Why is VITALOILS1000 higher priced than other fishoil OMEGA-3 Supplements?

VitalOils1000 is successfully selling on the US market since over 20 years and still today is one of the very few top premium fish oil omega-3 DHA supplements with IFOS 5-Star rating.

IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards) certification is issued by an independent Canadian, highly specialized laboratory that analyzes and certifies fish oil products based on the highest quality, safety and purity standards in the world.

Only the very best, premium fish oil/omega-3 supplements achieve the best possible 5-Star IFOS rating. VitalOils1000 is one of them!

Yes, especially if you produce small batches like VitalRemedyMD.

The costs for the complex analysis and certification add up in our case to about $0,60 per package. Of course, we could stop sending our new produced batches of VitalOils1000 for IFOS certification and lower our prices, but we strongly believe we should show the exceptional quality, purity and concentration of our products to our customers.

This creates credibility and trust in our brand. For our customers the IFOS 5-Star certification gives peace-of-mind, knowing that they are purchasing a tested product of highest quality.

There are many reasons why VitalRemedyMD has so many loyal customers – one of them is our IFOS certification.

During my time as CEO in VitalRemedyMD there is one question that continuously comes up: 

Why are the VitalOils1000 capsules more expensive than other fish oil capsules on the market?

Let me try to explain.

VitalOils1000 only uses fish oil from small fish, like sardines and anchovies, mainly from the unpolluted cold-water currents coming from the Antarctic and passing the shores of Peru and Chile.

The Antarctic is the only place on this planet where no large industrial plants are operative and where the contamination of the ocean-water and thus the fish is very low.

We strongly believe, the lower the initial contamination level of heavy metals, pesticides, PCB´s, dioxins, … in the fish, the better will be the final fish oil quality once all decontamination, refining and concentration steps have been carried out.

Being limited to a geographic area and a limited number of fish species makes our crude oil more expensive than other crude fish oils obtained from not specified fish species in any ocean, no matter how contaminated it may be.

As mentioned above, we only use small fish for our oils.

Small fish do not live as long as large fish (tuna, salmon, cod, …), thus spend less time in the polluted oceans and hence accumulate less of the dangerous contaminants during their lifespan.

Additionally, small fish repopulate very fast within 1-3 years, reducing the risk of overfishing and extinction of these species.

Large fish take much more time to repopulate and therefore sustainability is hard to control with our modern fishing industry.

The omega-3 concentrate inside the VitalOils1000 caps starts with a well decontaminated crude sardine/anchovy oil.

To concentrate the EPA and DHA we need to convert the fish oil into fish oil ethyl esters. Only in this form it becomes technically possible to enrich the EPA and/or DHA fatty acids.

The difference between our VitalOils1000 and other concentrated fish oils is that we do not only use molecular distillation but also Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) to obtain highest EPA+DHA concentrations reaching almost 90% and more.

This is pure “Pharma Grade” oil. SFC is known as the most selective and most gentle method to concentrate fatty acids.

There is no risk of oxidation or contamination with solvents, because SFC works with highly compressed carbon dioxide at low temperature, not exceeding 45°C.

With no doubt the most adequate and premium quality ensuring technology for highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids (5). But the high-pressure SFC-technology is also much more expensive than standard distillation equipment which is reflected in the price of the final omega-3 concentrate.

VitalOils1000 capsules are one of the highest, if not the highest concentrated DHA product on the US market. IFOS certified us a 97.75% Total Omega-3 in our last production batch. See here .

See Table 1 below.

DHA is not only good for a healthy cardiovascular system (1), your eyesight (2) and essential during the last term of pregnancy and breastfeeding (3).

It plays a major role for the normal functioning of the brain, and it is the precursor of the most potent neuroprotector we know of, called Neuro-Protectin D1 (NPD1) (2).

NPD1 protects our brain cells against oxidative destruction, while DHA itself is a very important and abundant structural component of every brain cell membrane. Together, DHA and its derivate NPD1 help to avoid or slow down age-related cognitive decline (dementia and Alzheimer) (2,4).

Table 1

*Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega-Lemon Flavor.

Many people compare the “price per capsule” and then chose the to buy the product with the lowest “price per capsule or count”.

This is wrong.

The amount of oil inside the capsules of the different brands and products is not the same. The concentration of the oils and hence the amount of EPA+DHA inside each capsule of the different products changes with the filling volume.

If you want to compare prices, then compare the price per 1000 mg EPA+DHA.

See example in Table 2 below. If you compare the “cost per capsule” then the standard fish oil is clearly the winner because VitalOils1000 costs 8-times more. But can you really make a wise purchasing decision only considering this value?

To ingest the recommended daily dose of >1000 mg EPA+DHA you need to swallow at least four of the standard fish oil capsules.

Thus, the real cost of the recommended daily dose of >1.000 mg/day is 4 x $0,16 = $0.64.

So, the price difference per 1000 mg EPA+DHA or daily serving is now only twice the cost of the standard fish oil capsules. But for these additional 60 cents per day, you get so much more… a huge difference in terms of controlled safety, convenience, and efficacy 

Table 2

 *average shipping costs of $7.99/unit

• First, the higher concentrated the more efficient are the omega-3 fatty acids. There is a reason why all approved omega-3 pharma drugs contain at least 90% EPA + DHA.
• You pay only for the EPA+DHA inside your capsule, not for all the “other” fats and cholesterol.
• A 90% EPA+DHA concentrate of highest purity manufactured by SFC technology.
• A highly DHA- and EPA-enriched oil not from tuna or salmon.
• Peace of mind through strictest 3^rd party quality testing à IFOS 5-Star Rating
• High quality fish gelatin capsules instead of lower priced standard bovine-or porcine gelatin caps.
• Delayed-release-coating (enteric coating) on each capsule ensuring no fish burps or aftertaste.
• Pleasant and natural vanilla taste on your tongue as you take our VitalOils1000.
• Most hygiene packaging on the market. Not a standard plastic bottle which you open and close, where you poke your finger inside, and keep the bottle for several months. VitalOils1000 comes in a pharma grade blister pack. Each capsule is protected, always.
• Convenient blister packaging for travelling and business.
• The price includes shipping costs. Our average standard 2-3 days shipping costs in the US add up to $7,99 per item.

All the above listed benefits contribute to the manufacturing costs of VitalOils1000. But they also add credibility, quality, purity, efficacy, safety and convenience.

In my opinion this is what a PREMIUM OMEGA-3 supplement must provide.

Yes, VitalOils1000 costs more than some other fish oil capsules – but VitalOils1000 also provides much more.

Nobody questions why a Mercedes Benz is higher priced than a Hyundai. Both are cars – a true premium quality product has its price.

One daily serving of VitalOils1000 costs less than $1.25 per day (shipping included) … your body & wellbeing is worth such investment.

Bernasconi AA, Wiest MM, Lavie CJ, Milani RV, Laukkanen JA. Effect of Omega-3 Dosage on Cardiovascular Outcomes: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Interventional Trials. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021 Feb;96(2):304-313. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.08.034. Epub 2020 Sep 17. PMID: 32951855.

Bazan NG. Neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1): a DHA-derived mediator that protects brain and retina against cell injury-induced oxidative stress. Brain Pathol. 2005 Apr;15(2):159-66. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2005.tb00513.x. PMID: 15912889; PMCID: PMC8095981.

Carlson S. et.al., Higher dose docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy and early preterm birth: a randomized, double-blind, adaptive-design superiority study. eClinicalMedicine, (2021) Vol 36, 100905. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100905.

Sala-Vila, A.; Satizabal, C.L.; Tintle, N.; Melo van Lent, D.; Vasan, R.S.; Beiser, A.S.; Seshadri, S.; Harris, W.S. Red Blood Cell DHA Is Inversely Associated with Risk of Incident Alzheimer’s Disease and All-Cause Dementia: Framingham Offspring Study.Nutrients 2022, 14, 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14122408.

Lembke P., Production Techniques for Omega-3 Concentrates, pp 353-364 in Omega-6/3 Fatty Acids : Functions, Sustainability Strategies and Perspectives. Edited by: F. De Meester et.al. (eds.) DOI 10.1007/978-1-62703-215-5_19. Springer Science + Business Media New York 2013