Contract supplement manufacturing, from enquiry to sealed blister

Powders, sachets, sports nutrition, syrups, oils and other formats have minimums of their own, counted in their own units such as kilograms or litres; the minimum for each format is on minimum order quantity. Production time covers production only; transport is added on top. A blister run is counted in cartons and blisters, on a ready-made formula or your own.

How does contract supplement manufacturing work, step by step?

Contract supplement manufacturing runs in seven steps: enquiry, sample, approval, production, blister and carton, documents, delivery. Production begins only after you have approved the sample and the artwork.

1. Enquiry. You tell us the format, whether you want a ready-made formula or your own, the quantity and the market you will sell in. We reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
2. Sample. With a ready-made formula you receive a sample of the existing product. With your own formula this step is sample development: a first sample of your composition is made to your brief.
3. Approval. You approve the sample first, then the label and carton artwork. The plant prints only artwork you have approved.
4. Production. The batch is manufactured to the composition you approved. Production time is from 2 weeks for a ready-made formula and from 4 weeks for your own formula; it starts after steps 1 to 3, and transport comes on top. A blister run with a printed carton takes from 2 weeks.
5. Blister and carton. Tablets, capsules and softgels are sealed in blisters under lidding foil printed for your brand on an Uhlmann B 1240, then packed 1 to 4 blisters to a printed carton on an IMA IC 150. For bottles, a Cremer CF 1220 counts them into the bottle instead.
6. Documents. Each batch is issued with a Certificate of Analysis and the product specification.
7. Delivery. Worldwide: EXW by default, FCA or DAP on request.

What does a supplement manufacturer need from me to send a quote?

The product, the quantity, the pack and the country where it will be sold.

• The product. One of our ready-made formulas, or your own composition with the dose per serving.
• The quantity for the first run. The minimums, a blister run's included, are in the table above.
• The pack. A blister in a printed carton, or a bottle, tube, stand-up pouch or sachet. For a blister, tell us how many doses you want in one carton; a carton holds 1 to 4 blisters.
• The country of sale. Labelling requirements differ by country, so we ask for it at the start.

Each enquiry gets its own quote.

Can I get a supplement sample before I order?

Yes. A sample of an existing product is available before you order. With your own formula, the first sample is developed to your brief at step 2, and the batch is made only after you approve it.

For a blister, the sample also shows the real size of the tablet or capsule: that size decides whether it fits the blister tooling already in place and how many doses fit on one blister.

Who designs and prints the carton and the label?

We lay out and print the label and the carton to the label rules of your market, which your importer confirms, and print the lidding foil with your brand. Artwork you already have can be used instead. Your own packaging can be used on request. Printing starts only once you have approved the artwork.

On a blister product, both the printed carton and the lidding foil carry your brand. The expiry date goes on the carton, printed with it or applied as the blisters are cartoned.

How does my product end up in a sealed blister?

Blister and carton are made on two machines: an Uhlmann B 1240, which forms, fills, seals and cuts the blister in a single pass, and an IMA IC 150, which packs the finished blisters into your carton.

Forming, filling and sealing on the Uhlmann B 1240

The B 1240 is built by Uhlmann Pac-Systeme in Laupheim, Germany. According to the machine documentation:

• it has a rated output of up to 250 blisters a minute;
• the forming area is up to 128 × 156.5 mm per cycle;
• pockets are formed up to 24 mm deep in PVC (thermoforming); cold-formed aluminium is shallower;
• the lidding foil is sealed by a flat plate at low temperature;
• it is run from a TouchControl panel with password login and audit trails of production and parameters, so the settings used for a run can be traced.

Tablets, capsules and softgels all go through this one machine, and the lidding foil is printed for your brand.

PVC, PVC/PVDC and cold-formed aluminium (alu-alu) are offered for your product, with heat-sealable aluminium lidding foil printed with your brand; the film is confirmed in our reply.

Once sealed, each dose stays in its own pocket until it is pushed out, and an opened pocket shows it. The blister options are set out on blister packing.

Cartoning on the IMA IC 150

The IMA IC 150 is an intermittent-motion cartoner built in Italy. It takes cartons from 28 × 12 × 55 mm up to 92 × 60 × 190 mm (width × height × length), and the carton for your blisters is designed within that range. Each carton holds 1 to 4 blisters.

If you choose bottles instead, tablets and capsules are counted into them on a Cremer CF 1220, a counter from the Uhlmann group.

What documents come with each batch?

Every batch comes with a Certificate of Analysis and the product specification. The plant is ISO 22000, GMP and HACCP certified and FDA registered as a food facility; the GMP is for food supplements, and the certificates name tablets, capsules and powders in their scope. Copies of the certificates with their numbers are sent to clients on request.

On request, a third-party laboratory tests the product for banned substances. Halal certification is arranged for each batch of your product, when your market asks for it. More on the quality and batch documents page.

How is a supplement order delivered: EXW, FCA or DAP?

Worldwide, under EXW by default, with FCA or DAP on request. Under the Incoterms 2020 rules, in short:

• EXW. You collect the goods at the plant with a carrier you arrange; loading, export clearance and transport are on your side.
• FCA. We hand the goods, cleared for export, to the carrier you nominate at the agreed place; from there the risk is yours.
• DAP. We deliver to the destination you name; import clearance and duties stay with you.

The manufacturing group behind HYPERPHARM supplies buyers in every country of Africa. Putting the product on the register of the country of sale is up to you as the brand owner, or to your importer; for that application we provide the Certificate of Analysis, the specification and copies of the plant's certificates.

Which supplements can go into a blister, and how many doses fit?

Tablets, capsules and softgels go into a blister; the size of the dose decides whether it fits the tooling in place and how many doses fit on one blister.

• The format. Tablets, capsules and softgels go into a blister with a printed carton, whether the formula is ready-made or your own, and delayed-release tablets and capsules can be made on request. Powders, syrups and oils go into our other packs.
• The size of the dose. Tablets are made up to 25 mm and capsules up to size 000. Blister tooling is in place for oval tablets of 22 × 10, 20 × 9.5 and 16 × 8 mm, round tablets of 13, 12 and 11 mm, and capsules in sizes 0 long (0EL), 0 and 00; a blister of your own design, or a tablet or capsule in another size, starts from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project. On the B 1240, pockets are formed up to 24 mm deep in PVC, cold-formed aluminium pockets are shallower, and the forming area is up to 128 × 156.5 mm per cycle. A large tablet or capsule, or a serving split over two, therefore changes how many doses fit on one blister.

Ready-made formula or my own: which starts smaller?

Outside the blister, a ready-made formula in stock packaging needs a smaller first run and less production time; your own formula needs more of both and carries a development risk, in return for a composition developed for your brand. In a blister, both routes share one minimum run and one production time.

On either route, a blister run with a printed carton has the same minimum and production time: see the table at the top of this page, minimum order quantity and lead times.

If you are testing a market or need stock soon, a ready-made formula in stock packaging gives you a smaller first run and an earlier date than a formula of your own. If you want a composition developed to your brief, take your own formula. Both routes are described on white label supplements and private label supplements.

Questions buyers ask about the order

Related pages

Blister packing · White label supplements · Private label supplements · Quality and batch documents · Blister packaging for hot and humid climates · About us