Methodology

How we rank UK collagen brands

PeptideClear ranks UK-available collagen supplements across the four sub-categories: hydrolysed marine, hydrolysed bovine, undenatured Type II (UC-II), and vegan precursor blends. Different criteria apply within each sub-category because the products serve different goals at different dose units.

Inclusion criteria (mandatory floor)

· UK availability via at least one major UK retailer (Cult Beauty, LookFantastic, Boots, Holland and Barrett, Amazon UK, or direct UK shipping).
· FSA-compliant labelling (no medicinal claims).
· Declared dose per serving in grams (Type I) or milligrams (UC-II).
· Source declared (marine, bovine, porcine, vegan precursor).

Ranking criteria for Type I (hydrolysed)

Dose per serving (30%): 10g+ is the evidence-base target (Shaw 2017 used 15g).
kDa molecular weight (15%): lower kDa absorbs better; 2 to 3 kDa is the benchmark for marine.
Source transparency (15%): wild-caught North Atlantic or audit-chain grass-fed bovine score top.
Third-party testing (15%): publishing or making available heavy-metals and purity tests.
Price per effective gram (15%): normalised to a 10g/day comparable cost.
Format breadth (10%): powder available at minimum; capsules and RTD as supplementary.

Ranking criteria for UC-II (Type II)

· Standardised dose at 40 mg/day UC-II (not Type I dose units).
· Source from chicken sternum cartilage with manufacturer named.
· Single-ingredient products score higher than multi-ingredient joint blends where UC-II is one of several actives.

Ranking criteria for vegan precursor blends

· Honest framing: vegan products do not contain collagen, they contain precursors.
· Lysine + proline + glycine plus vitamin C is the evidence-aligned minimum.
· Brands marketing "vegan collagen" without that distinction are excluded.

What we explicitly do not measure

· Skincare results from individual users (industry-funded RCTs vs independent meta-analyses dominate the evidence base; rankings stay on inputs, not output claims).
· "Premium positioning" beyond what is documented in source and testing.
· Brand celebrity endorsements.

Refresh cadence

Annual refresh, with mid-year update for material product changes (dose change, source change, new format launches).

Legal and Registration

Registered in England and Wales. Company number 16833937. D‑U‑N‑S 234324824. ICO registered, reference ZC151816 (certificate, verify). Registered supplier on the UK Government's Find a Tender Service (FTS). Details publicly available via Companies House and OpenCorporates. Registered office: Cust Hall, Toppesfield, Halstead, Essex, CO9 4EB. Contact: [email protected].