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ChecklistAnalytical & quality · VERIFY5 min read

The retailer-readiness checklist

Vendor onboarding is a documents game. Most listings stall not because the product fails a test, but because a required file does not exist yet — or exists in a format the reviewer will not accept. This is the full list, so nothing surprises you the week a buyer says yes.

1 · Identity & label claims

  • Identity testing on every active ingredient — the assay that proves the bottle contains what the label names.
  • Potency results for each labeled active, measured against the label claim with the method stated.
  • Label-claim reconciliation: every quantitative statement on the panel traceable to a test result on file.

2 · Contaminants

  • Heavy metals panel — lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury — with numeric results and the specification each was measured against, not just “pass”.
  • Residual solvents and pesticide screening where the formulation calls for it (botanical inputs especially).

3 · Microbiology

  • Total aerobic count, yeast & mold, and absence testing for specified organisms (E. coli, Salmonella, S. aureus).
  • Results reported per gram with the method named — reviewers reject bare checkmarks.

4 · The Certificate of Analysis itself

  • Issued by an accredited third-party laboratory — ISO/IEC 17025 is the accreditation reviewers look for.
  • Lot-specific: tied to the batch you are actually shipping, not a representative lot from last year.
  • Method, result, specification and pass/fail on every line, with an accountable signatory.
  • Formatted for the channel — a certificate written for internal QA records is a common reason a file is sent back. What a retailer actually checks on your CoA →

5 · Stability & shelf life

  • Data supporting the expiry or best-by date printed on the pack — real-time or accelerated, with the protocol stated.
  • For probiotics: CFU at time of fill, and stability data if you claim a count at expiry. Why fill-count labels fail review →

6 · Channel programs

  • Amazon — the dietary-supplements policy requires testing documentation from an accredited lab (Transparency enrollment strengthens the listing further). Summarized from published policy; confirm current requirements with the channel.
  • Whole Foods — vendor onboarding reviews ingredient standards and documentation against their quality lists.
  • iHerb and specialty marketplaces — each runs its own document review; the file set above covers what they draw from.

7 · The claims file

  • Substantiation on record for every claim on the pack and listing — a compliance desk’s question is always show me.
  • Consumer statistics only from studies designed to produce marketing-usable evidence. When a consumer statistic is usable →
  • Structure/function claims only — nothing that states or implies treatment, cure or prevention of disease. The line, in practice →

This checklist reflects the document sets curí prepares for vendor onboarding and is written for brand and regulatory teams. Individual retailer requirements change; confirm the current list with your channel contact. It is not regulatory advice on a specific product. All programs are designed to support structure/function claims permissible under DSHEA; curí does not design studies to support disease claims.