I’ve been using Ritual vitamins for three months now. I loved this subscription service when I first signed up, and I do still enjoy it. But my thoughts on whether to keep or to toss this dietary supplement lately prompted me to write this unsponsored Ritual Vitamins review.
Yes, I’m taking the prenatal — no, I’m not pregnant, nor trying to be. But we’d like kids someday, and figured might as well be nutritionally ready sooner rather than later!
Why I Signed Up For Ritual Vitamins
Ritual Vitamins, like any good modern company, has its marketing down pat. They’ve heavily utilized influencers through paid promotions on YouTube and social media platforms to promote their product. I have no qualms with this approach. In fact, it worked on me. I first learned about their product through one of my favorite YouTubers, WearILive. She partnered with the company for a short sponsored Ritual vitamins review, and I actually purchased it. (Which says something — I don’t usually go for sponsored reviews!)
Ritual sets itself apart from other supplement companies in a few awesome ways, which got my cheap butt to sign up for the subscription. I don’t regret it. However, I’m discovering a few cons along the way, which is causing me to go back and forth on whether or not to continue. This unsponsored Ritual vitamins review will lay out my current thoughts on the pros & cons. Hopefully it helps you along in your supplement search, as well!
Unsponsored Ritual Vitamins Review: Pros & Cons
Let’s lay out the pros & cons of Ritual vitamins, below.
Pros of Ritual Vitamins
- Ethically sourced ingredients
- Promotes cleanest, purest forms of nutrients
- No “Nutrient Stuffing”
- Everything is beautiful
Ethically Sourced Ingredients
Ritual vitamins prides itself on being totally transparent about where and how it sources its ingredients. It’s hard to go wrong with a company that is vegan, gluten, allergen, and GMO free, and contains no colors or synthetic fillers. I love that more companies are moving in this direction, and kudos to Ritual for leading the way. We’re a big fan of natural & ethical ingredients, which is why we try to grow our own food as much as possible.
Cleanest, Purest Forms of Nutrients
This is what they’re promoting, anyway! Again, props to Ritual. The overwhelming majority of consumers are calling for cleaner, natural ingredients, and we appreciate them answering the call. Let’s call a spade a spade here, though — the vast majority of us don’t really know what this means. For those of us who aren’t biochemists, we’re pretty much just assuming there is as big a difference as the company says there is.
I can say that there appears to be a pretty big difference between Folate and Folic Acid, which is what most women take a prenatal for, anyway. Ritual appears to be one of the few supplements that uses folate, which is absorbed better than folic acid by as many as 40% of women. For the record, you can get plenty of folate by taking in enough leafy greens and veggies, too.
No “Nutrient Stuffing”
I’m not sure why we always assumed it was a good idea to be taking over 500% of our daily value of certain vitamins in a tiny pill. Perhaps because it is okay? But is it, really? While health professionals regularly assure us that there isn’t any threat in consuming extra water-soluble vitamins, something about it doesn’t feel right, does it? I like that Ritual doesn’t “stuff” their supplements with absurd dosages. In fact, this is what turned me onto it in the first place.
Everything Is Beautiful
Y’all, I’m head-over-heels in love with Ritual’s branding. Whoever they hired to do their marketing deserves an award. I love the clean, modern design that still somehow maintains a natural, earthy feel. Everything from their website to the packaging to the pills themselves are all beautiful to look at & absorb. Even the taste is fresh! They’ve made multivitamins an aesthetic experience, where there never was one before.
Cons of Ritual Vitamins
- Price isn’t for the faint of heart.
- More orders = more packaging & transit.
- They ship only the exact number of pills you need.
- Discounts are for new users only.
Price Isn’t For The Faint Of Heart
It wouldn’t be a full Ritual vitamins review if I didn’t point out the fact that this supplement averages out to about $1 a day, or more. (Around $35/month) A dollar a day for supplements is going to be outside the budget of many Americans. Especially when compared to most other vitamins, even with a similar “natural” approach, Ritual is certainly on the luxury-end of the price spectrum.
I’ve been eyeing these Rainbow Light vitamins instead, which are less than a third of the price. Granted, I haven’t tried them yet, but they seem to hold many of the same values as Ritual, without quite as “pretty” of branding. (Although they do appear to use folic acid instead of folate, which isn’t preferable…)
More Orders = More Packaging & Transit
I love that Ritual is conscious of its packaging materials and environmental impact. They use recyclable materials for bottles and flyers, which is awesome. But one must beg the question — despite the recyclable materials, does a product that has to be re-delivered every 30 days really have a lower impact than one that can be purchased in bulk, and last each consumer months? I truly don’t know the answer, but it wouldn’t be an unbiased Ritual vitamins review if I didn’t at least ask the question.
We grow our own vegetables, flowers, and eggs right in our own backyard to reduce our carbon footprint. I’d love for Ritual to release a study showing exactly how their subscription service really is more environmentally friendly, outside of just using recyclable materials, since one can only imagine there are more fossil fuels involved with a monthly subscription. I know they’re on the right track!
They Ship Only Exact Pills Needed
This was the first thing that made me re-think my Ritual subscription and consider writing a Ritual vitamins review. Because I took this multivitamin each day, I had none leftover when the next bottle arrived. I mean, literally zero on the day the next order was delivered. This makes me nervous. The postal system loses packages all the time, even when everything is running smoothly. Especially now that half the country is shutting down over Covid-19, I’m just not comfortable with a company that only gives you just enough to last until the next purchase.
Now, this may be intentional. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ritual’s ingredients are so fresh that they can’t be stored for more than 30 days. I can’t find this info anywhere, so I don’t know. But in uncertain times like these, when the postal system is becoming overwhelmed and the economy is crashing, I’m just not sure I’m comfortable on a product that requires every system to run perfectly to a T for a consistent prenatal.
Discounts Are For New Customers Only
I know, I know. This is just how the commerce world works right now. It’s nothing new and nothing to specifically bash Ritual. I got a discount code from WearILive when I signed up for my first bottle, but it does not appear that Ritual runs any sales outside of the first purchase. I wish there were some sort of a loyalty program (buy 20 bottles get 1 bottle free type-thing?). If you’re budget-conscious like we are, this part of the Ritual vitamins review can be a tad of a turn-off. Especially when other vitamin companies go on sale from time to time at brick & mortar retailers.
What do unbiased health professionals make of a Ritual Vitamins review?
I sat down with a new personal training client the other day who is a pharmacist. She’s awesome — her diet is the most on-point I’ve ever seen, she keeps up with a regular fitness regimen, and she is in fantastic shape for anyone — nonetheless for someone over 40 with 3 kids! I asked, as a pharmacist, if she takes a multivitamin. She vigorously shook her head “no”, and replied that she is adamant about getting nutrients from food. I know, I know, I replied, but do we really? A quick review of her diet and the massive amounts of vegetables she eats revealed — yes, she really does. It just takes a little extra work.
I then asked her about Ritual, specifically. She hadn’t heard of it, but said she would give it a look-over if I sent her the info. I did, and she reviewed the product. She pretty much just replied that she doesn’t see anything in the product that she’d consider harmful, but that it still didn’t change her view on preferring to get the nutrients from food. This view may not be for everyone, but if they didn’t change her mind and our diets are so similar, I figured the reason my mind was changed was more due to the marketing, than anything.
Ritual Vitamins Review, In Summary
Long story short, Ritual appears to be a luxury product. In other words, if you want to justify the extra cost, you probably have to accept that you’re likely paying more for an experience than for an exceedingly superior product. We all know that there are plenty of crap supplements out there — I definitely don’t recommend just going out and buying bottom-shelf options. The extra cost of Ritual appears to come into play in the gorgeous (and I mean gorgeous) marketing, freshest ingredients possible, and automated refill system. If you have the extra room in your budget, it doesn’t appear to cause any harm.
But if you’re looking for a “miracle pill” that will suddenly infuse you with energy and clear your mind, you’ll still have to wait a while longer for that to come out. For this Ritual vitamins review, in my experience taking Ritual for 3 months, the biggest impact on my energy level, mood, and sleep has been my dedication to a clean diet and exercise regimen, alone. Of course, the pretty pills along the way haven’t hurt, and the lovely experience means I actually started taking them!
Have you tried Ritual vitamins? What was your experience? If not, which multivitamins do you love?
Disclaimer: We’re not professionals or experts on this topic, so all we can do is share our own personal experience in hopes that it helps you in your journey! We always recommend consulting with the pros directly.