Sports supplements seem like a minor sector in democratic supply chain analysis. However, it is a market worth €50 billion annually in Europe and North America with very specific supply chains concentrated in a few countries.
The geographic origin of supplement ingredients matters as much as in any other food category. And there are significant differences between brands. This article analyses the most common ingredients — whey protein, creatine, BCAAs, vitamins — and their democratic origin map.
Whey protein: New Zealand and Ireland are the benchmark
Whey protein is the by-product of cheese manufacturing. Whey quality equals base milk quality. The two countries with the greatest reputation for whey quality are New Zealand (EIU 9.26, full democracy) and Ireland (EIU 8.69, full democracy).
New Zealand has a livestock system based on year-round natural pastures (grass-fed) that produces milk with a higher proportion of omega-3 fatty acids and a superior nutritional profile. Most New Zealand whey is processed at Fonterra facilities (New Zealand dairy cooperative) and exported as whey protein concentrate (WPC) or isolate (WPI).
EIU 2025 — Whey protein countries of origin: New Zealand 9.26 ✓ (grass-fed, world benchmark) · Ireland 8.69 ✓ (Kerry Group, Glanbia) · Netherlands 8.88 ✓ (FrieslandCampina) · Germany 8.58 ✓ · France 7.99 ✓ · US 7.85 ✓ · Brazil 6.94 ✓ · China 2.12 ✗ (low-cost production, questioned quality control).
Ireland is the world's second major producer of quality whey. Kerry Group (listed in Dublin, EIU 8.69) and Glanbia (Kilkenny) are the two largest European manufacturers of sports dairy ingredients. Irish whey has a quality seal recognised throughout the supplements industry.
Optimum Nutrition, MyProtein, Prozis: where their sources are
Optimum Nutrition (ON) is a brand of Glanbia group (Ireland, EIU 8.69). Its Gold Standard Whey — the world's best-selling protein supplement — uses whey from Glanbia facilities in Ireland and the US. ON publishes the origin of its whey on its website: Ireland for the majority of European batches. Democratic profile: excellent.
MyProtein is a brand of THG Plc (Manchester, UK, EIU 8.28). Its whey comes from a mix of European suppliers (Ireland, Netherlands, Germany) and, according to its own specifications, does not use Chinese whey in its products. THG publishes an annual supply chain responsibility report. Democratic profile: good.
Prozis is a Portuguese company (EIU 7.94) that manufactures and sells mainly in Europe. Its proteins come from certified European suppliers. The company publishes certificates of analysis (CoA) for all its products and is transparent about ingredient origins. Democratic profile: very good for a medium-sized company.
Creatine and BCAAs: the China problem
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied and effective supplements. The democratic problem is that virtually all creatine on the world market is synthesised in China (EIU 2.12). AlzChem (Trostberg, Germany, EIU 8.58) is the only significant creatine producer outside China, with its Creapure brand.
Creapure from AlzChem (Germany 8.58) is the only creatine certified with verifiable German origin. It is identified by the Creapure logo on the packaging. All other creatine manufacturers on the world market use Chinese sources (EIU 2.12). If you use creatine and democratic origin matters, Creapure is the only option with democratic traceability.
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, valine) have a similar profile: most are produced by fermentation in China. There are Japanese suppliers (Japan EIU 8.40) such as Ajinomoto for high-purity amino acids, though they tend to be more expensive and are mainly destined for the pharmaceutical market. Some premium BCAA brands specify 'Ajinomoto fermented' on the labelling.
Vitamins and minerals: the most complex map
Synthetic vitamins (C, B, D3, E) are manufactured mainly in China (EIU 2.12) and to a lesser extent in Switzerland (EIU 9.14, DSM-Firmenich), Germany (8.58, BASF) and the Netherlands (8.88, DSM). The vitamins market is highly concentrated: DSM-Firmenich (Swiss-Dutch merger) and BASF (Germany) are the main non-Chinese manufacturers.
Animal-source vitamin D3 supplements (lanolin from sheep's wool) have better democratic traceability when the wool comes from New Zealand (9.26) or Australia (8.96). Vegan vitamin D3 (lichen) comes mainly from crops in the US or Scotland — both with high EIU scores.
In summary: for sports supplements, the key questions are the origin of the whey (New Zealand/Ireland are the benchmark), whether the creatine carries the Creapure seal (the only non-Chinese option on the market) and whether the vitamins are from declared European manufacturers (BASF, DSM-Firmenich). BCAAs remain the ingredient with the worst democratic profile available on the mainstream market.
