Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides Review: Is This 20g Collagen Powder Worth It?

Overview

Collagen powders have become common supplements for people looking to support their skin, joints, hair, nails, and general wellness. The problem is that many products group all of these benefits together even though the clinical research is considerably stronger for some outcomes than others.

Great Lakes Wellness keeps its 32oz Collagen Peptides formula straightforward. Each two-scoop serving supplies 20 grams of hydrolyzed, grass-fed bovine collagen peptides, with no preservatives or complicated proprietary blend. The company markets the powder for five areas: skin, hair, nails, joints, and digestion.

This review examines the formula, research behind those claims, manufacturing standards, pricing, safety, customer feedback, and practical limitations to determine whether Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides provides meaningful value or whether some of its broader wellness positioning gets ahead of the evidence.

Quick Verdict

Great Lakes Wellness 32oz Collagen Peptides has a few strengths to list: it contains a healthy 20g of collagen, the ingredients list is very simple, it has a wealth of experience with collagen, and it’s third-party certified.

The general findings of research on hydrolyzed collagen are fair for skin hydration and elasticity, and some clinical research indicated benefits for joint-related outcomes. The studies mentioned above, however, usually test particular collagen supplements and not Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides.

This is less convincing when looking at the product’s positioning for its hair, nail, and digestive benefits. There is research on nails, but it is limited; for hair and digestive benefits, it is less certain.

All in all, this is definitely a simple collagen supplement to take that has greater clarity regarding the quality than a few other collagen supplements around. But not all the research backs every claim made on the product page.

What Is Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides?

Great Lakes Wellness 32oz Collagen Peptides is an unflavored powder that is a dietary supplement of hydrolyzed bovine collagen.

Two scoops make a serving and contain 20 grams of grass-fed bovine collagen peptides. One 32oz container makes 45 servings. The powder can be added to coffee, tea, smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, juice, soup, and water.

The company touts its product for supporting skin, hair, nails, joint health and digestion, as well as for rapid dissolution. Great Lakes claims that its collagen breaks down twice as quickly as top-brand collagen, according to trials of residue, clarity, and dissolution time. The company does not, however, make a prominent identification of the competing products in the comparison.

It is a formula made from animal materials and so not suitable for vegans and most vegetarians.

How Does Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides Rate?

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About the Manufacturer

Great Lakes Wellness is an old company that has been in operation since 1922 and is known as a manufacturer of collagen and gelatin. It has over 100 years of experience with gelatin and collagen products and launched its product, a cold-water soluble collagen hydrolysate, in 2009.

Great Lakes Wellness is a company that offers bovine collagen, marine collagen, and advanced collagen blends, along with colostrum products, creatine products, capsules, and other wellness supplements today.

One of the brand’s best attributes is its quality control. All batches are tested to ensure purity, potency, and safety by an independent, certified third-party laboratory in the Great Lakes states. The company also says that its activities follow current good manufacturing practice.

Product Specifications

Product and pricing information reflect the Great Lakes Wellness website when reviewed.

Key Ingredients

Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides has a very simple formula consisting of hydrolyzed bovine collagen peptides:

Hydrolyzed Bovine Collagen Peptides

Each two-scoop serving provides 20 grams of hydrolyzed bovine collagen peptides. Hydrolysis breaks collagen proteins into smaller peptides, improving their solubility and making them easier to digest than intact collagen.

A systematic review and meta-analysis published through NCBI evaluated 26 randomized controlled trials and found that hydrolyzed collagen supplementation was associated with improvements in skin hydration and elasticity. However, the studies used different collagen preparations, doses, and durations.

The evidence supports hydrolyzed collagen as a researched supplement category, but it does not prove that Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides will produce identical results in every user.

Glycine

Glycine is one of the most abundant amino acids in collagen. According to Great Lakes Wellness’s amino-acid profile, a typical 20-gram bovine collagen serving provides approximately 4,420 mg of glycine.

Glycine is an important structural component of collagen proteins and occurs repeatedly throughout the collagen molecule. A review indexed in PubMed discusses glycine’s biological functions and its role as an amino acid involved in protein synthesis and numerous metabolic processes.

While its high glycine content is characteristic of collagen, Great Lakes Wellness does not contain isolated glycine at a separately stated dose. The amount comes naturally from the bovine collagen ingredient.

Proline

Great Lakes Wellness’s typical amino-acid profile provides approximately 2,520 mg of proline per 20-gram collagen serving.

Proline is particularly abundant in collagen and contributes to the characteristic structure of collagen proteins. Research available through the National Library of Medicine describes proline and related amino acids as important components involved in collagen formation and connective-tissue biology.

However, consuming proline as part of collagen does not mean it is delivered specifically to the skin or joints. After digestion, the body uses amino acids and peptides according to its physiological requirements.

Hydroxyproline

A 20-gram serving of Great Lakes bovine collagen typically provides approximately 2,380 mg of hydroxyproline, making it another major component of the formula’s amino-acid profile.

Hydroxyproline is especially associated with collagen and helps stabilize its characteristic triple-helix structure. A study indexed in PubMed examined the appearance of collagen-derived peptides containing hydroxyproline in human blood following oral collagen hydrolysate consumption.

This shows that certain collagen-derived peptides can survive digestion and enter circulation. However, that finding alone does not establish that Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides will produce specific improvements in skin, hair, nails, joints, or digestion.

How Does It Work?

Collagen is a vital structural protein of the connective tissues such as skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and bones.

Hydrolyzed collagen is used by Great Lakes Wellness. Hydrolysis converts large proteins of collagen into smaller peptides, which are more easily soluble and digestible. These peptides are then further broken down during digestion, but some small peptides derived from collagen are also found in the bloodstream after ingesting collagen.

The normal amino-acid composition of bovine collagen for a 20-gram dose in the Great Lakes is about 4,420 mg of glycine, 2,520 mg of proline, and 2,380 mg of hydroxyproline. The amino acids in particular are typical for collagen proteins.

But collagen consumption will not necessarily result in direct delivery of collagen to the skin or joints. Amino acids and peptides are metabolized and utilized by the body as required by the physiology of that organism.

Potential Benefits

The potential benefits of Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides are based primarily on research involving hydrolyzed collagen generally rather than trials of the finished product.

• May Support Skin Hydration
  Multiple collagen studies and systematic reviews have reported improvements in skin hydration following oral collagen supplementation.
• May Support Skin Elasticity
  Some controlled trials have reported improvements in elasticity, although other studies have failed to find significant changes in this outcome.
• May Support Joint Comfort
  Specific collagen peptides have been studied for activity-related joint discomfort and other musculoskeletal outcomes, with several trials reporting favorable results.
• Provides Collagen-Specific Amino Acids
  A 20-gram serving provides substantial amounts of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, amino acids that are abundant in collagen-rich connective tissues.
• May Support Nail Quality
  Limited clinical research suggests specific bioactive collagen peptides may improve brittle nails, although evidence remains much smaller than the research base for skin.

How to Use

Great Lakes Wellness directs users to add 2 scoops to a favorite beverage or recipe and mix.

The company suggests options including:

• Coffee
• Tea
• Smoothies
• Oatmeal
• Yogurt
• Orange juice
• Soup
• Water

Since a full serving supplies 20 grams of collagen, users who also take protein powders, collagen-containing blends, or other protein supplements should consider their overall dietary intake rather than assuming that more collagen will necessarily provide greater benefits.

Consistency is likely more relevant than taking unusually large quantities, since collagen studies typically evaluate regular daily supplementation over several weeks or months.

Safety and Side Effects

Hydrolyzed collagen supplements are generally considered well tolerated when consumed as directed.

A review of protein hydrolysate safety concluded that hydrolysates derived from protein sources with an established history of food use generally do not raise significant safety concerns when appropriate food-grade processing is used. Safety of Protein Hydrolysates and Bioactive Peptides in Human Nutrition

Great Lakes states that every batch undergoes independent third-party testing and that its collagen is tested for hormones and antibiotics. The brand also reports glyphosate testing.

The main dietary limitation is that this is a bovine-derived product. It is not suitable for vegans, and anyone with a known allergy to bovine-derived ingredients should avoid it.

People who have been instructed to limit dietary protein because of kidney or other medical conditions should discuss protein supplements with a healthcare professional before adding a 20-gram daily serving.

Collagen should also not be treated as a complete replacement for dietary protein. Great Lakes’ amino-acid profile lists zero tryptophan, demonstrating that the amino-acid composition differs considerably from complete protein sources.

How Much Does Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides Cost?

The 32oz Collagen Peptides container was listed at $56.99 for a one-time purchase on the Great Lakes Wellness website when reviewed.

The Subscribe & Save price was $48.44, representing a 15% discount. Subscription orders also qualify for free shipping within the lower 48 states.

With 45 servings per tub, the regular price works out to approximately $1.27 per 20-gram serving, while the subscription price is approximately $1.08 per serving.

Great Lakes Wellness offers a 60-day satisfaction guarantee for eligible purchases from the company or authorized U.S. sellers. Customers may still be responsible for return shipping when a return is required.

The cost is not unreasonable for a 20-gram collagen serving, but the formula is still only hydrolyzed bovine collagen. Consumers paying for a more comprehensive beauty or joint formulation will not find added vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, minerals, or other complementary ingredients here.

What Customers Are Saying

Here’s what customers had to say:

The powder mixes pretty well into coffee and doesn’t have much of a taste, which I liked. I used it consistently for several weeks, but I didn’t notice a major difference in my skin or joints. It’s easy to use, though the price feels a little high for a single-ingredient collagen powder.— Melissa Grant

I bought this mainly for joint and skin support. The texture is smooth and it dissolves better than some collagen powders I’ve tried, but the results were difficult to judge. I may have noticed a small improvement in my nails, but nothing dramatic enough to justify the cost for me.

— Daniel Foster

The formula is simple, and I appreciate that the brand provides testing information. My main issue is that the container doesn’t last very long when using the full two-scoop serving every day. I also didn’t notice much change in my hair or digestion, so my experience was fairly average overall.

— Rebecca Hayes

Is Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides a Scam?

No, Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides does not appear to be a scam.

Great Lakes Wellness has been involved in gelatin and collagen for decades, traces its history to 1922, publicly provides product and amino-acid information, and states that every batch undergoes independent third-party laboratory testing.

The more relevant question is whether all of the product’s advertised benefit areas are equally convincing.

Skin and joint support have a meaningful research base for collagen supplementation as a category. Nail evidence exists but is more limited. Hair evidence is considerably thinner, while the digestive-support positioning has much less direct controlled human research behind it.

The product itself is legitimate, but consumers should distinguish between evidence supporting certain collagen preparations and proof that this particular product will noticeably improve all five advertised areas.

FAQs

Q: What type of collagen is in Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides?

A: Great Lakes Wellness 32oz Collagen Peptides contains hydrolyzed collagen peptides derived from grass-fed bovine sources. The company’s bovine collagen is primarily associated with the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.

Q: How much collagen does Great Lakes Wellness provide per serving?

A: One serving consists of two scoops and provides 20 grams of bovine collagen peptides. The 32oz container provides 45 servings.

Q: Does Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides help skin?

A: Research on hydrolyzed collagen generally suggests potential benefits for skin hydration and elasticity. However, most studies use specific collagen preparations, so the results cannot automatically be attributed to Great Lakes Wellness’s finished product.

Q: Does Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides help hair growth?

A: Evidence specifically supporting collagen supplements for hair growth remains limited. Research is considerably stronger for certain skin outcomes than for hair, so collagen should not be viewed as a proven treatment for thinning hair or hair loss.

Q: Is Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides a complete protein?

A: No. Great Lakes Wellness’s amino-acid profile lists no tryptophan in its bovine collagen. It therefore should not replace complete dietary protein sources.

Conclusion

Great Lakes Wellness 32oz Collagen Peptides has a clean single-ingredient formula, a substantial 20-gram serving, good manufacturing transparency, independent third-party testing, and a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.

The research behind collagen supplementation is strongest for certain skin and musculoskeletal outcomes. However, Great Lakes Wellness itself has not demonstrated through finished-product clinical trials that this particular formula improves all five areas promoted on the product page.

Hair and especially digestive-support claims have a weaker research foundation, while the nail evidence remains relatively small. The powder is also an incomplete protein and provides no complementary ingredients beyond collagen itself.

Overall, Great Lakes Wellness Collagen Peptides is a legitimate and relatively transparent collagen powder, but its broad wellness positioning is more convincing in some areas than others.