WhatToTrust, a dynamic web-based app, is marketed to consumers who often have to make choices between supplements that have gone through preclinical studies and clinical trials and those based on general research that do not test specific ingredients or formulas.

“As the wellness industry continues evolving and expanding, so do the product claims,” Dr. Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk, PhD, and co-founder of Canomiks, told NutraIngredients.

She noted that it was common to encounter prominent ‘science-backed’ and ‘clinically proven’ or ‘doctor-approved’ supplement endorsements on social media, retail displays and packaging.

“Upon closer examination, the supporting scientific evidence may not always be directly relevant, or a ‘doctor-approved’ claim might originate from a physician or chiropractor whose expertise or training does not specifically align with the product or health issue and is merely a paid endorsement,” Dr. Pradhan-Nabzdyk said.

WhatToTrust evaluates wellness products through a transparent proprietary scoring system where each product receives a WhatToTrust score from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) based on an evaluation of scientific information available on the product brand’s website. Canomiks scores individual ingredients and the full product formulation of each product, rather than a brand as a whole.

The company includes references to U.S. Food and Drug Administration required supplement tests for ingredient identity, potency and purity, as well as scientific research like pre-clinical and human clinical trials. Data is also sourced from reputable scientific and clinical databases like PubMed.gov and ClinicalTrials.gov.

“’Trust’ and ‘transparency’ have consistently emerged as pivotal themes within our industry recently, resonating through conferences, LinkedIn discussions and trade publications,” Dr. Pradhan-Nabzdyk said. “Our sincere aspiration is that WhatToTrust will elevate the level of transparency and foster the trust that we collectively strive for across this industry. As a dedicated consumer resource, WhatToTrust is poised to help advance the industry, simultaneously educating consumers – and, we hope, the wider medical community while dispelling the myth that the industry is not regulated.”

Scientific validation

Products are assessed not only at the whole formulation level but also at the individual ingredient level to ensure product quality and scientific validation, Canomiks said in a statement.

Features such as ‘Compare Products’ allow consumers to compare WhatToTrust scores and ingredients. Canomiks does not charge product companies listing fees, ensuring unbiased scores, the company said. If Canomiks performs independent testing on a product, it is noted in the score breakdown.

Suppliers and brands can also use Canomiks’ Bio-B2B and product, ingredient efficacy and safety validation technologies to test ingredients and formulations sometimes before they go to market or proceed to human trials.

During the development of Bio-B2B, the company tested numerous single-ingredient turmeric supplements sold on Amazon against the pure-grade (analytical standard) form.

“Our testing found that quite a few turmeric products did not have the same biological effect as the standard. In some cases, the products had little or no effect at all, meaning the consumers were wasting their time and money on a product that may not have any beneficial effects,” Dr. Pradhan-Nabzdyk said. “Achieving ingredient and product efficacy starts at the preclinical level. We hope WhatToTrust will help the industry move towards validating products for greater efficacy.”

Canomiks is not the only company to launch a supplement ranking tool in recent months. Venture-capital backed SuppCo recently unveiled its supplement tracker, and AI-based NutriSelect is raising funding for its tool.