đ¤ŹOPINION: most proprietary blends are trash đ.
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đ¤What is a proprietary blend?
A supplement manufacturer does not have to disclose to you (the consumer) how much of each actual ingredient is in a product. âźď¸A PRODUCT YOU PUT IN YOUR BODYâźď¸ Supplement companies often use these blends to under-dose ingredients. So sure, creatine is a great ingredient, but if they only put 3mg in the product itâs about as effective as if it wasnât in there at all. (Most creatine is dosed around 5g a day).
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So take picture 1 above. The company tells us how much âpre-workout formulaâ there is: 15,930mg. BUT doesnât even list how much caffeine is in the product. Itâs a giant list of ingredients that could be dosed at 1mg or 15g. All we know is that it adds up to 15,930mg.
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đŹWhy do companies use proprietary blends?
Usually, itâs to cut costs and essentially trick you into thinking thereâs a lot more in a product than there actually is. Itâs a lot less expensive to use 3mg of creatine, than it is to use 5g of creatine. .
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đUpset? Yeah, so are we. Thatâs why we look for products that list each amount of every active ingredient. âĄď¸SWIPEâĄď¸ for two examples. Most products at Bullfrog do NOT contain proprietary blends. AND most products even list WHERE the product is made. Many supplement labels will say âmanufactured forâ leaving you to guess who itâs manufactured BY. .
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So while @efxsports and @mfit.supps are two great examples of products that list their manufacturer and the quantity of each ingredient, theyâre not alone here at Bullfrog. .
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đ¸ @nutrabio @a_factorz @distinctformulations all do both. And even if a company doesnât publicly claim their manufacturer, odds are we know where the products are made, know itâs an FDA inspected facility, or have seen third party tests that verify that whatâs on the label is whatâs actually in the product. .
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đ side note: I do genuinely believe some formulators are trying to protect their intellectual property by using a blend, so itâs harder for other companies to blatantly copy them. However, I donât believe there is any reason to put every single ingredient in a blend. My general advice is stay away from huge propriety blends.
