How to read this brand ranking

Each row counts how many distinct dietary supplement product labels in the NIH DSLD list the brand as the manufacturer or distributor. The "On Market" column shows how many of those labels are currently marked as actively distributed in the US. The ranking is therefore a measure of catalog size and active assortment, not a measure of product quality, sales volume, revenue, or consumer satisfaction.

Large catalog size in the DSLD often reflects long-established brands that have been registering labels for many years (some entries date back to 2011), brands with broad multi-category lines (vitamins + minerals + botanicals + sports nutrition + multivitamins all under one umbrella), and brands that have been through frequent reformulation cycles where each new SKU triggers a new label filing. A small DSLD catalog does not imply a small business, many high-volume brands focus on a tight product line. Conversely, a large catalog includes both currently-shipping products and historical labels preserved for research.

Caveats and brand-level questions worth asking

Before drawing conclusions about a brand from its DSLD presence alone, consider looking at the underlying product details. Click any brand name above to see its full product list, broken down by supplement type and market status. Useful questions to investigate from there include: what fraction of the brand's catalog is currently on-market, which categories does the brand focus on, whether the brand publishes third-party verification (USP, NSF, ConsumerLab) on its labels, and how many of the products list per-row Supplement Facts panel data versus only structural ingredient lists.

For independent quality assessment beyond label data, consult third-party verification programs such as USP Verified, NSF Certified for Sport, or ConsumerLab. These programs lab-test products for ingredient potency and contamination - information that label data alone cannot provide. The PlainVitamins methodology page documents how brand names are normalized in our index.