Supplements are food. Where they come from, how they have been stored and whether the label is accurate all matter — so here is how we choose and source what we sell.
Where our stock comes from
We source through established UK wholesale distributors that supply the brands we list. We do not buy from online marketplaces, liquidators, clearance lots or grey-market resellers, however good the price looks.
That matters more in supplements than in most categories. A product that has been through an unknown chain of hands may have been stored badly, relabelled, parallel-imported without UK-compliant labelling, or in the worst cases counterfeited. Buying through established trade channels is the most reliable way to avoid that.
How we choose what to list
The supplier
We only list products available through established UK distributors, supplied sealed in the brand's original packaging.
The product
We check the product is a food supplement we are permitted to sell — not a medicine, and not carrying an ingredient that is not allowed in a supplement in Great Britain — and that it is labelled for the GB market in English. Product page copy is checked against the brand's label information.
Your order
Every product is sent sealed in its original packaging and within its best-before date. We will not knowingly send you something close to expiry — and if one arrives short-dated, we put it right at our cost.
Afterwards
We act on what customers tell us. A report about a seal, a label, a smell or a taste gets looked at and raised with the supplier and brand. See product recall and safety.
What we will not sell
Anything that is really a medicine
We are a retailer of foods, not a pharmacy. We do not sell prescription products, or anything that needs authorisation from the MHRA.
Products making illegal claims
If a pack or its marketing claims to prevent, treat or cure a medical condition, it breaches food law. We do not list it.
Unlabelled or foreign-labelled stock
If a product has not been labelled for the Great Britain market — no English ingredient list, no allergen information, no recommended daily dose — we do not sell it.
Anything we cannot trace
If we cannot establish where a product came from, we do not sell it. No exceptions, and no matter what the margin looks like.
On claims
We only publish health claims that are authorised. Where a product page says a nutrient does something, that claim comes from the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register and relates to the nutrient, not to the brand or the specific product. We do not claim any product prevents, treats or cures a medical condition, and we do not let customer reviews do it for us.
This is the part of supplement retail where most of the rule-breaking happens, and it is usually deliberate. We would rather a product page read a little drier and be accurate.
Labels, and why the pack wins
Ingredient lists, nutritionals, allergens and directions on this website are supplied by the brand owner. Recipes and packaging change, sometimes without notice to retailers. The label on the product you receive is the authority — always read it before use, and if it differs from our website, the pack is correct and we want to know so we can update the listing.
Tested athletes
Some of the brands we stock run batches through third-party testing programmes such as Informed Sport; many do not, and it varies batch to batch even within a brand. If you compete under anti-doping rules you are strictly liable for what is in your body. Check the specific batch you are holding against the programme's own register before you use it. We cannot give anti-doping clearance for any product, and you should not treat a listing on this site as one.
When something falls short
If a product does not meet these standards, we pull it from sale first and work out the rest afterwards. If you have already bought it, we contact you, refund you in full including delivery, and cover any return postage. Our recall and safety page sets out the process.
Spotted something that does not look right? Email info@supplementhq.co.uk with the batch number — we take it seriously.
Brands who want to meet these standards with us: supplier and brand enquiries.