How to Choose Health & Wellness Products: A Practical Guide for South African Consumers
The health and wellness market has never offered more choice. From vitamins and nutritional supplements to personal-care products and products designed to support sleep, energy, digestion and general wellbeing, there is something available for almost every need.
The problem is that more choice does not necessarily make buying decisions easier.
Product labels can be confusing, marketing claims can be impressive and prices can vary enormously between apparently similar products.
So how do you decide what is actually worth buying?
At Kila, we believe the answer is to look beyond the marketing and consider the product itself.
Here are some of the most important things to consider before buying a health or wellness product.
1. Start with the reason you are buying it
Before comparing brands, ask yourself a simple question:
What am I actually trying to achieve?
There is a significant difference between looking for a general nutritional product and looking for something specifically designed around areas such as sleep, digestion, energy, exercise or general wellbeing.
Starting with the desired outcome makes it easier to narrow down the options.
It also helps prevent one of the most common mistakes in the wellness market: buying a product simply because it is popular or has impressive-looking packaging.
A product should have a clear reason for being in your shopping basket.
2. Look at the ingredients rather than the front of the package
The front of a product is designed to attract your attention.
The ingredient and nutrition information is where you should spend more time.
Look at:
- The active ingredients
- The amount of each ingredient
- Serving size
- Number of servings per container
- Other ingredients
- Allergens
- Directions for use
- Manufacturer information
A product that provides detailed information makes it considerably easier for consumers to understand what they are buying.
Be particularly cautious when products rely heavily on vague descriptions while providing little information about what is actually inside them.
3. Don’t automatically assume that a higher dose is better
More is not necessarily better.
Some nutritional ingredients have established recommended intake levels, while others are used in different amounts depending on the formulation and intended purpose.
This is one reason why comparing products simply by looking at the number printed on the front of a bottle can be misleading.
Instead, consider the complete formulation.
Two products might contain the same headline ingredient but use different forms, amounts or combinations of ingredients.
The sensible approach is to understand what you are buying rather than assuming that the biggest number represents the best product.
4. Consider the quality of the formulation
Quality is about more than the number of ingredients in a product.
Look for manufacturers that explain:
- Where their ingredients come from
- How products are manufactured
- What quality-control procedures are used
- Whether products are independently tested
- Whether ingredient quantities are disclosed
- What standards their manufacturing facilities follow
For example, Performance Lab states that its products are manufactured in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility and that finished products undergo independent third-party testing.
That sort of information is useful because it allows consumers to investigate the manufacturer’s claims rather than simply taking advertising statements at face value.
5. Watch out for proprietary blends
One particularly useful thing to look for on a supplement label is whether individual ingredient quantities are disclosed.
A proprietary blend may list several ingredients together without telling you precisely how much of each ingredient is included.
That makes meaningful comparisons between products much more difficult.
A transparent label, on the other hand, allows consumers to see exactly what they are purchasing.
Performance Lab, for example, says that it discloses the forms and dosages of its ingredients rather than hiding them in proprietary blends.
Whether you ultimately choose that brand or another one, transparent labelling is a useful characteristic to look for.
6. Don’t judge value by the price of the bottle
A R300 product isn’t necessarily cheaper than a R500 product.
The important question is what you get for the money.
When comparing products, consider:
Price ÷ number of servings = cost per serving
This gives you a much more useful comparison.
You should also consider the quantity of active ingredients per serving and the overall formulation.
A cheaper product may contain fewer servings, while a more expensive product could provide a longer supply.
Price should therefore be considered alongside quality, formulation and quantity.
7. Look for evidence rather than extraordinary promises
The wellness industry contains plenty of impressive claims.
Some products promise dramatic results in remarkably short periods of time.
Consumers should approach such claims carefully.
A more useful approach is to ask:
What evidence supports the ingredients and the claims being made?
That doesn’t mean every product needs to have a large clinical trial proving the finished product works exactly as advertised. It does mean that consumers should distinguish between established nutritional information, emerging research and marketing claims.
Performance Lab, for example, provides references to research relating to some of its formulations and ingredients on its website.
That doesn’t mean every claim should automatically be accepted. It simply gives consumers somewhere to start when evaluating the evidence.
8. Consider your individual circumstances
A product that is appropriate for one person may not necessarily be appropriate for another.
Your age, diet, existing nutritional intake, allergies, medications and other individual circumstances can all be relevant when considering nutritional products.
This is particularly important with products containing multiple active ingredients.
If you have a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are uncertain whether a product is appropriate for you, it is sensible to obtain advice from a qualified healthcare professional before using it.
A good buying guide should help you ask better questions — it should not replace professional medical advice.
9. Don’t buy an entire shelf when you only need one product
The wellness industry is very good at encouraging consumers to build increasingly complicated routines.
One product becomes two.
Two become five.
Before long, you can end up spending a significant amount of money without knowing which products are actually providing value.
A better approach is to start with your specific objective and evaluate products individually.
If a product is useful, affordable and appropriate for your circumstances, there may be a reason to continue using it.
But adding another product simply because it is marketed as the “next step” isn’t necessarily good value.
What about Performance Lab?
Kila currently lists a range of Performance Lab products, making the brand one of the ranges we can examine as part of our health and wellness coverage.
The range currently covers several areas, including foundational nutrition, energy, brainpower, fitness, gut health, immunity, joints and bones, sleep, vision and vitamins and minerals.
The company also places considerable emphasis on ingredient transparency, clean-label manufacturing and third-party testing.
Those characteristics make the range interesting to examine — but they don’t mean that every product is automatically the right choice for every person.
That’s exactly the sort of distinction Kila should make.
Our aim isn’t to tell you what to buy. It’s to help you understand what you’re buying and decide whether it represents good value for your particular needs.
View the Performance Labs Range
The Kila approach
When we review health and wellness products, we’ll look beyond the advertising.
Our comparisons will consider factors such as:
Ingredients
What is actually in the product?
Transparency
Does the manufacturer clearly disclose quantities and formulations?
Quality
What information is available about manufacturing and testing?
Value
What are you actually getting for your money?
Evidence
Are the claims supported by credible information?
Practicality
Is the product convenient and realistic to use?
Alternatives
Are there other products that offer better value or a more suitable formulation?
This is particularly important in a market where two products can appear remarkably similar while being very different in formulation and price.
Bottom line
Buying health and wellness products doesn’t have to be complicated.
Start with what you actually need, examine the ingredients, look for transparent labelling, investigate the manufacturer’s quality standards and compare the cost per serving rather than simply comparing bottle prices.
Most importantly, don’t allow impressive marketing to make the decision for you.
Do the comparison first. Then decide.
That’s what Kila is here to help you do.