Sibu Nutritional Supplement Review

9.21/10

Sibu Nutritional Supplement Review

9.21/10

Quick Overview
  • Difficulty
    Moderate
  • Cost
    Average
  • Trial Period
    90 Days

In 2003, Bruce McMullin founded Sibu after making a trip to Calcutta, India, where he met with an ayurvedic specialist who introduced him the sea buckthorn. For centuries, sea buckthorn has been used as a healing berry and multi-purpose traditional medicine used to increase energy, support the nervous and cardiovascular systems, boost immune health and improve the skin.

Today, Sibu is a successful international company that sells a wide variety of nutritional supplements and skin and beauty products through both its online store and a variety of physical retailers across the world.

Since the company's inception, Sibu has maintained a strong commitment to pure, all-natural ingredients, real scientific research, environmental sustainability and a fair, consumer-friendly business model. This commitment is realized in the form of Sibu's affordable, safe and effective supplements and beauty products, as well as its comprehensive, easily-navigable website.

Sibu offers a carefully composed product line highlighted by unique and affordable nutritional supplements, including Sibu RAW - a bottle of all-natural, 100% pure sea buckthorn.

Sibu is known for offering excellent customer support, and offers a generous 90-day return policy on all of its products. Sibu will even allow you to return up to two opened bottles of its supplements at a time, charging only a 15% restocking fee.

Sibu wisely recommends that its customers try the products for one month before making a return, as virtually all supplements take at least this long to provide tangible effects.

Pros

    • Products extensively researched.
    • Affordable pricing.
    • Lenient 90-day return policy.
    • All-natural ingredients.
    • Reliable customer support.
    • Environmentally conscious company.
    • Positive customer testimonials.

Cons

    • Sea buckthorn may still require more scientific exploration before all benefits are known.
    • Product line dominated by skin and beauty products, with relatively few nutritional supplements.
    • 15% restocking fee on returns.

Quality

Instead of reselling nutritional supplements manufactured by other suppliers, Sibu is responsible for researching, developing, manufacturing, branding and selling their own products. This allows them to control every aspect of the process, and ensures that the quality of the products meets Sibu's strict standards.

Sibu's quality shows not only in their products, but in their website. All of the product descriptions are detailed, and the company's policies regarding payment, shipping and returns are clear and very fair. The site includes an extensive overview of sea buckthorn, with information regarding the berry's traditional uses, nutrient content, scientific research and sources.

Sibu's quality is also apparent in the way they treat those who farm their ingredients. The company only sources ingredients from farmers who enjoy fair wages and safe working conditions, and promotes sustainable and equitable business relationships.

Ingredients

Each product page located on the Sibu nutritional supplement website includes a full list of the product's included ingredients. This takes the form of either a written list or a photo of the product's ingredients label. Sibu makes a point of including only the finest quality ingredients in its products. All of the products are all-natural, and contain absolutely no preservatives, yeast, sodium, gluten, wheat or dairy products.

The key ingredient in many of Sibu's nutritional supplements is sea buckthorn, a berry that has been used in traditional medicine for up to 1300 years. Historically, the first mention of sea buckthorn dates back to an ancient Tibetan healing book known as the Sibu Yi Dian. According to legend, Genghis Khan fed sea buckthorn to his army and his army's horses to improve their stamina and help them recover from combat more quickly.

Today, Sibu continues to harvest their sea buckthorn from the same area where it was first found: the Himalayas. Sibu believes that the rocky soil, high altitudes and adverse weather conditions found in this area create the ideal conditions for growing the most nutritious strains of sea buckthorn.

Clinical Studies and Research

According to Sibu, over 130 scientific clinical trials have been conducted on sea buckthorn. These studies have indicated that sea buckthorn can provide the following health benefits:

  • Improves skin complexion and eliminates acne
  • Improves functionality of nervous system
  • Naturally boosts energy
  • Improves brain function
  • Improves cardiovascular health
  • Rejuvenates cells
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Provides powerful antioxidants

Although sea buckthorn has undergone extensive clinical testing, only the first benefit listed above has been evaluated by the FDA.

Much of Sibu's own clinical research regarding the application of sea buckthorn berries is performed by Marcus Elliot, MD. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Elliot went on to serve as physiologist to the New England Patriots professional football team. He's also served as an injury prevention specialist to the US Olympic Training Center. Today, Elliot works as Sibu's medical advisor.

Effectiveness/Testimonials

The Testimonials area of the Sibu website (found under About Us) includes several postings from customers who can attest to the effectiveness of Sibu products. According to the testimonials, Sibu's nutritional supplements are safe, effective and accomplish their intended purposes. One testimonial is from a woman who describes how taking Sibu supplements improved her mood and increased her energy levels. Another is from a young man who was able to take a Sibu supplement instead of steroids in order to help manage his Chrohn's disease. Most of the testimonials, however, deal with the company's skin and beauty products.

It's also possible for Sibu customers to post their own reviews of the individual nutritional supplements on their respective product pages. Unfortunately, many of the products have yet to receive customer reviews. As such, it's more difficult to assess the effectiveness of Sibu's individual products than it is to gauge the company's consumer reputation as a whole.

Customer Support

Sibu's customer support department can be contacted via email and toll-free phone at 800-710-SIBU. To contact Sibu via email, you can use their embedded web form or send a message directly to the company at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sibu also sells their products through physical stores throughout the world. You can click the Store Locator link located on the Sibu homepage and enter your country and city, state or zip code to find the Sibu retailer nearest you. Sibu is sold in both all-natural specialty shops and major nutritional supplement chains, such as GNC.

Product Return Policy

Sibu offers a 90-day return policy on all of their nutritional supplements and skin and beauty products. The company will accept up to two bottles of the same opened product and an unlimited amount of sealed bottles. In order to return a product to Sibu, you must contact the company via phone and request a Return Merchandise Authorization Number (RMA). After you ship the products back to Sibu, you'll receive a full refund minus shipping and handling and a 15% restocking fee.

Sibu requests that all customers wait 30 days from the time of receiving their orders before deciding whether to return them. This is because the vast majority of nutritional supplements and skin and beauty products require at least a month of use before results become noticeable. Sibu also recommends that return orders be shipped by certified mail with an attached tracking number. The company is not responsible for lost return orders.

Cost

Sibu's nutritional supplements are reasonably priced in comparison to the products available from similar manufacturers. Although prices vary widely between items, a few sample prices give an indication of what you can expect to pay:

  • Celluar Support - 60 softgels, 1 month supply: $29.95
  • Sibu RAW - 2-pack, 16 fl. oz. each: $49.95

While free shipping is offered on some of Sibu's skin and beauty products, the company charges a shipping and handling fee for most of their nutritional supplements. Shipping is based on the weight of your order in addition to your geographical location. You can expect to pay between $5 and $10 for UPS Ground shipping. Shipping upgrades including 3-Day Select, 2-Day Air and Next-Day Air are available for an additional fee.

Summary

Overall, Sibu is an excellent choice for any individual seeking high quality, all-natural supplements at an affordable price. Although Sibu's product line is dominated by skin and beauty products, the nutritional supplements they do provide have received positive reviews from users, and come with extensive documentation from Sibu. For many, the lack of choices will be a refreshing change from the nutritional supplement companies offering an overwhelming product line with little distinction between the actual products.

Sibu stands out among other nutritional supplement companies for a few major reasons. First, they develop and manufacture their own products instead of reselling products made by third parties. Second, they maintain a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, and take extensive steps towards protecting the well-being of their ingredient growers. Finally, they offer an extremely fair return policy, in which you can try the products for three full months while you decide whether you'd like to keep them.