Reference Guide
A quick reference to the data sections and metrics you'll encounter when viewing an ingredient profile in Signals.
The "front door" of an ingredient profile—essential identity and classification data.
Name & Common Names
The canonical name for the ingredient plus 2–4 alternative names or aliases consumers might use.
Ingredient Type
Primary classification (e.g., Vitamins, Minerals, Botanicals, Probiotics, Amino Acids, etc.) for filtering and grouping.
Benefits & Categories
A curated list of well-established benefit tags (6–12) and broader benefit categories (2–6) based on scientific evidence.
Short & Long Description
A one-sentence summary for quick scanning plus a 4–5 sentence overview of importance, mechanisms, and applications.
Quantitative market data showing how the ingredient is used across products—dosing, formats, and pricing.
Average Dose
The typical dose (in mg) across all products containing this ingredient.
Average Dose by Category
Dose breakdown by product category (e.g., Sleep, Energy) showing how dosing varies by use case.
Formats
Percentage distribution of product formats (capsule, tablet, powder, etc.) for this ingredient.
Average Price
Mean retail price of products containing this ingredient.
Hero Percentage
Percentage of products containing this ingredient that mention it in their name, description, or bullet points—rather than just including it in the formula.
Estimated Value
Estimated portion of product price attributable to this ingredient, based on its share of the formula.
Comparison of branded ingredients versus their closest generic alternative across key metrics. Each value is shown as a percentage difference.
Price
Percentage difference in average product price compared to the generic equivalent. Positive means branded products cost more.
Hero Focus
Percentage difference in how often the ingredient is featured in promotional language compared to the generic. Higher means branded is marketed more prominently.
Sales Impact
Percentage difference in average ratings (a proxy for sales) compared to the generic. Positive means branded products tend to sell better.
A triangulated view of what's being claimed, what science supports, and what consumers believe—for each health benefit.
Claims
Marketing and product-level statements from brands. Includes a summary, sample evidence quotes, and total count.
Science
Evidence from research studies and scientific literature, with source citations (journal, title, URL).
Perception
Consumer demand signals including search trends, trend direction (rising/stable/falling), top keywords, and representative quotes.
Why it matters: True Benefits reveals gaps between marketing claims, scientific backing, and real consumer interest—helping you spot opportunity or risk.
Common co-ingredient combinations grouped by product category, ranked by market traction.
Formulas
Top 10 product formulas per category showing which ingredients appear together. Each formula includes a sales indicator (based on ratings) and sentiment score (high/medium/low).
Ingredient Order
A ranked list of the most frequently co-occurring ingredients within each category—useful for identifying "natural partners."
Sentiment
Aggregated consumer sentiment for each formula (high, medium, or low) derived from product reviews.
A timeline showing how an ingredient's formulations have evolved over time, organized into multi-year windows.
Timeline Windows
Typically 3-year periods (e.g., 2018–2020) showing formulation patterns in that era. Each window has a behavior label like "Simple blends" or "Multi-nutrient stacks."
Behavior
A 1–3 word label summarizing the dominant formulation trend in that period.
Evolution Drivers
The top 3 co-ingredients that define each time period, with a short description of how they appear alongside the target ingredient.
Why it matters: Understand whether formulations are getting simpler or more complex over time, and identify emerging co-ingredient trends.
Cumulative usage data showing how many products have launched with this ingredient over time.
Timeline
Month-by-month cumulative count of distinct products containing this ingredient. The line always rises (or stays flat)—it never decreases.
Trend Score
A numeric indicator of momentum over the most recent 12 months. Positive values suggest increasing adoption; near-zero indicates a plateau.
A ranking of brands that use this ingredient, sorted by market traction.
Brand
The brand name as it appears on products.
Total Ratings
Sum of customer ratings across all products from this brand—a proxy for sales volume and market presence.
Products with Ingredient
How many of the brand's products contain this specific ingredient with a meaningful dose.
Total Products
The brand's total product count (for context on how focused they are on this ingredient).
Consumer complaints and concerns extracted from negative social media posts and reviews, clustered into themes.
Summary
A narrative overview of the main objection themes—what consumers most commonly complain about.
Complaint Topics
Distinct complaint categories (e.g., "Causes nausea," "No noticeable effect") identified from negative feedback.
Prevalence Percentage
Estimated share of negative comments that fall into each complaint category (0–100%). Helps prioritize which issues to address.
Note: Objections are derived only from negative comments and reflect consumer perception—not clinical findings.