How to Read a Supplement Label With Confidence

A supplement label can look like a wall of tiny print, but it follows a predictable pattern. Once you know what each part means, you can shop with a lot more confidence.

The Supplement Facts panel

In the US, supplements carry a Supplement Facts panel — similar in spirit to the Nutrition Facts on food. It's the most important part of the label, and it's standardised so you can compare products fairly.

Serving size

This tells you how much counts as one serving — and everything else on the panel is per serving. If the serving size is two capsules, then a bottle of 60 capsules is really only 30 servings. Always check this before comparing prices between products.

Amount per serving

This lists each active ingredient and how much you get per serving. More isn't automatically better; follow the label and don't assume a bigger number means a better product.

% Daily Value (%DV)

Where a Daily Value exists, %DV shows how a serving fits into general daily reference intakes. Some ingredients have no established %DV, which simply means a reference amount hasn't been set — not that it's suspicious.

Other ingredients

Below the panel you'll find “other ingredients” — things like capsule material, fillers, or flavourings. This is where to look if you avoid specific ingredients or have sensitivities.

Red flags to watch for

• Bold cure-all claims — reputable labels don't promise to treat disease.
• “Proprietary blends” that hide individual amounts.
• Serving sizes that quietly make a bottle run out fast.
• No clear contact details for the seller.

Reading our labels

For our own supplements, full panels are printed on every bottle and summarised on the ingredients page, so you can check the details before you buy. If you're brand new to all this, start with our beginner's guide.

And as always: if you take medication or have a health condition, run any new supplement past your doctor or pharmacist first.

Comparing two products fairly

Labels make sense once you compare like with like. The classic mistake is comparing prices per bottle when the serving sizes differ. Always work out the cost per serving and the number of servings per bottle first — a “cheaper” bottle with a large serving size and fewer servings can quietly be the pricier choice.

Do the same with ingredient amounts. Line up the amount per serving, not the size of the number on the front of the pack. Front-of-bottle marketing is designed to impress; the Supplement Facts panel is where the honest comparison lives.

Understanding “other ingredients”

This often-ignored line matters if you have sensitivities or preferences — it covers capsule material, fillers, anti-caking agents and flavourings. If you avoid certain ingredients, this is where you confirm a product is right for you before it reaches your cart.

What a label can and can't tell you

A label describes what's in the bottle and how to use it. What it can't legally or honestly do is promise to cure, treat or prevent disease — those statements haven't been evaluated by the FDA. So use the label for facts (contents, serving, ingredients) and treat any bold health promise on the packaging with healthy scepticism.

Put it into practice

Next time you shop, run the same quick check on any product: serving size, servings per bottle, amount per serving, other ingredients, and cost per serving. It takes a minute and turns confident-sounding marketing into a fair, apples-to-apples decision. For our range, you can preview all of this on the ingredients page before you buy.