The vitamin industry is massive in the United States. With nearly everyone, of every age, encouraged to take a daily vitamin, there are a lot of brands battling for the top block. Kirkland Vitamins, an accessory brand of Costco, is a very popular choice among consumers.
As you may well know, Kirkland doesn’t just make vitamins! Back in the 1980s, this little business got its start in the small town of…Kirkland, Washington. The brand grew with Costco as they evolved. Used as a sort of “private label” for the shopping club, the “Kirkland” title is used across a maddening array of product categories. Shirts, water bottles, batteries, cheese…you’ll find it all labeled Kirkland, and you’ll find it all at Costco.
It’s well known that the vast majority of Kirkland products are manufactured by partners, like Starbucks, Duracell, and others. So, to inquire about the production of their vitamins is a very relevant question! Just who makes the Kirkland Vitamins…and where?
Verdict: Are Kirkland Vitamins Made in the USA?
Kirkland Vitamins are manufactured in the US with both US and imported ingredients. We had to do some serious sleuthing to uncover more details on Kirkland’s manufacturing process.
First, we contacted the Costco Pharmacy Helpline to discuss the Kirkland Vitamins. Here is an excerpt from that conversation:
AllAmerican.org: Hi, I’m calling to ask if your Kirkland vitamins are manufactured in the US?
Costco Pharmacist Assistant: Oh, I might be able to help you with that. pause Can you hold, I’m going to get a Pharmacist.
placed on hold
Costco Pharmacist: Hi, I’m the Pharmacist, I understand you have a question about where the vitamins are manufactured?
AllAmerican.org: Yes, I’d like to know if the vitamins and ingredients are made and sourced in the US?
Pharmacist: hm, ok I don’t know if I can find that information…on the bottle, it says “made in the US with US and imported ingredients”
The Pharmacist went on to state that the Vitamins are USP Verified, which you can read about below. However, this does little to tell us about where ingredients are actually sourced. A US verification, including the USDA Organic certification, doesn’t mean that something is made in the US.
Diving into the Kirkland Signature Vitamins web page, hosted by the Costco website, we find this little tidbit of information:
Through this statement, Costco is telling us that the vitamins they sell are not manufactured by them. Inspecting a bottle of one of their vitamins, you find a Vitamin Infoline to call if you have questions about the product.
Of course, we did just that! A quick answer on the customer service line that the number directs to revealed that we were speaking with a manufacturing entity, Lang Pharma Nutrition. Here is the excerpt from that conversation:
AllAmerican.org: Hi, I would like to ask a question about the Kirkland Vitamins.
Lang Pharma: Ok, which ones, because we don’t manufacture all of them.
AA: The Daily Multi-Vitamin.
LP: The Organic one? That is the one we make.
AA: Yes, are the vitamins made in the US? And are the ingredients sourced from the US?
LP: The product is made in the US, yes, we are the manufacturer. Some ingredients are from the US and some are not.
AA: Which ingredients are not from the US?
LP: I’ll have to find that information for you. Because of supply chain issues, we recently had to change the supplier of some of them.
AA: Ok, I see. And you don’t manufacture the other vitamins for Kirkland?
LP: No, We only make the Organic Multi and one other product for Costco. Costco reaches out to manufacturers to make their vitamins for them. They’re sold at Costco, but they put the phone number of the manufacturer of each vitamin product on the bottle.
The collection of Kirkland Vitamins offered by Costco comes from multiple manufacturers. Though this information is difficult to find online, Costco thankfully includes the service number of each manufacturer on their vitamin products.
Popular American Made Kirkland Vitamins
- Kirkland Signature vitamins are manufactured in the US with US and imported ingredients
Popular Kirkland Vitamins Not Made in the USA
- Kirkland Vitamins are made in the US, but may contain ingredients that are not sourced from the US
