A Review of “Bone Broth Unlikely to Provide Reliable Concentrations of Collagen Precursors Compared With Supplemental Sources of Collagen Used in Collagen Research.”
A recent study questioning collagen levels in commercially made broth has sparked a lot of conversation online — especially among people searching for answers about bone broth for gut health, natural sources of collagen, and whether bone broth is actually different from “regular chicken broth.”
There’s an important detail missing from the study:
Not all bone broth is made the same.
At Brodo, we still make bone broth using traditional techniques that prioritize ingredient quality, long simmer times, and careful cooking over speed or maximum production output. We fill our kettles with roasted bones, organic vegetables, herbs, and filtered water, then simmer everything slowly for many hours to extract flavor, collagen, beneficial amino acids, minerals, and other nutrients naturally from the bones and connective tissue.
Our process is intentionally inefficient by modern manufacturing standards. We end up with roughly a 50% yield of finished broth after cooking and reduction. That means it takes a tremendous amount of ingredients, time, and labor to produce each batch. Very few large-scale broth manufacturers, if any, can say the same.
And to speak to “reliable concentrations of collagen precursors,” we test every batch of broth for protein content — much of which comes from collagen naturally extracted during the cooking process. As the broth slowly simmers, collagen from the bones dissolves into gelatin, which is why our broth develops that rich, natural gel when refrigerated for several hours. That gelatin is a hallmark of a properly made bone broth, and it’s one of the reasons bone broth has long been valued for supporting gut health, skin health, joint health, and overall wellness.
Brodo vs Other Brands
Many mass-market broths are produced quickly and engineered primarily for shelf stability, low cost, and maximum yield. Traditional bone broth production is different. Long simmer times, roasted bones, marrow-rich cuts, and slow extraction are what create the rich body, savory flavor, and naturally occurring collagen that people associate with authentic bone broth.
That’s one reason why comparisons like bone broth vs chicken broth can be confusing. A conventional chicken broth may be cooked quickly for flavor or sometimes it’s even made by mixing water with concentrate – completely devoid of nutrition and complexity. On the other hand a true bone broth is made specifically to slowly extract collagen, gelatin, amino acids, and nutrients from bones and connective tissue.
Brodo vs Collagen Supplements
It’s also important to understand that bone broth is a whole food — not simply a liquid version of a collagen supplement.
Collagen in bone broth exists within a broader food matrix alongside naturally occurring proteins, amino acids, minerals, marrow compounds, and fats extracted during cooking. Increasingly, nutrition researchers are exploring how nutrients consumed through whole foods may behave differently from isolated nutrients alone.
In other words, collagen bone broth is not trying to be the same thing as purified collagen powder.
Bone broth offers something different: a complete culinary food created through traditional cooking methods.
At Brodo, we believe traditional preparation matters. Roasted bones matter. Long simmer times matter. Organic vegetables matter. The cooking process matters.
And ultimately, that’s what separates authentic bone broth from many conventional broths on the market today.
