Editorial criteria for every listing
How We Evaluate Supplement Formulas
Four checks, two minutes, any label.
Every product page on this site is written against the same short list of criteria. We publish them so you can apply the same test yourself, in a pharmacy aisle or on a marketplace listing, without needing us in the room. The criteria do not change from page to page: the same four questions sit behind our men's vitamin formulas, our natural capsules for strength and vitality, and every energy and endurance blend we write about.
Read them once and you can audit any label on your own shelf. Nothing on this page is a scored certification, and we do not rank products as good or bad. We sort them by what the label actually says, which is the part you can see before you buy.
The four checks we run on every label
Run them in order. The first check alone filters more of the shelf than the other three combined, and the last one catches the details that decide whether you reorder the same bottle next month.
Objects laid flat, nothing boxed in
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Ingredient transparency comes first
The first question is whether the label states amounts. A formula that lists each vitamin, mineral, or extract with its own figure can be read and compared. One that bundles everything into a single blend weight cannot. This is the single strongest signal we use, and it is the reason two products at similar prices can be very different propositions.
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Format and serving size
Next we record the format: capsule, tablet, softgel, or powder, and how many servings the label calls for each day. A three-a-day pack and a one-a-day capsule can look identical on a shelf and be completely different commitments. We state the servings per day on every page so the comparison stays honest.
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Intended use, stated plainly
We describe what a product is for in everyday terms: daily nutrient coverage, plant-based ingredients, or support for an active routine. We do not describe products as treating or preventing conditions, and we do not use medical framing. If a brand's own marketing leans that way, we drop the claim and keep the factual part.
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Label clarity beyond the panel
We also look at how the rest of the label reads. Are allergens and capsule materials stated? Is the serving instruction easy to find? Is the capsule count clear? These details matter more in practice than they sound, especially when you are reordering something in a hurry.
Where the numbers come from
When we quote a nutrient target, we use published reference tables, such as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health figures for adult vitamins and minerals. When we quote a product detail, such as Solaray Maca Root at 525 mg in a 100-capsule bottle, it comes from the retail listing. We do not estimate amounts or round them to sound better.
Reference tables tell you what an adult typically needs. The retail listing tells you what a specific bottle actually carries. Those are two different kinds of information, and we keep them separate on every page so you can see the gap between them.
Re-read the four checksHow categories are grouped
We sort products into three broad groups, and the grouping follows intended use rather than brand or price. That is why a premium import and a local product can sit on the same page. It makes the site easier to navigate and the comparisons fairer: two rows in the same group are answering the same daily question.
- 01 Daily vitamin and mineral formulas Everyday nutrient coverage with stated amounts per vitamin and mineral. Daily coverage
- 02 Natural and herbal capsules Plant-based ingredients, with the extract amount named on the label. Plant-based
- 03 Energy and endurance blends Formulas written for an active routine, with the serving size stated up front. Active routine
A product earns its place by fitting one group cleanly. If a listing straddles two groups, that usually means the label is unclear, and we say so instead of picking a side for it.
What we exclude
Products sold with claims we cannot verify do not get a page here. That includes dramatic before-and-after framing, treatment language, and invented certifications. We also skip anything with no identifiable manufacturer or no stated amounts, because there is nothing useful to say about it.
Skipping a product is not a judgment about the brand. It means the listing does not carry enough readable information to compare against anything else, and a page that says nothing useful is worse than no page at all.
- Blend-only labels with no per-ingredient amounts to read.
- Marketing built on outcome promises we have no way to confirm.
- Listings with no manufacturer and no stated capsule count.
Using these criteria yourself
Take any label and run the same four checks: are amounts stated, what is the serving, what is it for, and does the rest of the label hold up. That takes about two minutes and filters most of the market. Everything else we write here is elaboration on that short routine.
Two labels, read the same way
Here is the difference the first check makes. Both columns describe a men's daily vitamin, both are sold at a similar price point, and the labels sit side by side on the same shelf. Only one of them can be compared against a reference table.
Readable label
Amounts stated per nutrient
- Each vitamin and mineral carries its own figure.
- Serving size and capsules per day are easy to find.
- Intended use describes everyday nutrient coverage.
Opaque label
Amounts hidden in one blend
- One combined blend weight with no breakdown.
- Serving instruction buried in small print elsewhere.
- Purpose written as a promise rather than a description.
Questions about the criteria
Do you test products in a lab?
No. We work from labels, retail listings, and published nutrition references. We describe what is stated, and we say when something is unclear.
Why do some products not appear on the site?
Usually because the label does not state amounts, or because the marketing relies on claims we cannot verify. There is nothing useful to compare in those cases.
Can I suggest a product for review?
Yes. Send the name and where you saw it through the contact page, and we will look at the label.
These criteria are editorial, not clinical. They cover how we read a label and how we write a page, and they are the same standard we apply to our healthy lifestyle products coverage and men's health support articles.
Read the same standard everywhere on the site
Every formula page carries the same four fields, so you can move between them without relearning the layout. Start with the group that matches your routine, or send us a label you want us to read.
Where to find us
- Address
- Jl. Malioboro No. 45, Sosromenduran, Gedong Tengen, Yogyakarta, 55271
- Phone
- +62 274 5610 6395
- [email protected]
- Hours
- Monday–Friday, 09:00–18:00