Ritual Vitamins Review
About Ritual
Ritual is a start-up specializing in multivitamins for women 18+, 50+, and prenatal. The brand stresses the importance of traceability and sustainability in their products, educating women on where the vitamins are sourced from, their environmental impact, and associated health benefits. Buying sets you up to receive multivitamins monthly, in other words, establishing a health ritual.
Our Ritual vitamins review dives deep into the brand, what distinguishes these vitamins from others, customer feedback, promotions, and more.
Overview of Ritual
The Ritual story starts with founder and CEO Katerina Schnieder, leading up to the brand’s 2016 establishment in the US. When Katerina was pregnant, she turned her house upside down, getting rid of products with questionable ingredients, from her cleaning supplies to deodorant. In her search for the perfect prenatal multivitamin, she found many of these same ingredients. Katerina’s solution was to build her own.
Ritual isn’t satisfied with pseudoscience and half-truths. Health fads make their eyes roll. Ritual’s leaders are women, backed by engineers and a scientific advisory board of biomedical sciences, physiology, and nutritional sciences experts.
Ritual is all about transparency, recognizing that “too often, companies make their process and formulations intentionally confusing to keep their customers from knowing what’s really going on.”
That’s a pretty solid argument. How many times have you looked at the back of a vitamin bottle, a bottle of shampoo, or container of face cream, not knowing what most of the ingredients are?
Ritual conducted a clinical study on their multivitamins, which customers have access to on their website. The brand maintains close relationships with their suppliers all over the world. Ritual wants you to know exactly where their ingredients came from, and the science backing their benefits, so you can find profiles on each vitamin.
Take their Omega-3, found in each of their multivitamins. It’s sourced from Saskatoon, Canada. Their partnered manufacturer is Algarithm Ingredients Inc. Ritual uses vegan algal oil, rather than fish oil; algal oil comes from the fermentation of microalgae, a process that results in minimal environmental contamination.
Ritual references the 13,101 studies on Omega-3 in counting, providing a link to research through the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
This is only the beginning of our Ritual vitamins review, but you can view the highlights here:
Pros
- Multivitamins are vegan certified, gluten and allergen free, non-GMO, with no colorants or synthetic fillers
- Supplements have a pleasant mint or lemon taste
- No-nausea capsule design
- Products are backed by extensive research and a Scientific Advisory Board
- Full transparency on where vitamins are sourced from and their suppliers
- Encourages customers to create a daily supplements ritual through the Ritual app
- Highly positive customer feedback
- Free shipping aside from handling fees
Cons
- More expensive compared to other multivitamins
- Must sign up for automatic subscription renewal
- Limited to three products
- Only ships within the US
- Little to no information provided on shipping and returns
How Does Ritual Work?
Ritual wants you to consider your health as a habit, one that will become second nature through reminders and repetition. Every Ritual vitamin bottle comes with 60 pills taken 2 at once daily (1 month supply). When you order your first bottle, you’re signing up to receive shipments every 30 days from then on with an automatic subscription renewal.
Customers can use the Ritual app to keep daily track of their multivitamin use. There is no subscription fee for Ritual and you can cancel anytime. More on the subscription can be found in the FAQ section of this Ritual vitamins review.
Ritual Multivitamins
Ritual offers three multivitamin supplements for women 18+, 50+, and prenatal. Every supplement is vegan certified, gluten and allergen free, non-GMO, with no colorants or synthetic fillers. You can take your 2 pills/day all at once, in the AM or PM. Whatever works for you.
If you’ve ever taken a multivitamin, you’ll know that most of them come with 20-50 ingredients. According to Ritual, many of these ingredients already come to us in our food, so they narrowed down their supplements to contain ones that we actually need.
This Ritual vitamins review shines a spotlight on each of these supplements—which vitamins are included and why, plus pricing.
Ritual Essential for Women 18+
Ritual’s Essential for Women is the all-round multivitamin reinvented for $30. It’s formulated to help fill gaps in your diet and build a stronger health foundation. As you take the pills, you’ll hit milestones as the multivitamins are absorbed into your body:
- Month 3: resolves nutrient shortfalls, helps maintain energy, immunity, and skin
- Month 6: supports red blood cells and vital internal organs
- Month 12: strengthens bone integrity and calcium utilization
- Ongoing: helps your body age healthily by maintaining tissue structure and fighting free radicals
When we browsed the website for this Ritual vitamins review, we found it interesting to see not only where the vitamins come from, but what they look like in pure form.
Ritual Essential for Women 50+
Ritual reimagined a multivitamin for women post-menopause to support healthy aging from within. For Ritual, beauty is cell deep, not skin deep. Essential for Women 50+ is priced at $35, targeting these areas:
- Vitamin D3 from lichen supports normal immune function
- Omega-3 DHA from microalgae supports heart health
- Calcium-helper nutrients D3, K2, Magnesium, and Boron help sustain bone health
- Chelated Magnesium and Vitamin D3 contribute to healthy muscle function
Visualize the vitamins separately, and voila.
Ritual Essential Prenatal
Ritual’s Essential Prenatal is designed to prep your body for pregnancy, maintain your health, and support your baby’s development in-utero for $35. This supplement works well before and during pregnancy, unlike others in its category:
- Pre-pregnancy: supports energy production and mood with essential nutrients
- First trimester: folate supports neural tube development to help facilitate healthy brain development in the critical 28 days after you conceive
- Second trimester: supports continual development of newly formed organs and tissues
- Third trimester: supports nutrient needs of mother and baby in preparation for birth
Ritual provides a breakdown on how each vitamin plays a role in their specific multivitamins. Head to their website to get the full story after reading this Ritual vitamins review.
Ritual Capsule Design
You’ll have noticed that Ritual pills don’t look like your average drugstore multivitamins. The engineering behind Ritual capsules is actually pretty interesting:
- Beadlet-in-oil encapsulation delivers nutrients effectively
- No-Nausea: delayed release formulation dissolves later, in the less sensitive and more absorptive areas of your gut (this means that you can take them on an empty stomach)
- Fewer pills: 2-1 design separates oily and dry ingredients, so everything can be taken together
- Essenced with mint or lemon: mint/lemon tab keeps the contents of each bottle fresh and provides a pleasant taste
Ritual Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
Customers can leave feedback for Essential Prenatal and for Women on their website (who knows why For Women 50+ isn’t included). Essential For Women has 4.3/5 stars, with reviewers appreciating the “refreshing” mint taste and the fact that it doesn’t upset their stomach.
The supplement is described as “the only vitamin I’ve stuck to” and “a vitamin that makes you want to be consistent.” Same sort of feedback with Essential Prenatal, with 4.1/5 stars. One customer described it as “lemony wonderful,” and others commended the extensive research behind the supplement.
Many reviewers highly recommend Prenatal to other expecting mothers. Monthly Ritual deliveries were especially convenient, wrote the moms to be since errands are difficult when you’re moving about with a tiny human in you. Fair enough!
This Ritual vitamins review didn’t stop there. A Ritual vitamins Reddit thread discussed Essentials for Women, and while many women loved the supplement, others were turned off by the price. Another Ritual vitamins review Reddit featured included an expectant mother having been nauseated by the pill, despite it’s no-nausea claim.
The New York Times called Ritual out on its not-so-honest advertising. Ritual paid for positive reviews by websites like Well & Good and PureWow, then featured those reviews in their ads. Ritual claims to be transparent, yet did not mention that those were paid endorsements.
In a Ritual feature in Good Housekeeping, a reviewer who took Essential for Women felt some improvements within 30 days, which she found impressive, considering Ritual emphasizes long term results.
Our Verdict on Ritual Vitamins – Are they Worth it?
It’s opinion o’clock at this point in our Ritual vitamins review. Reviews on Ritual, both on and off their website, are promising. There were no skeletons hiding in other parts of the internet. This isn’t surprising, given the extensive research and ongoing testing conducted on the supplements.
Some people may not be crazy about having to sign up for an automatic subscription. There are quite a few brands that make this mandatory for questionable reasons, but in this case, it’s integral to the Ritual philosophy: to make supplement taking a ritual, your multivitamins are delivered every month.
Ritual having paid for the positive feedback they advertised is a little bit shady, but honestly, that sort of thing is not uncommon. I’m not saying it’s good, but it happens much more often than you might think.
It appears that the biggest drawback with Ritual is its price points. You can find monthly multivitamins from big brands like Centrum and Jamieson for less than $10. That being said, they don’t operate on the same level when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact.
Those Ritual supplements are also a lot less targeted. I found products containing some 50 ingredients, so it seems like they’re just covering their bases and giving you everything.
All in all, we give Ritual a thumbs up. If you have the funds to invest in multivitamins with more focused and traceable ingredients, then this brand is a solid choice.
Ritual Promotions & Discounts
I did a deal hunt for this Ritual vitamins review, but the pickings are slim. Ritual has a Military Discount for all military service members, their dependents, and veterans for 20% off their first 6 bottles.
There is currently no Ritual vitamin promo code, but check their site regularly for promotions.
Where to Buy Ritual
Ritual multivitamins can be purchased on their website, ritual.com. Ritual products were on Amazon at one point, but are currently not available.
FAQ
Are Ritual Multivitamins FDA-Approved?
The FDA doesn’t approve dietary supplements by law. Ritual products are manufactured in accordance with the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs). Ritual also completes third party lab testing for heavy metals, microbes, allergens, and other contaminants.
How Long do Multivitamins Take to Work?
Our Ritual vitamins review found that this is one of the most common questions on the internet (when it comes to vitamin supplements, anyway). Experiencing the results of multivitamins is a long game, according to Ritual:
“Water-soluble nutrients (like Iron, Magnesium, Folate, B12 and Boron) get to work to help support your cells, blood, and more, while fat-soluble nutrients (like Omega-3 DHA, vitamins D3, K2 and E) may take longer. All in all, it can take 3-4 months for your body to reach a new equilibrium.”
Do Multivitamins Expire?
Vitamins don’t expire in the traditional sense, according to Healthline. Rather than becoming unsafe to ingest, they become less potent over time.
What Is the Difference Between Folate and Folic Acid?
This question relates to Ritual’s prenatal multivitamin. Folate is the generic name for a type of B vitamin found naturally. Folic acid is a manmade version sold as supplements and added to some fortified foods. According to WebMD, folic acid vs folate have the same effects.
Ritual Shipping Policy
Ritual ships within the US and the only fees are related to handling (so technically, their free shipping claim is still true). Strangely, shipping and delivery estimates are not provided on the site or in their Terms of Service.
Essentially all the terms says is that Ritual cannot be held responsible for shipment delays or failure due to circumstances “including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargos, acts of civil or military authorities” … I think you get the point.
Ritual Return Policy
Ritual has a satisfaction guarantee, so if you’re not happy with the vitamins, they’ll refund your first order in full. No questions asked, no return necessary. Any other return inquiries can be directed to my@ritual.com.
Cancel Ritual Subscription
Each month, your subscription automatically continues on a Renewal Commencement Date. You can cancel your subscription prior to the Renewal Commencement Date by logging into Ritual, visiting the Account Settings page, and selecting Change/Cancel Membership. Note that you will be sent outstanding vitamin supplements if you cancel after the Renewal Commencement Date.
Contact Ritual
If you have questions we didn’t cover in this Ritual vitamins review, you can reach out to the team via:
- Contact form on their website
- Email: my@ritual.com
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