One of the biggest wellness trends I’ve noticed so far this year (other than celery juice) is an increased interest in personalized supplement subscriptions. Basically, the premise is that you’ll receive a box services serving up vitamins and supplements that are just for you. I’ve seen loads of them advertised on social media and have tried out a few on my own, so I wanted to dig in and share my thoughts.
Personalized Supplement Subscriptions: The New Way to Nourish Your Body?
I’m guessing that because wellness has become quite trendy (anyone else agree?), which definitely isn’t a bad thing, it’s opened the door for lots of new ideas and services that make being well a little easier. And personalized supplement subscriptions are one of those services. I mean… it definitely makes sense. We have clothing and dog toy subscription boxes, why not a vitamin one too?! Especially as millennials (hi, I am one) change the retail landscape more and more.
Anyway, I’m intrigued by the idea, so I did some looking around, shopping, and gathered my thoughts. In my option, here are some of the most important things to know before subscribing to one of these boxes:
Your needs are determined differently depending on which service you choose.
Depending on which personalized supplement subscription service you choose (and there are many), you’ll be tested differently for your personalized set of vitamins and supplements. Some services will ask for a blood sample, others will just ask you about your lifestyle and habits, and others simply send you what they think you need.
For example, Ritual ($30/month), one of the most popular options because of social media, is specifically for women and sends out what they believe to be the vitamins most women are lacking. So it’s personalized for women, but not you as an individual. Other options like Rootine ($2/day) ask for quite a bit more information. Not only do they ask you about your lifestyle, but have you take a DNA test and provide a blood sample. Talk about thorough!
The last one I want to call out is care/of (starts at $5/month). They simply ask about your lifestyle and habits, but also make protein powder and nutrient-dense snacks they call “quick sticks” to support a healthy lifestyle outside of just taking supplements. I tried this one for a few months and was sort of on the fence. First, the individually wrapped daily dose felt a little wasteful and I wasn’t totally clear on if they were recyclable or not. I also just hate swallowing pills in general and ended up being recommended about 5-6 different HUGE ones. Basically, I stopped ordering the vitamins because I hated having that many!
I have to say, as someone who loves aesthetics, if I were choosing one based on branding alone, they’re all really well done, but care/of knocked it out of the park. Just saying! Their social feeds are spot on and the overall experience is really nice.
The quality might be better than the vitamins you find at the grocery store.
This is the most intriguing thing for me about the idea of a personalized supplement subscription service. Of course, I can’t speak for all vitamin subscription boxes. The ones I listed above say on their websites that their supplements are all made of high-quality plant-based ingredients. You won’t find any fillers like gelatin made from pork or cows. So, if that’s something that is important to you, subscribing to one of these boxes could be a great option.
You should still check in with your doctor annually.
Last, but certainly not least, as great and convenient as these subscriptions boxes are, I don’t think they replace the services of medical professionals, especially if you have a known deficiency. Obviously I’m not a doctor, and to each their own. Also, I wouldn’t recommend canceling your annual preventative checkup just because you start taking vitamins and supplements.
So, what do you think? Are you going to subscribe? If you are already a subscriber, I want to hear about your experience and what service you use in the comments!
