A supplement label should not need translating.
Yet it is remarkably easy to look at a bottle, see a large number on the front, a long ingredient list on the back and still not be entirely sure what you are drinking.
So rather than adding another layer of marketing, we thought we would do something simpler.
Read our own label.
One 30 ml bottle at a time.
10 g of hydrolysed bovine collagen
This is the main ingredient people come to Collibre for.
Each 30 ml bottle contains 10 g of hydrolysed bovine collagen.
You may also see that written as 10,000 mg. They are exactly the same amount.
The word hydrolysed means the collagen has been broken down into smaller peptides.
Collibre Gold uses bovine collagen sourced in Germany, with the finished product made in Poland.
There is no need to make that sound more complicated than it is.
It is 10 grams of collagen in one small bottle.
The fruit base
Collibre Gold is not simply collagen mixed with water.
The ingredient list begins with reconstituted apple juice and reconstituted lemon juice.
These form the liquid base of the shot.
Citric acid is then used as an acidity regulator, and flavouring gives the finished drink its peach character.
The result is a 30 ml ready-to-drink shot rather than something that needs measuring, mixing or preparing.
Vitamin C – 80 mg
One bottle contains 80 mg of vitamin C, which represents 100% of the Nutrient Reference Value.
Vitamin C has a particular relevance in a collagen product because it has an authorised health claim in the UK:
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones and cartilage.
That wording matters.
It is an authorised nutritional claim rather than a promise invented for advertising.
Vitamin A – 121 µg
Each shot contains 121 µg of vitamin A, equivalent to 15% NRV.
Vitamin A is one of the twelve vitamins included in Collibre Gold.
As with every supplement, more is not automatically better. The point of the nutrition panel is to show exactly what is present and in what quantity.
The B vitamins
Collibre Gold contains a broad range of B vitamins:
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Thiamin – 0.28 mg, 25% NRV
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Riboflavin – 0.43 mg, 31% NRV
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Niacin – 4.2 mg, 26% NRV
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Pantothenic acid – 1.5 mg, 25% NRV
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Vitamin B6 – 0.41 mg, 29% NRV
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Biotin – 13 µg, 26% NRV
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Folic acid – 60.0 µg, 30% NRV
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Vitamin B12 – 1.2 µg, 48% NRV
There is a temptation in supplements to turn every ingredient into its own marketing story.
We prefer the panel to do the talking.
The useful information is the name of the vitamin, the amount present and the percentage of the daily reference value.
Vitamin D – 1.2 µg
Each bottle contains 1.2 µg of vitamin D, providing 24% NRV.
Vitamin D is included alongside the wider vitamin formulation rather than being presented as a separate reason to buy the product.
Vitamin E – 3.0 mg
Each daily shot also contains 3.0 mg of vitamin E, equivalent to 25% NRV.
Again, the principle is simple.
If an ingredient is present, you should be able to see exactly how much of it you are getting.
Twelve vitamins in total
Taken together, one bottle contains:
Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, biotin, folic acid and vitamin B12.
That is why describing Collibre simply as “collagen with vitamin C” only tells part of the story.
The formula is broader than the front of the bottle suggests.
What else is in it?
The complete ingredient list is relatively straightforward:
Reconstituted apple juice, reconstituted lemon juice, hydrolysed bovine collagen, citric acid, vitamin C, flavouring, vitamin E, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and biotin.
The product is pasteurised, has a peach flavour and contains no added preservatives.
Those details are not there to make the product sound virtuous.
They are there because they are true.
Why the order of ingredients matters
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight.
That means the first ingredients on a label are present in the greatest quantities.
It is one of the simplest ways to read any supplement more critically.
Do not begin with the claims on the front.
Begin with the ingredient list.
Then look at the nutrition table.
Then look at the serving size.
The three together usually tell you far more than the headline.
And what is not on the label?
There are also things we deliberately do not put on the bottle.
There are no promises about reversing ageing.
No guaranteed timelines.
No suggestion that drinking one shot will somehow send collagen directly to a particular part of the body.
Collagen research is developing, but collagen itself currently has no authorised health claim in the UK.
Where Collibre makes a nutritional or health claim, it is tied to a nutrient for which that claim is authorised.
If you want the longer explanation of how we approach evidence and supplement claims, you can read our Evidence Page.
Why transparency matters
Supplements are unusual products.
You consume them repeatedly, often for months, yet the buying decision can be made in a few seconds from the front of a box.
That makes the back of the box rather important.
We think consumers should know:
What is in the product.
How much is in it.
Where the principal ingredient comes from.
What the authorised claims actually say.
And what the brand cannot responsibly promise.
There is nothing particularly revolutionary about that.
It should simply be normal.
The short version
One Collibre Gold bottle contains:
10 g hydrolysed bovine collagen
12 vitamins
80 mg vitamin C
A fruit juice base made with apple and lemon
Peach flavour
30 ml ready-to-drink format
No added preservatives
It is made in Poland using bovine collagen sourced in Germany.
Nothing hidden.
Nothing that requires a magnifying glass and a marketing dictionary.
Just the label, read properly.