By Will Brink
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Recently I wrote an article
entitled "Terms, Terms, Terms, An Inside look to buying
supplements" which can be found on the Gurus and Guests
section of my private forum. The article covered many of the
misleading marketing terms buyers have to deal with in an
attempt to make informed decisions on the supplements they
spend their hard earned money on. Some of the more potentially
misleading commonly used marketing terms I covered were:
"Clinically proven"
"Patented"
"Doctor recommended"
"All natural"
"Scientifically formulated"
"Research proven"
"Used for thousands of years"
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Readers interested in understanding
why the above terms can be so misleading, can read my write-up on
each of those terms.
In a nut shell, I went onto cover
each of these common marketing terms that are used to sell supplements
to unwitting consumers and explained each in detail as to what I
view as their common misuse within the market place.
However, one term I didn't cover,
was "proprietary blend" which in many cases is the most
potentially misleading term of them all, though not a term always
seen in ads per se, but the side of the bottle.
Thus, why I felt it was a separate
topic to be covered at a later date as it does not fit under the
classic definition of a commonly used marketing term found in ads.
I also decided to cover this term in a separate article as it requires
much more space dedicated to it then the other terms needed for
reasons that will be apparent shortly.
Proprietary blends are not inherently
a negative for the consumer, though they are inherently confusing
for the buyer in most cases.
A supplement that
lists a "proprietary blend" on the bottle can be there
for one of two reasons:
(a) to prevent the competition from
knowing exactly what ratios and amounts of each ingredient present
in the formula to prevent the competition from copying their formula
exactly (commonly referred to as a "knock off") or
(b) to hide the fact the formula contains
very little of the active ingredients listed on the bottle in an
attempt to fool consumers.
Sadly, the latter use is far more
common then the former. They see a long list of seemingly impressive
ingredients listed in the "proprietary blend" none of
which are there is amounts that will have any effects. This is commonly
referred to as "label decoration" by industry insiders.
The former use of the term is a legitimate way for a company of
a quality formula from having the competition copy or "knock
off" their formula and the latter use of the term is to scam
people.
So how does the
consumer tell the difference?
They can't, or at least they can't
without some research and knowledge, which the scam artists know
few people have the time and energy to dedicate to finding the answers.
Although there are a few tips the consumer can use to decide if
a product with a "proprietary blend" is worth trying,
no one, not even me, can figure out exactly how much of each ingredient
is in the blend or in what ratio of each is contained within the
formula, hence why the honest and not-so-honest companies employ
"proprietary blends" so often.
Thus, we have something of a conundrum
here and conflict between a company making a quality formula attempting
to protect that formula from other companies vs. the company simply
looking to baffle buyers with BS.
There are at least some basic tips
or food for thought here regarding this problem. A formula that
contains say 10 ingredients in a "proprietary blend" is
by no means defacto superior then one with three ingredients in
it. It's the dose that matters. Clearly, it's better to have higher
amounts of ingredients that will have some effects vs. a long list
of ingredients in doses too low to have any effects.
Some times it helps to look at both
what's in the blend and how much of the blend actually exists. As
an example, if say the blend is 300mg total and contains ten ingredients,
that's only 30mg per ingredient, assuming (and you know what they
say about assuming!) that each is found in equal amounts. Clearly,
for most compounds out there, 30mg wont do jack sh*&.
On the other hand, if say the blend
is 3000mg (3 grams) and contains three or four ingredients, there
is at least a better chance that the formula contains enough of
each (and remember, we can't tell how much of each is in there as
that information is "proprietary") to have some effects
you are looking for such as an increase in strength, or a decrease
in bodyfat, etc.
Unfortunately, the above examples
are so vague as to be close to worthless as it's easy enough to
formulate a 3000mg blend where all the ingredients are worthless
to begin with or a 300mg blend that contains compounds that only
require small doses to have an effect and or can be toxic at higher
doses.
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For example, the
mineral zinc tends to be no more then 30mg in most formulas
and no more is needed or recommended.
Much of this comes
down to the consumer knowing what the various ingredients
are and how they work (to decide if they are even worth using
in the first place) then deciding if said blend appears to
at least contain a dose that would have the desired effects,
which just brings us back to my prior comment: most people
have neither the time or inclination to research all that
info just to decide if they want to use a product and thus
the many "proprietary blends" on the market that
are no more then a long list of under-dosed ingredients.
Wish I could be
of more help giving specific advice to readers of this here
article as to what makes a good blend and what constitutes
a poorly made blend, but the above advice is the best I can
do under the circumstances. Although a "proprietary blend"
is not by default a negative to the consumer, it is by all
means the poster child for the well-known Latin term Caveat
emptor which translates into English as "let the buyer
beware".
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Books By Will Brink
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About
The Author
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Will Brink has over 15
years experience as a respected author, columnist and
consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding,
and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will
graduated from Harvard University with a concentration
in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major
supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking
articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live,
Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life
Extension Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Inside Karate,
Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen,
Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter
For Doctors.
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