NOW tests creatine gummies quality

NOW Foods’ testing program found that six of 12 creatine gummy brands it analyzed failed to meet label claims, according to a March 1, 2024 report by Nutritional Outlook. The company said it used high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, to test the products and found a second problem beyond potency: it could not identify a vetted third-party lab that was equipped to test gummy products. Katie Banaszewski, NOW’s senior director of quality, called that gap “concerning” in comments cited by Nutritional Outlook. The findings added a note of caution to a fast-growing supplement format that has been marketed as a more convenient alternative to powder. ### Which creatine gummies passed and which ones failed? NOW said 12 brands were included in the survey: Astro Labs, Bear Balanced, Beast Bites, Bod, Create, Con-Cret, Effective Nutra, Greabby, Iron Labs Nutrition, Njord, Peach Perfect and Zhou. According to the company’s results, Bear Balanced, Bod, Effective Nutra, Iron Labs Nutrition, Peach Perfect and Zhou met or exceeded their label claims, while Astro Labs, Beast Bites, Create, Con-Cret, Greabby and Njord failed. (nutritionaloutlook.com) The 46% failure rate came from six brands missing their stated creatine content, Nutraceuticals World reported on February 29, 2024, citing NOW’s data. The same report said labeled servings ranged from 750 milligrams to 5,000 milligrams of creatine, with one to five gummies per serving and 250 milligrams to 1,700 milligrams per gummy. (nutritionaloutlook.com) ### Why did NOW say gummies are harder to get right than powder? NOW said creatine’s usual powder format reflects a stability advantage. Nutritional Outlook reported that when creatine is added to water, it can convert to creatinine, which the company described as an unwanted metabolite that complicates dosing in gummies because gummies are made with water. NOW said it detected creatinine in all the gummies that failed to meet creatine-content claims. (nutraceuticalsworld.com) Nutritional Outlook separately reported in a February 2026 market article that independent testing had found frequent label-claim shortfalls in creatine gummies and elevated creatinine from degradation tied to heat, moisture, acidic pH and storage, while powders were steadier. That article also said optimal testing methods for gummies remain limited among trusted third-party labs. (nutritionaloutlook.com) ### What was unusual about the lab testing itself? NOW said the company normally uses reputable outside laboratories to provide a second, independent result, but it was unable to find a vetted third-party lab capable of testing gummies in this case. Banaszewski said the inability to identify such a lab was troubling given the growth of gummies and the regulatory requirement to confirm label compliance. (nutritionaloutlook.com) NOW’s own materials say the company operates in-house ISO-accredited laboratories, performs more than 31,000 analyses and tests each month, and has a method-development team that validates in-house methods for different product types. Those capabilities help explain why the company said it could run the creatine gummy analysis internally even as outside lab options appeared limited. That is an inference based on NOW’s published lab descriptions and the company’s comments about third-party testing limits. (nutritionaloutlook.com) ### Did any company dispute NOW’s findings? Con-Cret’s parent company, Vireo Systems, challenged the result tied to its gummies. Nutraceuticals World reported that Mark Faulkner, chief executive and founder of CON-CRĒT, called NOW’s analysis “inaccurate” and said the company had established testing protocols with multiple accredited labs while developing its creatine HCl gummies. (nowfoods.com) Faulkner said an independent ISO/IEC 17025:2017-accredited laboratory had tested the product in at least two trials and found creatine HCl content above the 250-milligram-per-4-gram label claim. He also said CVS Caremark had put the gummies through an extensive testing program before accepting them for sale. (nutraceuticalsworld.com) ### What should a consumer take from the report right now? March 1, 2024 is the date of the Nutritional Outlook report that laid out the brand-by-brand results and the testing-method issue. The article did not say all creatine gummies fail, but it did show a split market in which half the tested brands met or exceeded claims and half did not. (nutraceuticalsworld.com) NOW’s broader testing pages say the company continues to publish product-testing information through its quality and press-room sections. Readers who want the underlying brand list, failure rate and comments from NOW executives can find those specifics in Nutritional Outlook’s March 1, 2024 report and in follow-up trade coverage citing the same test program. (nutritionaloutlook.com)