How To Read A Proprietary Blend Label
A "proprietary blend" on a Supplement Facts label means several ingredients share one combined milligram total, with no individual breakdown.
Here's how to read one, using Tinnoril as a real example.
What a proprietary blend actually is
Instead of listing "Ingredient A: 100mg, Ingredient B: 50mg," a proprietary blend lists a single total (say, "575mg Blend") followed by all the ingredient names inside it, in descending order by weight but without individual amounts.
Why companies use them
The most commonly cited reason is protecting a specific formula ratio from being copied by competitors. Critics argue it can also let a brand include a headline ingredient at a token amount while still listing it prominently on the front label.
What you can and can't tell from a blend
- You can tell: which ingredients are included, and their order by weight (the first-listed ingredient in a blend is present in the largest amount).
- You can't tell: the exact milligram amount of any single ingredient inside the blend, unless the label separately breaks one out.
Applying this to Tinnoril
Tinnoril's label names all 6 ingredients (a transparency positive over blends that hide ingredient names entirely) but places 5 of them inside one 575mg blend, only breaking out Magnesium Glycinate's 80mg separately. That tells us Magnesium likely isn't the largest-by-weight ingredient in the blend itself (since it's disclosed outside it) but doesn't tell us how the remaining 575mg splits across Alpha Lipoic Acid, Butcher's Broom, L-Carnitine, Turmeric and CoQ10. See our full ingredient breakdown for the complete picture.
