Supplement Facts vs Nutrition Facts: What to Show on Shopify

Supplement Facts and Nutrition Facts are both names of US label panels. Supplement Facts is for dietary supplements and Nutrition Facts is for conventional foods. If you sell into the EU, neither one is the EU label. A food supplement there shows its amounts per recommended daily dose, under Directive 2002/46/EC. Other foods, such as protein powders and bars, show a nutrition declaration per 100 g, under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

This post explains the two terms and which EU format fits your product. It then shows how to put that information on a Shopify product page as real text instead of a label photo.

Written by the StoreFleet team. This is general information about how the labels are structured, not legal advice, and following it does not guarantee compliance. Some details, such as permitted nutrients and amounts, are set nationally. Check your final label against the rules for each market you ship to, or with a qualified adviser.

What is the difference between Supplement Facts and Nutrition Facts?

Both are US panel names:

• Nutrition Facts is the panel for conventional foods in the US.
• Supplement Facts is the panel for dietary supplements in the US. It lists the serving size, the amount of each dietary ingredient per serving, and the other ingredients.

EU rules use neither heading as a label title. You still see “Supplement Facts” in search because many shoppers and brands know it from US packs. A copy of a US panel is not automatically the right label for the EU.

	US Supplement Facts	US Nutrition Facts	EU food supplement	EU nutrition declaration
Used for	Dietary supplements	Conventional foods	Food supplements (capsules, tablets, drops)	Other prepacked foods, such as protein powders and bars
Main basis	Per serving	Per serving	Per recommended daily dose	Per 100 g or 100 ml
Main rules	US rules	US rules	Directive 2002/46/EC, plus Reg. (EU) No 1169/2011	Reg. (EU) No 1169/2011

Which label applies when you sell supplements into the EU?

In the EU, food supplements are food, so the general food information rules of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 apply to them. On top of those, Directive 2002/46/EC sets rules for food supplements.

Two points matter most for the product page:

• The per 100 g table is not the supplement format. Article 29 of Regulation 1169/2011 excludes food supplements from its nutrition declaration section. Article 8 of the directive asks for the amount of each nutrient or substance per portion recommended for daily consumption. Vitamins and minerals are also shown as a percentage of the EU reference values.
• Extra wording. Article 6 of the directive adds particulars that ordinary foods do not carry. These include the name “food supplement”, the recommended daily dose, a warning not to exceed it, a statement that supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet, and a warning to keep the product out of the reach of young children.

Everything else on a food page still applies to a supplement: ingredients with allergens emphasised, for example in bold, plus the name and address of the food business operator, net quantity and storage conditions. The mandatory information has to be available before the purchase (Article 14 of the regulation).

If your product is a protein powder, a bar or a drink sold as an ordinary food rather than as a food supplement, the EU nutrition declaration per 100 g applies instead. Our guide to the EU nutrition label vs the US Nutrition Facts panel covers that format.

What should a supplement product page show?

For an EU-facing food supplement, the product page should carry the same information as the pack, as readable text:

1. The name “food supplement”, together with the nutrients or substances that characterise the product.
2. The recommended daily dose, for example “1 capsule a day”, and the warnings from Article 6 of the directive.
3. The amount of each nutrient per daily dose, with the share of the reference value for vitamins and minerals.
4. Ingredients, with allergens in bold. Allergens should stand out within the list, not sit in a separate note. To check which of the 14 EU allergens a supplement’s ingredient list contains, run it through the EU allergen checker.
5. The operator. The name and address of the food business operator.
6. Net quantity and storage conditions, for example “60 capsules, 36 g”.

The information has to match the product the shopper picks. If you sell a 60-capsule and a 120-capsule version, or two flavours, each variant needs its own details.

Why is a text table better than a label image?

• Shoppers can read it. Text reflows on a phone. A label photo needs pinching and zooming.
• Search engines and screen readers can read it. Words inside an image are not part of the page text. Words in HTML are.
• It can be translated. An image stays in the language it was designed in.
• It is easier to update. When an ingredient changes, you edit a field instead of re-exporting artwork.

How do you show supplement information as text with Etiketto?

Etiketto: EU Nutrition Labels is a Shopify app for food shops selling into the EU. It shows the food information Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires on your product pages: a nutrition table, ingredients with allergens in bold, and the operator.

Etiketto’s nutrition table is per 100 g. It does not cover amounts per daily dose or reference values. For a food supplement, you use the app for the ingredients, allergens and operator. The daily dose, the warnings and the per-dose amounts go in the product description, as they appear on the pack.

1. Gather the data for each product from the pack or your producer’s specification: ingredients and allergens, the operator, net quantity, storage, and the supplement wording with the per-dose amounts.
2. Open the product in the Etiketto editor and fill in the ingredients, net quantity, storage and operator on one screen.
3. Mark each allergen with asterisks in the ingredient list, for example *soy lecithin*. The product page shows the marked words in bold. Only the words you mark are emphasised: the app does not guess allergens.
4. Leave the per 100 g table for ordinary foods. If the product is a protein powder or bar sold as a food, enter its values per 100 g. For a food supplement, write the daily dose, the warnings and the amounts per daily dose into the product description as text.
5. Give each variant its own label if flavours or sizes differ. The page shows the label of the variant the shopper picks. See a different nutrition table and allergens for each flavour or size.
6. Add the Food information block to the product template of an Online Store 2.0 theme in the theme editor. Pick a table, accordion, compact or card layout. No theme code changes.
7. Remove the old label image from the product images, then compare the live page with the pack, line by line.

The block renders plain HTML text, not an image. Label wording comes in 10 languages, and your own text can be translated into any published store language.

For a German-language market, our guide to Nahrungsergänzungsmittel product page details walks through the same setup.

What should you check before you remove the label image?

• Compare every amount on the page with the pack.
• Check that every allergen in the ingredient list is in bold.
• Check that the daily dose and the warnings are on the page.
• Check each variant, not only the default one.
• Look at the page on a phone and in each storefront language you sell in.

The app shows what you enter. It does not calculate values or detect allergens, and it does not make a page compliant by itself. You remain responsible for the information being correct for the countries you sell into.

FAQ

Is Supplement Facts required in the EU?

No. “Supplement Facts” is a US panel name. In the EU, a food supplement shows its amounts per recommended daily dose and the particulars set by Directive 2002/46/EC, alongside the general food information rules.

Can I reuse my US Supplement Facts panel for EU shoppers?

Not as it is. The EU format has its own basis, wording and warnings, and some details are set nationally. Rebuild the information from your specification and check it against the rules for each market.

Does a protein powder need Supplement Facts or Nutrition Facts in the EU?

Neither heading. If it is sold as an ordinary food, it shows an EU nutrition declaration per 100 g. If it is sold as a food supplement, the supplement rules apply. Which one applies depends on how the product is made and sold.

Can Etiketto show amounts per daily dose?

No. Etiketto’s nutrition table is per 100 g. For a food supplement, put the daily dose, the warnings and the per-dose amounts in the product description. Use Etiketto for the ingredients with bold allergens and the operator.

Why replace the label photo with text?

Text is readable on a phone, can be translated, and is part of the page that search engines and screen readers read. An image is none of these.

Show your supplement information as real text

Etiketto: EU Nutrition Labels puts the ingredients with bold allergens and the operator details on each product page from one form and one theme block, and the nutrition table per 100 g for your ordinary foods. See the Etiketto app page for details, or install Etiketto: EU Nutrition Labels from the Shopify App Store and rebuild one product page first.