How ONIC builds products that are scientifically validated, ethically certified, and globally traceable.
Certification Domains
RNS framework
Scoring Methodology
Auditable rubric
EIS-Sourced Actives
Required floor
Assessor Cooling Off
Firewall protection
Every product in the ONIC ecosystem is scientifically validated, ethically certified, and globally traceable. Formulation is where that promise begins. A product entering the ONIC pathway is engineered from the first ingredient choice to meet a published, five-domain certification standard - with every decision documented, every dosage justified, and every claim substantiated.
ONIC's formulation methodology is delivered by the commercial services division (OCS) and is structurally separated from the certification authority (OCA) that later evaluates the finished product. This firewall ensures that the team helping a startup build a formula cannot influence the team deciding whether it gets certified. Formulation proceeds through a disciplined, evidence-led sequence:
Every candidate ingredient is verified against FSSAI Schedule I to VI permitted lists for the applicable product category. Novel ingredients are flagged for prior FSSAI approval under the 2017 Non-Specified Food regulations.
Dosages are calibrated against ICMR Recommended Daily Allowances, FSSAI prescribed limits, and upper tolerable intake levels. Claim-bearing nutrients must deliver a minimum 15% RDA, rising to 30% RDA for "high" claims.
The ONIC AI engine supports ingredient interaction screening, bioavailability modelling, comparative formulation analysis, and AI-modelled stability prediction. AI outputs are advisory only; every recommendation that materially shapes a formulation is disclosed, and the startup retains full ownership of the resulting formula.
Ingredients are mapped to ONIC's Empaneled Ingredient Supplier (EIS) network. A minimum 80% of active ingredients must be sourced from EIS-listed suppliers to qualify for certification.
The stage concludes with a signed Formulation Compliance Report that feeds directly into the Safety Verification and Scientific Substantiation domains of the OCA assessment.
Transparency is embedded in the formulation itself, not added at the end. Each ONIC-certified product carries the following guarantees to the consumer:
Every active ingredient is quantified. Proprietary blend concealment is not permitted. Allergens, warnings, and regulatory designations are verified to FSSAI standards.
Each product carries a unique QR code linking to a real-time verification page displaying the certification tier, validity, domain-level scores, safety test results, and full ingredient list.
Every certified product carries a standardised consumer-facing statement explaining what ONIC certification does and does not mean.
ONIC maintains a searchable public registry of all certified products and a public complaint portal with defined 48-hour acknowledgement timelines.
OCA independently purchases and retests a minimum of 10% of certified products every year, catching drift between what is certified and what reaches the shelf.
Where the ONIC AI engine materially shaped a formulation, that fact is recorded. Consumers and regulators can see exactly where AI contributed and where human scientific judgement prevailed.
An independent panel of consumer representatives, public health professionals, and patient advocates advises OCA on certification standards and consumer communication, with meeting summaries published within 30 days.
Why your formulation team is not your certification team
OCS delivers formulation. OCA evaluates the finished product. The two are structurally separated across personnel, data and systems, and finance. OCA assessors who consulted on a formulation through OCS in the previous 24 months are disqualified from assessing that product. The team helping you build cannot influence the team deciding whether you pass.
Personnel Cooling Off
Separate Databases
Third-Party Audit
The Responsible Nutrition Standard (RNS) is the published certification standard against which every product is measured. A 20-point, five-domain framework translating scientific and regulatory rigour into a single, consumer-facing tier.
Any product failing the contaminant floor cannot be certified, regardless of total score.
Level 1 health claims require a minimum of two independent high-quality RCTs.
Conducted against a published scoring rubric, never subjective judgement.
OCS-OCA firewall enforced by 24-month assessor cooling-off rule.
Concept-stage to pre-existing product, OCS engineers your formula to the Responsible Nutrition Standard from the day it leaves the lab. Engage OCS to begin a Formulation Compliance Report and a clear path to ONIC certification.
Begin FormulationFormulated with science. Certified with independence. Traceable to source.