Even if you’re not an avid exerciser, chances are you’ve heard of GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe or both. Both of these stores sell products and supplements to enhance your workout, help with recovery, offer meal replacements, aid in weight loss, and more.
These two brands compete for the top spot of the dietary supplements retail stores and both cater to a similar customer base.
So, if they‘re similar, then should you choose one over the other?
You may have seen a GNC in a Rite Aid, and that’s because over the past 20 years, these two stores have partnered, allowing GNC to open their store within the popular drugstore.
That won’t be the only place you see a GNC, which is probably a good thing since only about 2.5% of their sales come from 26% of their stores. There are over 2,300 locations in the United States, and in 2019, all of GNC sales combined brought in over two billion dollars.
Although GNC has closed several locations over the past couple of years, they still outweigh The Vitamin Shoppe, which has just over 700 locations in the country. They may have fewer locations than their competitor, but they still brought in over one billion dollars last year.
So when it comes down to business, GNC wins with more locations and profit, but when it comes down to products and customer satisfaction, they’re pretty neck and neck.
Both stores sell quality nutritional supplements for weight management, bodybuilding, and everything in between, but they’re not all created equal.
GNC has stayed popular for decades because they’re known for providing effective and high-quality products.
They have a partnership with NSF International, which is the leading global provider of public health and safety risk management solutions.
This means that a GNC product will undergo NSF's safety and quality verification program, so rest assured their products can not only work, but they can be safe.
GNC relies on quality assurance professionals, scientists, and nutritionists to help them deliver high-quality products the customers will love.
They have just about any fitness and nutrition product you can think of, including fish oil, digestion aids, performance supplements, meal replacements, pre-workout, skin care, protein bars, and more.
Although they sell brands like Optimum Nutrition, Nugenix, and even Girl Scouts, GNC has its own brand of products. A best selling GNC brand product is GNC AMP Wheybolic™ Whey Protein, which you can pick up in store or online for around $70.
Compare that to our WHEY-PRO protein powder, you get the same amount of servings for half the price.
Both products can be beneficial for muscle growth and strength, but WHEY-PRO is loaded with micronutrient compounds to help enhance the body‘s antioxidant defense, and it‘s made free of gluten, lactose, fatty compounds, and other impurities.
With over 500 brands, The Vitamin Shoppe carries plenty of different options for what you‘re looking for.
They put their brands through a thorough testing process to ensure ingredient purity and effectiveness and make sure to have scientific documentation to support their claims.
Their products meet FDA guidelines and strictly follow Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations.
The Vitamin Shoppe has a multitude of multivitamins, proteins, super greens, creatine, cleanses, hair and skin care, and more.
They sell popular brands like Celsius energy drinks and Garden of Life probiotics, but The Vitamin Shoppe and Vthrive brand is their own.
One of the best selling Vitamin Shoppe products is Vitamin D3 - Immune Support & Bone Health, which helps promote natural immune system and bone health through vitamin D.
Compare that to ONE+ Daily Vitamin which includes not only Vitamin D, but 22 different vitamins and minerals to provide wellness support, reduce stressors, and help your body function at its best.
Both GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe serve customers who have overall health and wellness in mind.
However, GNC does have more of a sports nutrition reputation, and Vitamin Shoppe is more associated with overall wellness support.
Neither of them are completely one or the other, but customers may flock to a certain one due to brand, convenience, or satisfaction.
If you‘ve read online reviews, you know that they can be helpful when making purchase decisions.
According to Consumer Affairs, GNC has an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
A large majority of the low reviews were due to poor shipping speed or bad customer service, but their product taste and effectiveness seemed to typically receive higher stars.
GNC does offer same-day delivery for some areas, free shipping over $49, and a 30 day money-back guarantee. They also frequently have sales on their products for holiday or other promotions.
Vitamin Shoppe is rated 3.7 out of 5 stars on Consumer Affairs, and like GNC, many of the low reviews are concerns about shipping speed or customer service.
You can easily find coupons, and they claim products typically ship within two days of placing the order.
Their return policy is 30 days, and you can return it to any Vitamin Shoppe store or mail it in.
You can find plenty of 5 star reviews on our website, but even on Amazon, the average star rating is 4.1 out of 5 stars. You can accredit this to the high-quality and effective products, not to mention great tasting, unique flavors like Blueberry Kiwi Charged-AF.
In our products, we only use 100% science-backed ingredients sourced from the United States, so you don‘t have to worry about what you‘re putting into your body.
We strive to put a face to the name of Steel and work to prove that through our customer service. You can find great reviews about positive customer service experiences on our website and through customers on Amazon.
Depending on what you‘re looking for, either GNC or The Vitamin Shoppe could be a viable choice.
GNC can be considered more popular because it has more locations, sales, and customers, but The Vitamin Shoppe is close behind.
For more sports nutrition and performance, GNC may be a better choice because they may have more options for serious bodybuilders and athletes.
For overall health and wellness, The Vitamin Shoppe can be beneficial because they offer plenty of products that support immune health.
Both have a low customer service rating, so if you‘re looking for faster, more positive customer support, Steel Supplements could be the best choice. The 100% backed by science ingredients also help ensure you‘re getting the highest quality and safest option for pre-workouts, post workouts, immune support, weight management, muscle building, focus, sleep, and more.
Nutrition is a huge part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and supplements can help enhance it. Whether you need an extra boost for your workout, a way to accelerate recovery, or more support for your immune system, you can find it through supplements at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, and Steel.
