# The Supplement Label Test: What 'Proprietary Blend' Actually Means Published 2026-04-25 · Max Ninthara A proprietary blend on a supplement label is not a trade secret. It is a federally permitted way to list ingredients without listing their individual doses. This article walks athletes through what proprietary blend means on supplement labels, how the rule works, and why STRIPPIES publishes every ingredient and every milligram instead. Frequently Asked Questions What does proprietary blend actually mean on a supplement label? Under FDA rule 21 CFR 101.36(c)(2), a proprietary blend lets a brand list a group of ingredients with one combined weight instead of listing each ingredient's dose. The ingredients must appear in descending order, but the actual milligrams of each one stay hidden. How can athletes tell if a supplement is hiding ingredient doses? Look for a single weight followed by a list of ingredients in parentheses. If you see one number for many ingredients, the doses are hidden. If you see a number next to every ingredient, the doses are published. Are dissolvable supplement strips required to list every ingredient dose? No. The same FDA rule applies to strips, capsules, powders, and gummies. Disclosure is a brand choice, not a legal mandate. STRIPPIES chooses to publish every ingredient at its exact milligram dose on every product page. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Most supplement labels are not lying to you. They are using a federal rule that lets them tell you less. The rule is called the proprietary blend, and once you know how to spot it, you cannot unsee it. This is the supplement label test every athlete should run before paying for a stack. What Proprietary Blend Means On A Supplement Label A proprietary blend is a group of ingredients listed under one combined weight. The brand names every ingredient inside the blend. The brand does not name the dose of any single ingredient inside the blend. The legal basis is FDA rule 21 CFR 101.36(c)(2). It permits dietary supplement makers to list a blend's ingredients in descending order by weight without disclosing each individual amount. The total weight of the blend gets one number. The pieces inside it get none. That is the entire mechanism. It is not a trade secret protection. It is a labeling permission. What Hidden Doses Actually Cost An Athlete If you are training for a race, a season, or a Saturday round of golf, dose matters. Caffeine at 50mg is a different stimulus than caffeine at 300mg. L-Theanine at 30mg pairs with caffeine differently than L-Theanine at 200mg. Ginseng at 20mg does different work than ginseng at 5mg. When the doses are hidden, you cannot stack intelligently. You cannot avoid double-dosing across products. You cannot adjust intake based on training load, sleep, or how the day is going. You are paying for a feeling instead of a tool. That is the hidden cost of the hidden dose. You lose the ability to control how you feel. How To Spot A Proprietary Blend In Three Seconds Pick up any supplement. Find the Supplement Facts panel. Run this scan. Look for a single weight, like "500mg," followed by an ingredient list in parentheses. Look for the words "proprietary blend," "matrix," "complex," or "formula" before the list. Count the numbers. One number for five ingredients means four ingredients have no published dose. Now compare that to a fully disclosed label. Each ingredient gets its own line. Each line has its own milligram value. The math is on the package. Your Questions, Answered Is a proprietary blend illegal? No. It is permitted under federal labeling rules. It is also a choice. Brands that publish every dose are choosing transparency over the legal minimum. Does a proprietary blend mean a product is bad? Not automatically. It means you cannot verify the doses. For an athlete tracking inputs, that is enough reason to keep looking. Why do brands use proprietary blends at all? Some say it protects formulation. The more honest answer is that it lets a brand load up on cheap ingredients and use trace amounts of the expensive ones without anyone noticing. How STRIPPIES Handles The Label STRIPPIES publishes every ingredient and every dose on every product page. ENERGY lists 50mg Green Coffee Bean Extract for caffeine, 1000mcg B12, 30mg L-Theanine, and 20mg Korean Ginseng. SLEEP lists 5mg Melatonin, 50mg L-Theanine, 10mg Lavender, 10mg Chamomile, 10mg Hibiscus, and 50mg Valerian. No blend. No matrix. No complex. Only we put more control in your hands — every ingredient listed, every dose published, minutes to feel it. That is not a tagline written for the label. It is what the label actually says. Every ingredient listed. Nothing hidden. Every strip. More control. Nothing wasted. Authority Note The labeling rule referenced in this article is 21 CFR 101.36(c)(2), the FDA regulation governing nutrition labeling of dietary supplements. The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements has published guidance on reading supplement labels, including the limits of proprietary blend disclosure, at ods.od.nih.gov. Run The Test Pick up the last three supplements you bought. Find the panels. Count the numbers. If the doses are hidden, you already know what to do. Shop STRIPPIES when you want a label that reads like a label. STRIPPIES — OWN THE MOMENT. ## Source Canonical HTML: . Structured JSON sibling: (full feed). Last rendered: 2026-07-27T14:43:22Z. For more STRIPPIES content, see the [blog index](/blogs/news?view=md) or the homepage at .