Hi Jenny! We understand and respect that choosing vegan products is an important value for many people, and we want to share some insight into why we chose bovine gelatin for our vitamin d3 potency+ softgels.
Our top priority is always to deliver a supplement that is effective, safe, and stable — and unfortunately, with certain fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin D3, vegan capsule options haven’t yet met our high standards for quality. Bovine gelatin creates a softgel that is superior at protecting the delicate oil-based vitamin D3 from oxidation and moisture, which ensures its potency and shelf life. Vegan alternatives in this particular case, such as plant-derived capsules, would possibly allow leakage or degradation of the oil contents over time, which compromises both the quality of the product and your experience.
That said, we share your concern for sustainability and animal welfare. We source our bovine gelatin responsibly, and we continue to monitor innovations in plant-based capsule technology — as soon as a vegan option meets our standards for stability, safety, and efficacy, we’ll gladly explore it.
We value your perspective and hope this helps clarify why we made this choice at this time — always with the intent of providing the best possible product for our customers’ health.
You'll find plenty of vegan and vegetarian options in our supplements+ portfolio that we also hold the same standard of quality, efficacy, and potency to. All the best. - mindbodygreen