Table of contents
When considering whether or not to take a collagen supplement, most people will ask 2 questions – does it taste bad, and does it work? And if you’re a vegan, you will also ask whether there is a plant-based alternative to the dubious bovine and marine-sourced broths that some celebrities and influencers seem to want to persuade us all to buy.
Well, as it happens, there is an alternative and in this review of Arella’s vegan liquid collagen we will consider all those questions. In it I describe my experience of using the product, explain why I like it, share my thoughts on its pros and cons, and point you in the direction of some of the research I did to educate myself on the efficacy of collagen supplementation. I hope you find it useful.
Editor’s rating: 4.7 / 5
Pros
- Great taste
- Seems effective
- Competitively priced
- Vegan, and free from major allergens
Cons
- Packaging
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This post has been sponsored by Arella, but reflects Vegan Mum’s genuine opinion of the product.
Who is Arella Beauty?
Founded by Laura Capewell, Arella Beauty is a UK based company that focuses on a select number of beauty and wellbeing supplements that are vegan, sustainable and use ‘clean’ ingredients. They have a good score of 4.7 on Trustpilot where you can see largely positive, genuine purchaser reviews.
What is liquid collagen?
Arella’s individual vegan liquid collagen sachets each contain 30ml (suggested daily intake) of…yes, you guessed it…liquid, made up of VeCollal® vegan collagen alternative, together with a number of collagen-supporting nutrients. The consistency is fairly syrupy – not dissimilar to an old-school undiluted fruit squash, although not as sweet. It tastes very pleasant and because it is already measured out for you, it’s also very convenient.
Vegan collagen can come in many other forms though, often as a powder which you need to measure out and dilute in water, or as a capsule. I personally like the convenience of the liquid sachet and find it much more palatable than the other forms. Some research also suggests that collagen in liquid form is more bio-available, which basically means it is more easily absorbed and used by the body.
The positives
I think Arella’s competitively-priced vegan liquid collagen tastes great, and it’s had a positive and rather unexpected impact on my skin which I describe later. Let’s look at the pros of this product in more detail first.
Great taste
If you want to take a supplement every day for any reason, its taste becomes pretty important because if it’s bad, it can actually put you off taking it. And collagen does have quite a reputation on the flavour front, so I was very pleasantly surprised by the flavour of Arella’s plant-based product. Not that I have ever taken a bovine or marine-based collagen – I’ve been vegan for many years and vegetarian before that, so back to a time when collagen wasn’t on my priority list – but you’ve only got to dig around on the internet a bit to see that its dubious taste, and how to stomach it, is a popular topic!
I have tried other vegan collagens though, and whilst they don’t share the problematic flavour profile of the animal-based products, they can still be, well…collageny – a bit metallic is how my taste buds would describe them. To counteract that, some liquid collagen brands use flavourings and sweeteners to excess which causes them to be too sticky, syrupy, and a bit sickly. Not a flavour profile that I enjoy.
So, going back to being pleasantly surprised, I find Arella’s vegan liquid collagen comparatively tasty. It is a grown-up flavour, not overly sweet, and you do get a hint of the Japanese Plum that underpins it. But it’s worth remembering that you are taking a supplement, not eating something that has culinary aspirations, so I guess it’s a good idea to manage your expectations too!
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Seems effective
It is enormously difficult to judge whether any supplement works, and I’m never terribly convinced by before and after pictures either. With different lighting, a changed angle, or strategic make-up application, the camera can definitely be…well, let’s just say, economical with the truth. Or maybe I’m just a cynic. Either way, I am not going to insult your intelligence with a before and after photo, and you are just going to have trust me on this one.
The first and most important thing is that Arella vegan liquid collagen contains all the right ingredients that research suggests will help with your skin’s signs of ageing. This includes:
- VeCollal® – a scientifically proven alternative to animal-based collagen, supporting collagen production
- Vitamin A Retinol – anti-inflammatory, reduces appearance of wrinkles, treats certain skin disorders
- Ginseng – anti-inflammatory, and may help protect against UV damage and collagen degradation
- Hyaluronic Acid – a key molecule in ageing, and encourages moisture retention
- Vitamin C – perhaps the most fundamentally important vitamin in your body’s synthesis of collagen
Many users have reported improvements in their skin’s signs of ageing and you can also see the results of an independent clinical trial in my Research References below. I have been using Arella vegan liquid collagen for just under a month and whilst I would find it difficult to measure whether my facial lines have improved greatly yet, I have seen a vast improvement in the overall condition of my skin which certainly seems clearer, far less dry, and my pores have shrunk – in a good way! There has also been a noticeable reduction in joint pain – I have a painful knee and shoulder that I sometimes suspect I make worse rather than better by weight training, but it feels much improved. Now I don’t know if that’s the supplement, or whether I really have got better at squatting and lifting(!) but I’ll take it, whatever the reason!
BUT, in addition to all that, I have rosacea – an inflammatory skin condition – and have experienced a very positive (and welcome) impact since taking this supplement which you can read more about in Vegan Mum’s experience below.
Competitively priced
I’ve checked out a number of Arella’s competitors and compared prices where they have a similar product, although I found only 1 other brand whose product seemed to be of equally high quality. The prices below are correct at the time of publishing so are subject to change, and you may also find discount codes that could reduce the price gap a little. However, the cost difference is not insignificant and Arella certainly seems to have a competitive edge on both price and ingredients.
| Quantity | Purchase option | Arella | Competitor |
| 14 sachets | one-off purchase | £32.99 | £45.95 |
| 14 sachets | subscription | £26.39 | £35.95 |
| 28 sachets | subscription | £48 | £64.71 |
So, decent collagen supplements are costly, but although Arella’s product is quite expensive, it is competitive when compared with similar products on the market. And you can use Vegan Mum’s exclusive discount code below to secure a 10% reduction with Arella:
Vegan, and free from major allergens
Arella vegan liquid collagen is free from gluten, soy, and all animal products, and nothing is tested on animals either, making it completely vegan-friendly. Arella state too that all their ingredients are responsibly and ethically sourced, and ‘clean’ – so no fillers etc. It does contain stevia (although it appears to be the smallest ingredient). I’m not overly-keen on sweeteners, but believe that stevia is the least problematic one. You’d be hard pushed in all honesty to find anything nowadays that doesn’t have some form of sweetener in it instead of sugar though!
The negatives
Well, very few products are perfect after all! I mentioned it has stevia in it, but that’s just a personal thing – many, many people have absolutely no issue with sweeteners so I haven’t classed that as a negative. And anyway, sometimes the alternatives aren’t any better. So, in terms of negatives, apart from the obvious price of collagen supplements, it is really only packaging that I have picked out.
Packaging
I guess that in return for the convenience factor of having a tasty, ready to drink sachet, with no measuring, unpleasant-tasting powders, or capsules to swallow, there is an environmental impact. Arella do state though that they use recycled materials – that are also recyclable – wherever possible. And the outer packaging is all cardboard and easily recycled. I’m assuming that it is difficult to find a completely environmentally-friendly packaging material that will hold a liquid, but I’m sure there are people out there that know far more about that than I do…
Vegan Mum’s experience using Arella vegan liquid collagen
:To summarise my experience:
- the packaging is attractive
- free delivery was quick and painless
- I really like the flavour and convenience of the liquid
- I’ve seen some very positive results which I believe are down to the supplement
- I have not experienced any of the side-effects a few people report when they first start using a collagen supplement
Let’s look at a few of those points in a bit more detail:
Packaging
The first thing you notice when you receive your Arella delivery is how refined and classy it looks! There is something about the combination of the pale blue packaging with gold lettering that sets it apart from many other beauty supplementation brands. Perhaps unimportant in the scheme of things, but us humans do like things looking nice and it is strangely reassuring somehow! I just really wish there could be a more environmentally friendly solution to the sachets because they are very convenient, providing a single daily dose all measured out for you that’s so easy to consume.
Flavour
I do really like having a supplement that doesn’t come in a hard to swallow capsule, or in a tub of powder where you have to measure out the dose and dilute it in water first. And I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the flavours of vegan collagen powders either. They always taste metallic to me, whatever flavourings have been added, and by the time I’ve got halfway down the glass I’m ready to throw the rest away.
So, Arella sachets are really convenient and based on my experience of trialling vegan collagen, I think they taste great. They haven’t tried to cover anything up with sickly amounts of sweetener or flavouring and to my mind, have struck the right balance of finding a palatable taste with the fact that you are actually taking a supplement, not a soft drink. And although I have never tried a non-vegan collagen, I am led to understand from those that have that many of them can taste pretty awful. I did notice on a couple of Arella reviews (and it was only a couple) there were complaints about how it tasted, but I suppose that’s very personal, and you can’t please all of the people…well, you know the rest.
Skin improvements
So, onto my next point. I have rosacea, an inflammatory skin condition, with regular breakouts that can end up requiring antibiotics – I even had a period of about 4 years where I was on antibiotics permanently. Luckily, I now have a prescribed topical cream that generally keeps things at bay, but had to use antibiotics again last year to clear one particularly bad inflammation. And then 3 months ago I got another one, but was staunchly resisting medical advice to take more drugs.
That said, I was about to cave a month ago because things had got so bad, I was avoiding going out unless it was under the cover of darkness! But when I got my Arella delivery I thought I would just hold out to see if this collagen supplement would help, and after just over 3 weeks, it does feel a bit like a miracle cure. Whilst it hasn’t gone away completely, the inflammation has reduced hugely, the spots and lesions on my left cheek and forehead are disappearing and my face is generally much more comfortable. All the dry patches have cleared up which is great, and pore size has also reduced significantly.
I obviously can’t say whether it’s the collagen, the retinol, or any of the other anti-inflammatory ingredients that are in the supplement. I can’t even say that it’s the supplement. The product certainly makes no claims about being good for rosacea, but this is actually the second time that I have experienced a reduction in inflammation when taking a vegan liquid collagen supplement. So let’s just say that if I have another outbreak, I will certainly be reaching for these sachets once more!
So in conclusion, aside from my rosacea, I have observed several positive changes in the last few weeks that may be as a result of taking Arella’s vegan liquid collagen, including less joint pain, clearer and more hydrated skin, and the pores on my face are way better too. And whilst my experience isn’t scientific proof that collagen works, on balance, I have seen enough to convince me that it is worth taking.
Discount code for Arella – use WELCOME10 at checkout
Alternatively, Arella is also available to buy from Amazon here.
Research References
VeCollal® in vitro and human independent clinical trials
Retinoid articles from Medical News Today
Hyaluronic acid: A key molecule in skin aging
If you would like to read more about VeCollal® and further research I have done on the efficacy of vegan collagen, see Vegan Mum’s 6 Best Vegan Collagen Supplements UK Guide.
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