This is not a sponsored post! If you use my referral link (US or Canada) you will receive $15* off your first order and I will receive some rewards on my account.

*Discount was $15 at the time this blog post was published, but may change.

I will admit it: I was influenced. I kept seeing posts about people taking Ritual multivitamins, and eventually I clicked the link. As someone with a background in science (I have a M. Sc. and I work in clinical research), I am usually skeptical about wellness products and supplements that I see advertised on Instagram. But the deeper I looked into Ritual, I more I wanted to try it.

What is Ritual?

Ritual is a subscription supplement delivery service based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 2016 and is known for its aesthetically pleasing clear packaging and light-yellow multivitamin capsules. Customers are sent a monthly supply of vitamins, and a resupply is automatically shipped every month. There are options available for women, men, and kids of different age groups. Ritual offers a 30-day money back guarantee and the subscription can be canceled at any time. It is available in the US and Canada.

What I like: The Ingredients

I take a lot of care in what I put in my body. I try to focus on eating whole foods, rather than products that are packaged or processed. Why wouldn’t I pay the same amount of attention to my vitamins?

On Ritual’s website, I was able to find all of the information I could have dreamed of on what goes into their products. On their ingredients page they list each individual ingredient with a ton of detail, like where it is sourced, where it is manufactured, and what its function is. For example, the omega-3 DHA they use comes from microalgae and is manufactured in Saskatoon, Canada. They also cite a handful of peer-reviewed research articles related to each ingredient as evidence for why it is an important part of their product.

On top of this, they also ran a clinical study on their Essential for Women 18+ vitamin to show that their product does what they say it does; it was shown to increase vitamin D levels by 43%, and shown to increase DHA levels by 41%, more than placebo. This is important because some dietary supplements can contain ingredients that aren’t actually bioavailable. That is, the ingredients list of a supplement may say that a vitamin is included, but it may not be in a form that your body is actually able to absorb.

What I like: Easy to take

For people who have trouble swallowing pills, you will be happy to try Ritual. The capsules are smooth, not at all chalky, and not too big – that’s why you take 2 capsules every day instead of 1 huge one. The bottles have a mint tablet that takes away any weird smells you may expect from vitamins, making these pills easy to swallow.

If you have a sensitive stomach, Ritual has you covered. They use forms of ingredients that are gentler on the stomach, and the capsules are designed to dissolve later in the digestive tract so they will be less irritating (this also helps with absorption). I usually take these with my breakfast, but I sometimes forget and end up taking them on an empty stomach without any issues!

What I like: Vegan

When researching options, I kept running into the same issue with other brands: they aren’t entirely vegan. Many companies use capsules that are made from gelatin (an ingredient derived from animal bones, ligaments, and tendons) since it has no smell or taste. It is also difficult to find an omega-3 supplement that does not primarily come from fish. Many vitamins may or may not be sourced from animals, and it is often difficult to find the information anywhere.

Ritual vitamins are certified vegan, so there is no second guessing whether they fit your diet. These multivitamins also cover the main nutrients that may be lacking in vegans: Vitamin B12, Iron, and Omega-3 DHA. I used to take 3 different supplements every day, and I wasn’t totally confident that they were vegan. Now I know exactly what I am putting in my body.

What I don’t like: Packaging

This one is a bit of a catch-22. I want a subscription product that is delivered to my door every month so that I don’t have to think about it. But the act of delivering a product to my door every month has a very real environmental impact. Ritual speaks about sustainability on their website, and they use all recycled materials for shipping and for their plastic bottles. But a monthly delivery system means you receive 12 packages per year, 12 bottles per year, and are responsible for a deliver person driving around 12 times per year. I wish that Ritual offered bigger bottles of their multivitamins to help offset this (maybe a quarterly subscription?).

What I don’t like: Price

The pills may be easy to swallow, but the price is not.

My monthly subscription comes to US$ 30 (CA$ 45) per month. That’s way more than you would pay for a generic multivitamin.

Thankfully, there is a 30-day money back guarantee and you can cancel any time. At least the shipping is free?

What I don’t like: You probably don’t need them

The real truth that this multibillion-dollar industry doesn’t want you to know: you probably don’t need to take a multivitamin. The majority of the population gets all of the micronutrients they need from their diet alone. Many people take supplements “just in case”, but more often than not you may be [literally] flushing your money down the toilet.

There are exceptions to this, of course, like if your body has trouble absorbing nutrients or if you’re pregnant. In my case, I follow a mostly plant-based diet which means there are certain nutrients I am more likely to be missing (like vitamin B12). For those of us living in Northern countries, it can be a good idea to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months when our skin sees less sunlight.

Be sure to talk to your doctor before starting any supplements since they will be able to determine whether or not it is necessary for you.

Is Ritual worth it?

The term “worth it” is so subjective that there really is no answer. What’s worth it to me and what’s worth it to you are two totally different things.

That said… Ritual vitamins probably aren’t worth the price for most people. There is a lot of hype surrounding this brand and it’s easy to get influenced, but try to keep in mind what it is that you are paying for. If you don’t care where the ingredients are sourced, don’t have any trouble swallowing pills, and if you eat animal products on the regular… this probably isn’t the product for you.

If you are vegan, I think Ritual is a great option. It’s an all-in-one that includes the key nutrients you should be considering supplementing.

Still on the fence? If you use my referral link (US or Canada) you will receive $15 off your first order.