t feel like I have a choice. So here goes.

In five years’ time, we’ve seen some scary and sad illustrations of the deceit that is rampant in the supplement industry.

• We had a manufacturer suggest that it would be alright for us to deliver vitamins in amounts that are 50% less than “label claim.”
• We learned why so many companies use “proprietary blends” when a supplier suggested that we do it.
• We’ve consistently heard that as long as a filler ingredient, or preservative, or some other scary thing is “under 2% of the formula” that we don’t need to list the ingredient.

The list goes on, which is why supplement companies have — from what we’ve seen, a well-deserved — bad rap. (We hope it goes without saying that we didn’t actually do any of these things.)

The supplement industry wants to sell you cocktails of vitamins, minerals, and other compounds. That’s their end goal — their reason for being. Selling more. At the end of the day, they don’t actually care if you get healthy. As long as you keep buying vitamins, they’re happy.

That’s always bugged us. Our choice to call ourselves “Complement” was a nod to this discomfort. When “supplement companies” survive by selling you more than you need, we wanted a product with only what we needed and nothing else. We wanted to make the product that we wanted to take — and to give to our families, including our young kids.

That’s how Complement — the product, and the name — came about. But like it or not, when it comes down to it, we are in fact a supplement company. Even if we think of ourselves differently and our customers think of us differently, to suppliers, competitors, and the rest of the industry, we’re a supplement company.

Like I said, this has always bothered us, but we’ve done our best to play the game in a way that stays true to our values, ethics, and mission to support the plant-based movement. But we’ve come to the conclusion that there’s more we can do. More for your health, more for the health of the movement, and more to empower you to make the right decisions for your goals.

Do you know (for sure) if your supplement works?

A lot of people take supplements to fill the holes in their diets. But the fact is a lot of people don’t know whether the supplements they take actually make a difference. We confirmed this with the survey we sent out to our community last week.

• While about half of respondents do occasionally get their Vitamin B12 and D levels checked, only about 10% of people check their levels of DHA and EPA, two omega-3s that are critical for brain and heart health.
• Relative to B12, D, and most other nutrients, omega-3’s are very expensive, so they’re the nutrient most likely to be under-provided in a supplement.
• Even some Complement subscribers — members of our team included — have omega-3 levels that aren’t quite optimal.

And what do you think most supplement companies do with information like this? They hide it. Or at least don’t talk about it. Because the goal is to sell you more supplements, not to maximize your health.

So how about you? Do you actually know that the supplements you’re paying for are working? From what we’ve seen, the odds are good that the answer is no.

Whose responsibility is your health?

With something as important as our health, why don’t more of us feel the responsibility to make sure that what we’re doing is working? Well, there are a lot of reasons, and fortunately, none of them is your fault. First, we were raised to believe that our health wasn’t our responsibility. It was the responsibility of our doctor or our parents, our genetics, or something else beyond our control…

Our culture never taught us that it’s our privilege and responsibility to make the decisions that allow us to thrive. Then the internet happened, and we became privy to lots of information that allowed us to take more control of our own health decisions. Companies who don’t necessarily have your best, long-term health interests at heart. But it gets worse still. While you’re dedicated to being healthy, a whole lot of people aren’t. And while taking steps to prevent health problems is relatively cheap, treating them after they arise is expensive.

But our healthcare system, with its over-reliance on retroactive fixes paid for by insurance companies, doesn’t properly incentivize prevention. So it costs way more than it should for your doctor to order blood tests for you. And as for their guidance to correct abnormalities in test results… a typical doctor’s recommendations just aren’t tailored to someone for whom eating plant-based is both a health choice and an ethical one.

It shouldn’t be to remain in the dark about whether the supplements you’re paying for are working. To choose the latter — to do nothing — is simply replacing one costly problem with one that’s even more costly.

The good news? There's potential. (Lots of it.)

These systemic problems have kept us up at night for a long time. But not because we feel hopeless. In fact, it's because we feel the exact opposite — excited to fix a problem and serve you, our community, in even more ways. But right now, that’s just potential. Not yet reality.

Are you with us?

Complement exists because we couldn't find a transparent, trustworthy source of nutrients to balance the healthy diets of ourselves and our families. We’re calling this new focus “Personalized, Evidence-Based Nutrition.” And if we’re successful, the potential for your health (and this movement) is massive.

We don’t yet have details to share just yet; this whole thing is too new. We want to know if we’re aligned, if the problems we’ve identified are the ones that keep you up at night, too. And if you’re with us. But it’ll be worth it, and we’re so grateful to have you with us on the journey.