About The Wellness Watch

The Wellness Watch is a consumer investigation desk covering the supplement industry. We read what brands hope you won't — the fine print, the return policies, the ingredient forms — and report what we find in plain English.

The desk is run by Laura Bennett, a consumer-affairs writer who spent years covering subscription traps and billing practices before turning to the wellness aisle, where the fine print is smaller and the promises are bigger.

What an investigation looks like

• We start as customers. Every investigation begins from the public-facing experience: the ads, the checkout flow, the policies a buyer actually agrees to.
• Documents over statements. Terms of service, refund windows, label photographs — if it isn't written down somewhere, we say it's unverified.
• Findings, not vibes. Each report lists its key findings up front. Where a brand does something right, that gets reported too — an investigation that only ever finds fault isn't investigating, it's campaigning.

Independence

The Wellness Watch does not accept payment from the brands it covers, and companies never see findings before publication. Spot something we should look into? Send a tip.