What the main categories actually are, how to read a supplement label, and what the badges on the front of a tub do and do not mean. No claims, no hype — just the vocabulary, so you can judge products for yourself.
What a food supplement is
Worth being precise about, because it shapes everything else.
In law, a food supplement is a food — a concentrated source of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, sold in a measured dose form such as a capsule, tablet, powder sachet or measured liquid. It is regulated as food, not as medicine.
Two things follow from that. First, a supplement cannot legally be sold on a claim that it prevents, treats or cures a medical condition — if it makes that claim, it is being sold as an unlicensed medicine. Second, any health claim that is made has to be one authorised on the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register, and it attaches to the nutrient rather than to the brand. That is why product pages here read the way they do.
The categories, plainly
What each one is, in terms of what is in the tub.
Protein
Concentrated protein, usually from milk (whey or casein), or from plants such as pea, soya and rice. Sold as powder, ready-to-drink shakes, bars and snacks. Whey concentrate, isolate and hydrolysate differ in how much they have been filtered and processed.
Browse protein →Creatine
A compound found naturally in meat and fish and made in small amounts by the body. Monohydrate is the most studied and cheapest form; other forms differ in how the creatine is bonded. Powders, capsules, tablets and gummies.
Browse creatine →Pre-workout
Blends taken before training. Typically caffeine, plus ingredients such as beta-alanine, citrulline and tyrosine. Caffeine content varies enormously between products, so the label matters more here than almost anywhere.
Browse pre-workout →Vitamins & minerals
Single nutrients or multivitamin blends. Labels show the amount per serving and the %NRV — how much of the reference intake one serving provides. Some come as capsules, some as sprays, drops or gummies.
Browse vitamins & health →Weight management
A broad category covering meal replacement shakes, higher-protein and lower-calorie foods, fibre products and thermogenic blends. Composition varies wildly — read what is actually in it.
Browse weight management →Beauty supplements
Usually collagen peptides, biotin, or blends built around them, as powders, capsules or liquid shots. Collagen is a protein, and the source — bovine, marine, or a vegan alternative — is on the label.
Browse beauty →How to read the label
The front of the pack is marketing. The back is information.
| Serving size | How much counts as one serving, and how many servings are in the container. This is the number that makes a price-per-tub comparison meaningful — a cheaper tub with smaller servings may not be cheaper at all. |
| Ingredient list | Listed in descending order by weight. If the thing on the front of the tub appears near the end of the list, there is not much of it in there. |
| Proprietary blend | A group of ingredients given one combined weight rather than individual amounts. Legal, but it means you cannot tell how much of each you are getting. |
| %NRV | Nutrient Reference Value — the percentage of the daily reference intake one serving provides. Only exists for nutrients that have a reference value set. |
| Allergens | Emphasised in the ingredient list, usually in bold. Check it every time, including on a product you have bought before — recipes change. |
| Recommended daily dose | Every food supplement must carry one, plus a statement not to exceed it. It is not a suggestion. |
| Warnings | Mandatory statements that it should not replace a varied and balanced diet, and to keep out of reach of young children. Plus any product-specific warnings. |
| Batch and best-before | Usually stamped on the base, crimp or end flap. Note them down — they are what you need if there is ever a recall. |
Forms, and why it matters
The same ingredient in a different format is a different product to live with.
Powder
Cheapest per serving and lets you measure precisely. Needs a scoop, a shaker and somewhere to keep it. Flavour matters, because you will be drinking it daily.
Capsules & tablets
No taste, portable, exact dose. You may need several to match one powder serving, which pushes the cost per serving up.
Gummies, sprays & shots
Easiest to keep up with, and useful if you struggle to swallow capsules. Usually the most expensive per serving, and gummies often carry added sugars.
Badges on the front
Some mean something specific. Some mean nothing at all.
| Informed Sport | The batch has been tested against a list of substances banned in sport. It certifies that batch, not the brand or the product line — check the batch you are holding on the programme's own register. |
| Creapure | A brand of creatine monohydrate made by a specific German manufacturer. It tells you the source and purity grade of the raw material. |
| Vegan / vegetarian | Refers to the ingredients and, usually, the capsule shell. Not a claim about nutritional quality. |
| Gluten free | A regulated term with a legal threshold. “No gluten-containing ingredients” is a weaker, unregulated statement — worth spotting the difference if you are coeliac. |
| Natural, clean, premium | Marketing. None of these has a legal definition in food. Read the ingredient list instead. |
Sensible habits
- Follow the label. Take the dose it states, at the frequency it states, and do not exceed it. More is not better, and for some nutrients more is actively harmful.
- Change one thing at a time. Four new products at once tells you nothing about which of them mattered.
- Store it properly — cool, dry, sealed, out of reach of children. Powders clump and degrade in a steamy kitchen.
- Check interactions with anything you are prescribed. Your pharmacist will do this for free and it takes five minutes.
- Keep the packaging until the tub is finished, so you still have the batch number and best-before date.
Before you take anything
This page is background information, not advice. We are a retailer, not a healthcare provider. If you have a medical condition, take prescription medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are under 18, speak to your GP or pharmacist before taking any supplement. Our Health Information Disclaimer sets out the full position.
Know what you need? Find your supplement or browse the range.
Curious how we source what we sell? Read our product standards.