Before Vivid existed, our formulation team spent years reading other people's labels. Here's the sixty-second check we run on any bottle — ours included. Bring this list to any health shop in the country.
1. Is every ingredient dosed in milligrams?
The single biggest tell. If a label says "proprietary blend — 450mg" across six ingredients, you cannot know whether the headline herb is dosed at something meaningful or at a pinch. Blends hide ratios; ratios are the product. We publish milligrams per capsule for everything we make, which is why our comparison page exists.
2. Is the form named?
"Magnesium 400mg" is not information — oxide, citrate and glycinate behave differently. "Vitamin C" could be ascorbic acid or a buffered ascorbate. "Turmeric" could be ground root (mostly fibre) or a standardised extract. Our turmeric label tells you which and how much; a label that won't name the form is making a decision for you and hoping you don't ask.
3. Does the dose match the studies?
This one takes a phone and thirty seconds. If curcumin trials used 500–1,000mg standardised extract and the capsule holds 50mg of ground root, the bottle is a souvenir. We publish our reasoning per ingredient on the ingredient pages — and where our dose sits below a studied dose for a legitimate reason (tolerability, stacking), the label says so.
4. Who made it, and where?
"Distributed by" is not "manufactured by". Look for the actual manufacturing statement. Ours is made in Centurion in a SAHPRA-licensed facility, and our sourcing page names supplier and country per key ingredient — the test is whether a brand will put names in writing.
5. What's the capsule made of?
Vegetable capsule (HPMC) or gelatine? Any colourants, titanium dioxide, unnecessary fillers? Short excipient lists are a quiet mark of care. MSM is a good test case: it's a single compound, so the label should be almost empty — ours is.
6. Does anything on the label promise to treat a disease?
South African law is clear: supplements support normal function; they don't treat, cure or prevent disease. A label (or salesperson) promising to cure your arthritis is breaking the rule and telling you everything about the brand's honesty in one sentence. Supports, assists, maintains — that's the legal and honest vocabulary.
The honest bit
A perfect label doesn't guarantee the product works for you — biology is individual, and even well-dosed, well-formed ingredients help some people more than others. What a transparent label guarantees is that you can make a real decision, and that the brand expects to be checked. That expectation changes how a company behaves long before you swallow anything.
Next time you're holding any supplement — ours included — run the six checks. If a bottle of ours ever fails one, we want to hear about it.
From the range
All prices include VAT. Not sure what you need? Take the 2-minute quiz or book a consultation.
— The Vivid formulation desk