Your Liquid Collagen's Identity Problem

When a $4.78/oz collagen brand can't explain their ingredients but loves telling tales about their founder, something's wrong. Here’s what I found about liquid collagen.

Author

Anastasia Balashova
December 20, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

TLDR: You're paying up to $4.78 per ounce for liquid collagen supplements that might boost your skin elasticity by 40% — if they contain actual collagen. But in this $9.77 billion market, some top sellers hide behind fake founders and mysterious ingredients while established brands face lawsuits for selling imitation collagen. Here's what you need to know before your next purchase.

Disclaimer: I discovered this trend using Exploding topics (I am an affiliate and a long-time fan of this tool), which has become my go-to resource for uncovering under-the-radar opportunities. While the tool doesn’t provide the research that comes with my newsletter, if you're into finding even more trends in all the fields, this tool is definitely worth a look. 

Table of Contents

Liquid collagen sellers: who are they?

A search for "liquid collagen" on Amazon brings up over 1,000 results, with products targeting everyone from women and men to pets, and even special formulations for your morning coffee. Let's look closer at who's actually making these supplements, starting with Amazon's top seller.

The science behind collagen supplementation is solid — dozens and dozens of multiple double-blind studies show impressive results for everything from skin elasticity to joint health. But the liquid collagen sellers? That's a different story. After looking into the top five brands on Amazon, I found a pattern of questionable marketing, mysterious manufacturers, and concerning gaps between promises and proof. Let’s dive into it. 

Zena Nutrition: Pretty promises, puzzling practices

The price of Zena Nutrition at the top of Amazon's collagen listings isn't outrageous — just $1.72 per ounce — but their marketing copy reads like someone fed "wellness buzzwords" into a computer and published whatever came out.

There are claims about "premium globally sourced ingredients" and third-party testing. After searching their website, I couldn't find a single actual test result. 

I wasn’t able to find anything about the company on LinkedIn until I discovered that Zena Nutrition is actually VitaMina Labs — they just redirect vitaminalabs.com to zenanutrition.com (that’s how it works at the moment of writing). 

From there I found that the company's president, Jessica Weinstein, has a solid marketing background from Reckitt and GSK. Still in a team of about 12 people, they've got marketers, social media folks, and customer service reps. What they don't have? Scientists or nutritionists. Anyone who actually knows how supplements work.

Looking at their ingredient list didn't make me feel any better. They start with Verisol Bioactive Collagen Peptides and Biotin, but then add both monk fruit and stevia (why two sweeteners?), preservatives, and something labeled only as "natural flavor." For a company advertising "organic" a lot, they sure seem fond of processed additives.

Terra ELMNT: Transparency with a but

Terra ELMNT’s  liquid collagen is $1.77 per ounce. Their ingredient list looks impressive at first glance — four different collagen sources (bovine, fish, chicken bone broth, eggshell membrane), plus L-Carnitine and hyaluronic acid. And well, that might sound quite good until you start looking closer.

Despite all their talk about "zero compromises" on quality, they've packed their formula with three different sweeteners somehow. They've got cane sugar right next to sucralose, plus some mysterious "natural flavor" thrown in. Having analyzed quite a few supplement labels, this combination seems pretty odd unless taste matters more than actual effectiveness.

Their attempt at transparency gets quite strange too. Sure, they made this whole "Lab Reports" section on their website — but clicking through just shows some colorful graphics saying "tests passed."

 Their LinkedIn page makes things even weirder, filled with pre-workout supplement marketing talk — "🧬Bringing you the NEW standard of Pre-workout" — while their website skips basic company information and pushes discount offers instead. 

Perhaps most telling is the background of their CEO, who appears to have no prior work experience before launching this venture. Combined with their focus on aggressive marketing tactics over substantive information, ELMNT seems to exemplify a troubling trend in the liquid collagen market: lots of marketing polish, but questionable manufacturing substance.

Heivy: the curious case of diminishing transparency

When you pay $4.78 per fluid ounce — which is pretty well triple what other top sellers ask for — you'd expect to at least know what you're getting. But Heivy just puts "Liquid Collagen" on their label and that's it. No source, no type, no amount... nothing.

On their about page there’s the whole story about how they were founded in 2017 by "Stacy" — supposedly a mother of three who wanted to make collagen supplements more accessible. The same “Stacy” who also listed on their link-building materials, like this press-release. I mean when the CEO is mentioned as Stacy, no Surname, surely it makes you think.  After some research, I found out that Heivy actually operates under a different name — Felicific Inc. — and "Stacy" is actually Yanru Lin, who has no background in supplements or nutrition (or anything else) whatsoever.

And the contradictions just keep piling up. For example, they say they're "a U.S. market leader in internal and external collagen beauty and wellness products," but they don't even have a LinkedIn business page. Most of their operations are running from the Philippines, not the U.S. And remember how they wanted to make supplements "accessible"? Well, they're charging four times more than their competitors. I personally will pass on this one.

Nature's Truth: Less hype, still same questions

Nature's Truth comes in at $1.12 per fluid ounce, and they're actually offering the most affordable liquid collagen of the top Amazon sellers (although cheaper doesn’t mean better). And well, they don't try to oversell it — you won't see any wild promises about miracle results, which is sort of refreshing. They're quite direct about their collagen source (Types I & III from bovine), so that's already putting them ahead of some others in terms of transparency.

But — and there's always a but — when you start looking a bit deeper, some familiar patterns start showing up. They talk about having "40 years of industry expertise," which sounds pretty impressive until you check their LinkedIn and see they've got like six employees, and they're all in sales and marketing. No scientists, no nutritionists, no quality control specialists... so you might wonder, as I did, where exactly those four decades of expertise are supposed to be coming from.

Their website is quite something too — it's like they've got a checklist of all the things customers want to hear: "premium quality ingredients," "ethical suppliers," "strict guidelines," and "random FDA audits." They've even made this whole "Non-GMO Pledge" about thorough research and testing. And that's all pretty well and good, except... There's zero proof of any of it. No test results, no audit reports, not even basic certification paperwork.

What's interesting though, is that despite all these red flags, Nature's Truth is probably way more established business compared to the first three. They at least tell you what's in their product, even if the ingredient list is still full of highly processed additions. In an industry where that qualifies as transparency, well, that's saying something about the state of things.

Rejuvicare: finally a real product?

Just when you think you've seen every approach to selling liquid collagen, along comes Rejuvicare with their grape-flavored formula at $1.13 per fluid ounce (I am not a fan of the “grape-flavored” part). You'll find their products everywhere — Walgreens, Walmart, iHerb. And their ingredient list looks refreshingly simple: Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, and Collagen Hydrolysate. But where did that collagen come from? They won't tell you.

At first glance, Rejuvicare's website might make you question everything (at least it made me question everything) — it's barely five pages long with an "About Us" section so vague it could apply to any wellness company in existence. You might wonder, as I did, how such a widely distributed brand could have such a flimsy online presence. Was it a case of poor due diligence? (I’ve seen it a lot lately). 

But some minor LinkedIn stalking reveals that Rejuvicare is actually part of Windmill Health Products, LLC — a company with some serious credentials. Windmill has spent 50 years developing health products and actually employs people with relevant experience (I stopped counting at 50 employees, some with backgrounds in supplement manufacturing and FDA compliance).

Looking through their broader product portfolio, particularly their keto line, shows thoughtful ingredient combinations and formulations. Which makes their approach to liquid collagen all the more puzzling — why not bring that same level of transparency and expertise to their collagen marketing? Anyways, If I’d to buy that liquid collagen immediately (with no more time for research) it would probably be Rejuvicare.

The science behind liquid collagen

While many liquid collagen brands seem questionable, the science behind collagen supplementation is remarkably solid. Let's look at what researchers have actually found — and why you should still think twice about which products you buy.

A recent study of liquid collagen derived from freshwater fish showed significant improvements in skin hydration after just 6 weeks, with participants seeing notable reductions in crow's feet and skin roughness after 12 weeks. The results weren't just subjective — researchers measured actual increases in skin elasticity, and participants reported no adverse effects.

Another double-blind trial found that collagen supplements increased skin elasticity by 40%. The same study showed a 43% reduction in joint pain and 39% improvement in joint mobility. These aren't small numbers.

For athletes and active people, the news gets better. A 24-week study with 147 athletes found that collagen supplements significantly reduced exercise-related joint pain, with particularly strong results for those with knee issues.

The benefits extend beyond skin and joints. Research on specific bioactive collagen peptides showed a 20% reduction in eye wrinkle volume after 8 weeks, with effects lasting even after participants stopped taking the supplement. More importantly, the study found a 65% increase in procollagen type I and an 18% increase in elastin levels — meaning the collagen wasn't just masking problems but actually supporting the body's own collagen production.

And the least goes on and on. 

But here's where things get complicated. While the $9.77 billion liquid collagen market keeps growing, even some major brands are facing serious allegations of deception. In August 2024, Pixi Cosmetics was hit with a class action lawsuit for using Acacia seyal gum extract — a plant-based imitation — instead of real collagen in their products. Similar lawsuits targeted Algenist's GENIUS collagen line for substituting corn, soy, and wheat protein fibers for actual collagen.

And there’s also a $9.2 million settlement by Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare over allegations they sold "fake collagen cosmetic products" containing vegetable amino acids instead of collagen. 

When even established brands risk their reputations this way, it raises serious questions about the industry as a whole. And, well, even more questions about buying that collagen. 

How to choose your collagen wisely?

While the science behind collagen supplementation is solid, the industry and individual sellers need some serious scrutiny. Here's what I've learned about choosing a collagen supplement that's worth your money.

  • First, ignore fancy marketing stories. Whether it's a made-up founder like Heivy's "Stacy" or ELMNT's colorful "lab reports" that prove nothing, these narratives often mask concerning business practices. Instead, look for specific, verifiable information.

  • What’s the source of collagen? A legitimate product should clearly state whether it's bovine, marine, or another source — not just "liquid collagen" with no explanation.

  • Manufacturing transparency: Real third-party testing includes actual lab reports, not just graphics saying "tests passed." Companies should provide access to these results.

  • Does the ingredients list make sense? Watch out for unnecessary additives. When you see multiple sweeteners (like both sugar and artificial sweeteners) in one product, it often signals poor formulation practices.

  • Business legitimacy. Check the company's actual background, not just their marketing story. A supplement company with zero scientists on staff should raise eyebrows.

  • Price versus value. The most expensive option ($4.78 per ounce from Heivy) offers less transparency than some cheaper alternatives. So price alone doesn't indicate quality.

For your safety, avoid products making outlandish claims or those that won't specify their ingredients. Recent lawsuits against brands like Pixi Cosmetics and Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare show that even established companies sometimes substitute cheap alternatives for real collagen.

If you're serious about trying collagen supplementation, consider products from established supplement manufacturers who provide detailed sourcing information and real test results. What you're putting in your body matters. A supplement company that can't be straight with you about basic things like ingredients and testing probably isn't worth trusting with your health.