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CONSUMERLAB.COM SURVEY SHOWS BRANDS AND MERCHANTS RATED HIGHEST BY DIETARY SUPPLEMENT USERS

WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK — FEBRUARY 14, 2007 — ConsumerLab.com announced today that 77% of consumers recently surveyed report being highly satisfied ("extremely" or "very" satisfied) with the brands of dietary supplements that they use. An additional 21% were "somewhat" satisfied, and very few (2%) were dissatisfied. Satisfaction was also high with the merchants from which supplements were purchased, with 71% of respondents being highly satisfied.

The most common place to purchase supplements was online, with forty percent of respondents reporting an online purchase within the past year. This was followed by health food stores (34%), vitamin stores (27%), pharmacies (25%), warehouse clubs (23%), catalogues (20%), supermarkets (18%), independent distributors (18%), mass merchants, (18%), and health care practitioners (9%).

The following brands and merchants received the highest overall satisfaction rating within their market segment. Rankings are based on the percent of respondents highly satisfied.

Top-rated supplement brands:

  • Brand in Health Food Stores: Carlson
  • Brand in Mass Market Stores: Nature Made
  • Catalogue Brand: Puritan's Pride
  • Discount and Wholesale Club Brand: Kirkland (Costco)
  • Healthcare Practitioner Brand: Thorne Research
  • Pharmacy Brand: CVS
  • Vitamin Store Brand: Vitamin World
Top-rated supplement merchants:
  • Catalogue: Puritan's Pride
  • Discount and Warehouse Store: Costco
  • Grocery Store: Whole Foods
  • On-line Retailer: Vitacost.com
  • Pharmacy: Walgreens
  • Vitamin Store: Vitamin Shoppe

 

Nutrilite, a brand marketed by independent distributors, received the highest overall satisfaction rating both as a brand and merchant. However, sample bases for other companies within this category were not large enough to be comparatively ranked.

The survey was based on responses from 4,181 subscribers to ConsumerLab.com's e-newsletter. Respondents were frequent users of supplements, with more than ninety percent reporting the use of two or more supplements each day. Twenty-four percent of respondents used ten or more supplements per day. Ratings were given for several hundred brands and merchants. Among these, thirty-three brands and twenty-one merchants were included in the rankings for each having received at least one hundred consumer ratings. The results are based entirely on consumer perceptions in November 2006 and are separate from the laboratory findings of ConsumerLab.com.

"As we have seen in the past, the consumers in our survey are generally quite satisfied with the supplements they chose to use," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., President of ConsumerLab.com. He noted that respondents are readers of the ConsumerLab.com newsletter and might, as a result, be better able to avoid problems and select quality products.

A comprehensive report based on the ConsumerLab.com Survey of Vitamin and Supplement Users is available for purchase. The report analyzes and compares brands on consumers' perceptions of product effectiveness, ingredient quality, product availability and value. It analyzes merchants on consumer satisfaction with product selection, information, prices, and customer service. Results are analyzed by respondent age, gender, and level of supplement use. Custom analyses are also available. For more information or to purchase the report, go to https://www.consumerlab.com/news/consumerlabsurveybrochure.pdf or contact Lisa Sabin, Vice President for Business Development, at lisa.sabin@consumerlab.com.

ConsumerLab.com is a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. The company is privately held has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products. Subscription to ConsumerLab.com is available online.

Brands included in rankings:
Carlson, Centrum, Country Life, CVS, GNC, Jarrow, Kirkland (Costco), Life Extension, Member's Mark (Sam's Club) Foundation, Metagenics, Natrol, Nature Made, Nature's Bounty, Nature's Plus, Nature's Resource, Nature's Way, New Chapter, NOW Foods, Nutrilite, One-A-Day, Puritan's Pride, Schiff, Solaray, Solgar, Source Naturals, Spring Valley (Wal-Mart), Sundown, Swanson, Thorne Research, Twinlab, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, and Walgreens.

Merchants included in rankings:
BJ's, Costco, CVS, Drugstore.com, Eckerd, GNC, iherb.com, K-Mart, Kroger, Nutrilite, Puritan's Pride, RiteAid, Sam's Club, Swanson, Vitacost.com, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and Wild Oats.

Copyright ConsumerLab.com, LLC, 2007. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced in whole or part without prior written consent of ConsumerLab.com.

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