Many consumers consider BulkSupplements.com to be the go-to brand for cheap supplements. BulkSupplements offers products in enormous quantities (do people really buy turmeric extract 11 pounds at a time?), and often at industry-leading prices.
But are BulkSupplements' products well-formulated? Why was the company sued in 2024? How do they compare on price? Did our Product Tester have a good experience trying BulkSupplements?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we share our concerns with the brand's transparency claims, document a lawsuit currently faced by BulkSupplements and provide a price breakdown.
We'll also share our Product Tester's experience trying a popular BulkSupplements product for a month.
Key takeaways:
- Claims transparency but fails to publish test results
- Company sued over allegations of mislabeling
- We do not currently recommend BulkSupplements
Questionable Transparency Claims
On the homepage of the BulkSupplements website, at the time of updating this article, this notice exists:
This seems like an oxymoron and definitionally non-transparent.
If the company has testing data for all products, why not just publish it transparently on the product pages? Why make consumers ask for it, when likely fewer than 1% of users will?
It's also worth noting that a Certificate of Assurance (CoA) is typically a supplier document, and not a third-party test result of the finished product.
This is worthless to potential consumers in our opinion, because unless you're seeing an independent test result of the finished product, you don't really know what you're consuming (and any potential health risks associated).
We Tried BulkSupplements Ourselves
One of our product testers named Joshua Martinez tried BulkSupplements' creatine. Here's his experience:
BulkSupplements Creatine Powder came in a resealable bag.
The serving size is five grams and does not come with a small scoop to use. So, if you don’t have a food scale you’ll just have to estimate.
This creatine product, like many others I've tried, is tasteless. This makes it great to mix into pretty much any drink. I take mine with my pre-workout and it doesn’t change the taste at all.
I took this product for two weeks and noticed a decent increase in strength, but not much size.
Since it is recommended to drink a lot of water while taking creatine, I had to use the restroom way more often than usual. It’s not a bad side effect, but just something that should be noted.
I have tried many different brands of creatine in the past, and it’s hard to go wrong with any brand. Given the low cost, I'm likely to purchase this product from BulkSupplements.
Overall, I'd rate this product 10/10.
Why Was BulkSupplements Sued?
In 2024, BulkSupplements was sued over allegations of underdosed and mislabeled magnesium powder, according to Bloomberg Law.
The plaintiff alleges that the company's magnesium powder products contain lower magnesium doses than the label claim.
At the time of updating this article, the suit appears to be ongoing.
In isolation, we're relatively unconcerned with allegations of label inaccuracies until those are proven true in court.
However, in the case of BulkSupplements, we're a bit more concerned than usual given some historical label inaccuracies the brand has faced according to independent testing that we highlighted in previous versions of this article, and given the questionable transparency claims documented above.
Improved Formulations
To the credit of BulkSupplements, the brand seems to be improving their formulations (perhaps due to the popularity of this article).
When we initially published this article, we highlighted two formulations that concerned us.
One was a product with a title of Ginkgo Biloba Extract, but we documented that the Supplement Facts label at the time showed ginkgo biloba powder, which is much less potent.
This ingredient discrepancy no longer exists on BulkSupplements.com. The Supplement Facts label for their Ginkgo Biloba Extract product now shows ginkgo biloba extract.
The second was a Cassia cinnamon extract, which is the type of cinnamon which is the highest in a toxin called coumarin, as we documented in our ceylon vs saigon cinnamon comparison article.
We mentioned at the time that switching this for Ceylon cinnamon would be an improvement from a health perspective, because Ceylon is much lower in coumarin, and the brand has since made that change.
We commend BulkSupplements.com for making these improvements to their formulations.
Where to Get the Best Price
BulkSupplements products are sold at a variety of online retailers.
Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of two of their most popular products, at the time of updating this article:
Creatine (2.2 pound bag)
Brand website: $35.96 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $35.96 (free shipping, link to official Walmart listing)
Amazon: $35.96 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
L-Citrulline Malate 2:1 (1 pound bag)
Brand website: $24.96 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $24.96 (free shipping, link to official Walmart listing)
Amazon: $24.96 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Prices of BulkSupplements products are around 20-30% cheaper on Amazon and Walmart for a one-time purchase than at the brand's website, when the purchase price is less than the $59 order requirement for free shipping through the brand's website.
BulkSupplements Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of BulkSupplements in our opinion:
Pros:
- Affordable
- Our Product Tester loved the brand's creatine powder
- Brand seems to be improving formulations
- Many positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- Questionable Transparency claim on website homepage
- Brand sued over allegations of mislabeled supplements
