The Clinical Research Organization Built Around Ingredients and Consumer Products

We design and run the clinical and consumer studies that turn your ingredients and finished products into substantiated, defensible, on-shelf claims.

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[TRUST BAR: studies completed | participants enrolled | active client brands | client logo strip]

What is a Clinical Research Organization?

A clinical research organization (CRO) is a specialized partner contracted by ingredient suppliers, consumer brands, and product developers to design, manage, and execute the studies needed to evaluate a product's efficacy, safety, and consumer experience.

For ingredient suppliers, that often means generating the clinical evidence that lets brand customers say something specific and defensible about your active: it improves sleep, supports joint comfort, smooths skin, eases digestion. For CPG brands, it means the clinical and consumer studies that move a product from formulation to substantiated, FTC-defensible, on-shelf claims.

A CRO's role typically includes:

Study design and protocol development
IRB submission and regulatory strategy
Participant recruitment and screening
Clinical monitoring and study management
Biostatistics, data analysis, and reporting
Claim substantiation packages

People Science is a CRO purpose-built for this work. Our specialty is ingredients and consumer products, with deep capability across structure/function claims, consumer perception studies, in-use studies, and rigorous clinical trials.

[VISUAL: Lab to Label infographic, ingredient to study to claimed product]

How We Help Clients Build Evidence

Whether you're validating a new ingredient or substantiating a finished-product claim, we bring the right study to the right question.

Clinical Trials. Randomized, controlled studies designed to deliver the rigorous evidence FDA, FTC, and NAD expect.

Consumer Perception Studies. Real-world studies that capture how consumers experience your product, with validated questionnaires and defensible methodology.

Ingredient Substantiation. Clinical evidence packages purpose-built for ingredient suppliers, structured for brand customer commercialization.

In-Use and Sensory Studies. Home-use trials, sensory panels, and product experience studies for cosmetics, personal care, OTC, and functional food.

Claims Strategy and Consulting. Help deciding which claims to chase, which methodology will support them, and where the regulatory pitfalls live.

Regulatory and Scientific Support. FDA, FTC, NAD, and DSHEA fluency baked into every study.

Why Brands and Ingredient Suppliers Choose People Science

We aren't a generalist CRO that takes consumer work on the side. This is the work.

Claims and Consumer Expertise

Most CROs are built around drug development. We're built around the claims, ingredients, and consumer experiences that drive supplement, functional food, cosmetic, and OTC categories. [STAT NEEDED: claims substantiated | consumer perception studies completed]

Speed That Matches Your Launch Calendar

Ingredient and consumer-product timelines move faster than pharma. We've designed our protocols and recruitment around that reality. [STAT NEEDED: median study startup time | percent on or ahead of timeline]

Senior Bench, Hands-On

Senior PIs, biostatisticians, and clinical operations leads sit on every project. You get the people who designed the protocol on the calls, not a layer of account managers. [STAT NEEDED: years average senior team experience]

Defensible by Design

Every study is built to survive FDA, FTC, and NAD scrutiny. We bake regulatory considerations into the protocol from day one. [STAT NEEDED: regulatory submissions supported | NAD challenges defended]

Categories We Know Inside-Out

From the actives to the finished product, our team brings category-specific science to every study.

Dietary Supplements (vitamins, minerals, botanicals, sports nutrition)
Functional Foods and Beverages
Cosmetics and Personal Care
Skincare and Topicals
Oral Care
OTC and Self-Care
Pet Health and Nutrition
Medical Foods and Functional Nutrition

From First Conversation to Final Report

A clear, predictable process so you always know what's next.

Step 1: Discovery and Study Design. We start with the claim or question you're trying to answer.

Step 2: Protocol, IRB, and Regulatory Strategy. Protocol finalization, IRB approval, regulatory positioning of the final claim.

Step 3: Recruitment and Screening. Right participants, fast. Diversity, demographic balance, and inclusion built in.

Step 4: Study Execution and Monitoring. Hands-on operations, real-time monitoring, regular client check-ins.

Step 5: Analysis, Reporting, and Substantiation Package. Biostatistical analysis and a substantiation package built for whoever's reviewing it next.

Trust Signals

[STATS NEEDED, full-width band: studies completed | participants enrolled | product categories supported | combined senior team years]

Real Studies, Real Outcomes

A few examples of what defensible evidence looks like in practice.

Mimio: Recreating Fasting Benefits with a Novel Fasting Mimetic

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, decentralized trial. Published in Nature Scientific Reports.

Verb Biotics: Evaluating a Novel GABA Probiotic's Impact on Sleep Quality

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, decentralized trial. Published in Nature Scientific Reports.

Phylos Bioscience: THCV Improves Energy and Wellbeing with Minimal Side Effects

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, decentralized trial.

[CALLOUT: Studies cited in peer-reviewed journals]

Senior Scientists. Regulatory Veterans. Real Operators.

Our leadership team brings decades of combined experience across clinical research, biostatistics, regulatory affairs, dietary supplement and cosmetic R&D, and consumer product development. PhDs, MDs, RDs, and former regulators sit on our bench, and they're on every project.

When you call us, you talk to the scientist who designed your study, not a layer of account management.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a clinical research organization actually do? A CRO is hired to design, manage, and execute the studies a brand or ingredient supplier needs to evaluate a product's efficacy, safety, and consumer experience.

How is People Science different from a traditional pharma CRO? Traditional CROs are built around pharmaceutical drug development. People Science is built around ingredient suppliers and consumer product brands.

What kinds of studies do you run? Randomized controlled clinical trials, consumer perception studies, in-use and sensory studies, ingredient substantiation studies, home-use trials, and bridging studies.

How long does a typical study take? Consumer perception studies: 8 to 12 weeks. Clinical efficacy studies: 12 to 24 weeks of in-study time, plus design, recruitment, and analysis.

Do you work with both ingredient suppliers and finished-product brands? Yes. Roughly half our work is for ingredient suppliers building evidence packages, the other half is for CPG brands substantiating claims.

What is the difference between a clinical study and a consumer perception study? A clinical study measures objective outcomes against a control. A consumer perception study captures subjective experience using validated questionnaires.

Will the studies hold up under FDA, FTC, or NAD scrutiny? Yes, and we design them with that in mind from day one.

How do I get started? A 30-minute call with one of our study designers. Bring your claim, your product or ingredient, and your timeline.

Keep Reading

How to Choose a CRO for Consumer Product Studies
Structure/Function vs. Health Claims: A Side-by-Side Guide [links to Page 2]
Decentralized Studies for Consumer Brands [links to Page 3]
Claim Substantiation Checklist (downloadable PDF)

Ready to Build the Evidence Behind Your Product?

Free 30-minute consultation. Bring the claim, the ingredient, or the product. We'll bring the methodology.