Citruslabs

Citruslabs is a clinical research organization (CRO) built specifically for consumer health and wellness brands rather than for pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2018 by Susanne Mitschke and Patrick Renner, the company designs and runs IRB-approved clinical trials, consumer perception studies, and randomized controlled trials across supplements, skincare and cosmetics, food and beverage, functional food, pet health, and biotech. Its core proposition is to take a brand's product and goal and handle the entire research process — protocol design, IRB approval, participant recruitment, data analysis, and the final report — then translate the findings into marketing-ready product claims that are reviewed for regulatory compliance and usable in retail, advertising, and packaging. The company positions itself as "where science meets marketing." It emphasizes speed and affordability relative to traditional pharma-oriented CROs: studies start in the low five figures and most wrap in 4 to 16 weeks. Citruslabs reports having completed 600+ clinical studies, maintains a database of roughly 250,000 vetted product testers matched to specific demographics and profiles, and works across six industry verticals. It says it has run studies for brands across more than 20 countries. The founders' background shapes the company's origin story. Before Citruslabs, Mitschke and Renner built MindMate, an Alzheimer's and dementia app used by millions of patients and caregivers. Building a healthcare product exposed them to the gap between rigorous clinical research and the consumer health world: pharma companies had large research and regulatory teams and multi-year budgets, while supplement, skincare, and functional food brands often made claims based on borrowed ingredient data, competitor studies, or nothing at all. Citruslabs was created as a full-service CRO for the brands that traditional CROs tend to ignore — faster, more affordable, and technology-first. Citruslabs is headquartered in New York and operates as a private company. Its services span clinical trials and consumer studies for vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, and functional supplements; dermatological testing and consumer perception for skincare and beauty; taste testing and health-claim substantiation for food and beverage; clinical trials for functional foods such as protein bars, superfood powders, gut-health snacks, and meal replacements; and studies for pet health and biotech products. The company's stated mission is to give every health and wellness brand access to real clinical evidence, not just billion-dollar pharma companies.

Citruslabs was founded in 2018 by Susanne Mitschke and Patrick Renner. The founders' prior venture was MindMate, an Alzheimer's and dementia app used by millions of patients and caregivers. Building a healthcare product revealed to them a structural gap: pharmaceutical companies had large research, regulatory, and budget resources, while consumer health brands — supplement companies, skincare brands, functional food startups — often made product claims based on borrowed ingredient data, competitor studies, or nothing at all. Citruslabs was created to close that gap as a full-service clinical research organization designed specifically for consumer health brands that traditional CROs tend to ignore, with a stated approach of being faster, more affordable, and technology-first rather than a watered-down version of pharma research. The company established itself as a CRO offering IRB-approved clinical trials, consumer perception studies, and randomized controlled trials, and built research infrastructure that it says brands trust. It reports having completed 600+ clinical studies across every major health and wellness category, assembled a database of roughly 250,000 vetted product testers matched to specific demographics and profiles, and worked across six industry verticals — supplements, skincare and cosmetics, food and beverage, functional food, pet health, and biotech. It says it has run studies for brands across more than 20 countries. Citruslabs is headquartered in New York and operates as a private company. Its service model covers the full research lifecycle: protocol design, IRB approval, participant recruitment, data analysis, and the final report, with results translated into marketing-ready, regulator-reviewed product claims usable for retailers, advertising, and packaging. Studies start in the low five figures and most wrap in 4 to 16 weeks. The founders have been recognized as 2× Forbes 30 Under 30.

• 2018

  Citruslabs founded by Susanne Mitschke and Patrick Renner.

• Founders previously built MindMate, an Alzheimer's and dementia app used by millions.

• Company reports 600+ clinical studies completed across major health and wellness categories.

• Builds a database of 250K+ vetted product testers matched to specific demographics and profiles.

• Runs studies for brands across 20+ countries.

A full-service CRO designed specifically for consumer health brands that traditional CROs ignore — faster, more affordable, and technology-first, positioning itself as "where science meets marketing."

• Clinical trials (IRB-approved, randomized controlled)

  Full-service design and execution for supplements, skincare, pet health, biotech, and functional foods.

• Consumer perception studies

  Studies capturing consumer perception for product claims and marketing.

• Health claim substantiation

  Regulator-reviewed claims ready for retailers, ads, and packaging.

• Dermatological testing

  Clinical and consumer testing for skincare and beauty products.

• Taste testing

  Consumer studies for food and beverage brands.

1. 1Clinical Trials for Brands | Citruslabscitruslabs.com
2. 2About Citruslabs — Clinical Research Organizationcitruslabs.com
3. 3Citruslabs (United States) — Wikidatawikidata.org