How we investigate and score supplements
Who we are
Fieldnote is a small independent publication operated by Fieldnote Media, LLC out of Denver, Colorado. We review dietary supplements with a focus on checking label claims against the math and materials the manufacturer itself publishes. Our editorial promise: we research each product's public materials thoroughly, we verify the arithmetic behind supply-duration and pricing claims, and we publish what we find, whether or not it's flattering to the brand.
What we check, and what we don't claim to
We do not run our own clinical trials, and we are upfront when we have not conducted a multi-week personal test: inventing a testing diary or fabricated customer statistics would be exactly the kind of misleading practice we're trying to help readers avoid. Instead, every review verifies four things directly: the manufacturer's own published pricing and guarantee terms, the internal consistency of any serving or supply-duration math, whether a quantitative ingredient panel is actually published anywhere in public materials, and general regulatory context (FDA, FTC) relevant to the product category.
Where we reference reported themes from public buyer feedback, we describe them qualitatively rather than inventing specific percentages or named reviewers we can't verify. If a number appears in a review, it either comes from the manufacturer's own published materials (clearly attributed as such) or from a calculation we show our work for, like the day-supply math.
The six criteria and their weights
Editorial scores are a weighted average of six criteria, rated 1 to 5 in half-point steps:
| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Label & marketing transparency | 25% | Whether ingredient amounts, supply-duration claims and other published figures hold up to checking |
| Ease of use | 20% | Dosing schedule, format, and how easy the routine is to keep |
| Guarantee clarity | 20% | Whether the refund window and process are stated plainly and consistently |
| Manufacturing standards | 15% | Disclosed facility certifications (GMP, FDA-registration) |
| Value for money | 10% | Cost per actual day of use, using corrected supply math where needed |
| Bonus content value | 10% | Whether included digital bonuses add genuine, usable value |
Note that our top-weighted criterion is transparency, not effectiveness. We can't responsibly score a formula's likely effectiveness when its ingredient amounts aren't published; scoring transparency directly is our way of surfacing that gap rather than guessing.
Independence and how we earn
Fieldnote accepts no sponsorships, no free samples and no paid placements. The site earns through affiliate links: when a reader clicks through to a product's official store and buys, the seller pays us a commission at no added cost to the reader. Commissions are identical regardless of a review's score. Scores are locked before affiliate links are inserted, and negative findings, including transparency concerns, are never softened for revenue reasons. Full mechanics are in our advertising disclosure.
Corrections and updates
Pricing, guarantees, and published claims change. We re-verify the commercial facts of each review on a rolling basis and stamp every page with its last update date. If you spot something outdated or wrong, email editor@sodapeakreviews.com and we will check it and correct the page.