{"id":153138,"date":"2026-07-16T10:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/uncategorized\/vegan-supplements-certification-plant-based\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:15:12","slug":"vegan-supplements-certification-plant-based","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/magazine\/vegan-supplements-certification-plant-based\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Supplements: why Certification matters more than Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”4″ top_padding=”3″ bottom_padding=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ content_parallax=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”140645″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ css_animation=”alpha-anim” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1\/1″ uncode_shortcode_id=”168838″][vc_custom_heading text_color=”accent” heading_semantic=”h1″ text_font=”font-805350″ text_size=”fontsize-575479″ uncode_shortcode_id=”574933″ text_color_type=”uncode-palette”]Vegan Supplements: why Certification matters more than Claim.[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”518526″]<\/p>\n

There was a time, not many years ago, when simply having Vegan<\/em> on a label was enough to stand out. Today, that\u2019s no longer the case \u2014 at least not on its own. Retail sales of plant-based foods in Italy exceeded 640 million euros in 2023, representing a 16% increase compared to 2021. And where there is market growth, there is a proliferation of claims. Consumers \u2014 and increasingly, buyers \u2014 have learned to distinguish between those who make claims and those who back them up. <\/h2>\n

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In the dietary supplement industry, the issue is more complex than it seems. A supplement may contain ingredients of animal origin that aren\u2019t immediately apparent on the label: gelatin in Capsules, Lanolin as a source of Vitamin D, Fish-Derived Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Muscle-Derived Carnitine. Those who formulate these products know where to look. Consumers, however, often do not. And it is precisely in this gap\u2014between the claim and verification \u2014 that the credibility of the vegan positioning in the Nutraceutical industry is at stake. <\/h2>\n

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The difference between a Claim and a System<\/h2>\n

Anyone can write Vegan<\/em> on a label: as of now, there is no EU regulation that reserves this term for products verified by a third-party organization. Third-party Vegan<\/em> certification\u2014issued by organizations such as ICEA, the Vegan Society, VEGANOK, and others\u2014is what transforms this self-declaration into a verified commitment. The certifying body inspects the formula, verifies the origin of each ingredient, checks for potential cross-contamination risks on production lines, and issues a publicly available certificate. <\/p>\n

It is not a regulatory requirement. It is a positioning choice. But in a market where consumer trust is an asset that is built slowly and lost quickly, certification is the most solid response to growing skepticism toward self-declared claims. Brands operating in the health and wellness segment that target consumers who value label transparency find that certification offers a tangible selling point\u2014not just an abstract statement of values. <\/p>\n

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The technical challenges of Vegan formulation in the Nutraceutical Industry<\/h2>\n

Formulating a Vegan<\/em> supplement doesn’t simply mean eliminating animal-derived ingredients \u2014 it means finding technically equivalent alternatives. Some are well-established and widely available; others require more careful development, with implications for stability, cost, and bioavailability. <\/p>\n

Capsules are the best-known example. Gelatin \u2014 derived from bovine or porcine bones and cartilage \u2014 has been the standard for hard and soft capsules for decades. Plant-based alternatives, particularly Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) and Pullulan, are now widely available and technically comparable for most applications. However, they require compatibility testing with the active ingredients they contain, particularly for formulations that are moisture-sensitive or require enteric release. <\/p>\n

Vitamin D3 is another common technical challenge in vegan<\/em> formulations. The most widely used form is traditionally derived from Lanolin, a fat found in Sheep\u2019s Wool. Today, there are Algal sources of D3 \u2014 specifically from Lichens<\/em> and certain Microalgae \u2014 that make it possible to retain the D3 form, which is more bioavailable than D2, within a completely plant-based<\/em> context. The cost is generally higher, but for a product positioned in the Premium Vegan segment, this price difference is often justified. <\/p>\n

Omega-3 EPA and DHA follow a similar logic. The conventional source is Bluefish Oil. Marine Microalgae \u2014 from which fish themselves bioaccumulate these Fatty Acids \u2014 are a primary alternative source, offering comparable nutritional profiles, lacking the typical fishy odor, and free from the risks of heavy metal contamination associated with fish-based sources. This solution is attracting growing interest even beyond the strictly vegan demographic. <\/p>\n

The market: not a niche, but a direction<\/h2>\n

Data from the Italian market indicate that about 9.5% of Italians follow vegetarian or vegan diets. That\u2019s millions of people\u2014but they are not the ones determining the strategic importance of plant-based products in the nutraceutical sector. It is the much larger group of flexitarians \u2014 consumers who do not completely exclude animal products but consciously reduce their consumption \u2014 that drives sales volumes. In Italy and Germany, this group accounts for more than 59% of the population. <\/p>\n

For those designing a dietary supplement, this means that choosing a plant-based approach doesn\u2019t exclude any market \u2014 it expands it. A product formulated without animal ingredients and certified as such can be chosen by vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, consumers with religious or cultural sensitivities regarding animal-derived ingredients, and simply by those who prefer transparency. The common denominator isn\u2019t an ideology \u2014 it\u2019s trust in the label. <\/p>\n

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Encanto Nutraeutical’s Mission<\/h2>\n

For us, plant-based isn\u2019t just a trend to jump on\u2014it\u2019s the direction we\u2019ve chosen to pursue. When selecting functional ingredients, we prioritize plant extracts, botanicals, and natural sources \u2014 not because it\u2019s mandatory, but because it aligns with our approach to formulation quality. Vegan certification<\/a> is one of the tools that makes this choice verifiable, not just a claim \u2014 and for those who develop a product with us, it\u2019s an element that can be incorporated into the project right from the formulation stage. <\/p>\n

The expiration of Green Claims<\/h2>\n

There is yet another reason why this distinction \u2014 between claiming and proving \u2014 is set to matter more than ever. Starting September 27, 2026, the new rules introduced in Italy by Legislative Decree 30\/2026\u2014which transposes the European directive against greenwashing<\/em> by amending the Consumer Code \u2014 will limit the use of sustainability labels to those based on recognized certification systems and make generic and unverified claims subject to penalties. In this context, a certification issued by a third-party body ceases to be a mere marketing tool and becomes the foundation upon which a company\u2019s positioning can stand up even before a regulatory authority: this is a topic to which we will dedicate a specific in-depth analysis very soon. <\/p>\n

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If you are developing a product in this segment and want to understand the available technical options, we would be happy to discuss this with you<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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There was a time, not many years ago, when the word “Vegan\u201d on a label was enough to set a product apart. Today, that\u2019s no longer the case \u2014 at least not on its own. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[275,592,607,685,847,848],"class_list":["post-153138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","tag-certs-en","tag-clean-label","tag-sustainability","tag-compliance","tag-vegan","tag-green-claims"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153138"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153147,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153138\/revisions\/153147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/encanto.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}