| Format and pack | Minimum order | Counted in, and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tablets or capsules in blisters, with a carton printed for your brand | From 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters | Cartons and blisters; 1 to 4 blisters per carton; ready-made formula or your own |
| Softgels in blisters | Send the softgel size with the enquiry | Sealed on the same machine as tablets and capsules |
| A blister of your own design, or a tablet or capsule size without tooling in place | From 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters | Cartons or blisters; terms agreed per project |
| Tablets, capsules or softgels, ready-made formula (white label) | From 100 units | Units in stock packaging, labelled for your brand |
| Tablets or capsules, your own formula (private label) | From 500 bottles per product | Bottles; a ready-made formula starts from 100 units in stock packaging |
| Softgels, your own formula | Ask with your project | Set per project |
| Powders, sachets or sports nutrition | From 300 kg | Kilograms |
| Effervescent tablets | Low minimum order | By tube count |
| Syrups | From 100 L | Litres |
| Oils | From 20 L | Litres |
| Drink cubes | Set for each product | Ask with your product |
The 100-unit start applies to ready-made formulas in stock packaging; formats counted in kilograms, litres or tubes have minimums of their own. Production times are on lead times; shipping is added on top. Prices are quoted for each enquiry rather than published.
How is a blister run counted?
In cartons and blisters. A run starts from 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters, and each carton holds 1 to 4 blisters; the minimum is the same on a ready-made formula and on your own.
Multiply the cartons by the blisters in each:
| Blisters per carton | Blisters in 2,000 cartons |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4,000 |
| 3 | 6,000 |
| 4 | 8,000 |
For one blister per carton, ask us with your project. Each blister holds one kind of tablet or capsule. Tablets and capsules are sealed on an Uhlmann B 1240 and cartoned on an IMA IC 150; both machines are described on blister packing.
What changes the blister minimum?
Two things move the run to 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project: a tablet or capsule size without tooling in place, and a blister of your own design. The formula (ready-made or your own) does not change the minimum.
- Tooling in place: oval tablets of 22 × 10, 20 × 9.5 and 16 × 8 mm; round tablets of 13, 12 and 11 mm; capsules in sizes 0 long (0EL), 0 and 00.
- Softgels go through the same Uhlmann B 1240.
- Your own formula gets its tablet or capsule size at the sample stage, and the sample shows whether that size fits the tooling in place.
Can I start with bottles and move to blisters later?
Both are made at the plant: tablets and capsules go into bottles and into blisters with a printed carton, on a ready-made formula or your own. Each has its own minimum.
For the first order, a ready-made formula starts from 100 units in stock packaging, and your own formula from 500 bottles per product. A blister run later on needs:
- a run from 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters;
- a tablet or capsule that fits the tooling in place, or 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters for another size;
- artwork for the carton and the lidding foil, approved by you before print; we lay it out to the label rules of your market, or use the artwork you already have (see the blister artwork guide);
- a check with your importer if your market ties stability data to the pack. Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority, for one, asks, in its 2013 guideline for supplements, for the stability study to be run in the container closure system in which the product will be marketed in Ghana.
What your product decides
Your format, the size of your dose and your plans for the pack set the minimum before any preference does. Here is what each costs you in run size, time or risk.
| Your product or plan | What changes | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| A tablet or capsule for a blister | Its size decides whether the tooling in place takes it (details on blister packing) | Run: from 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters, with tooling in place; from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters without it |
| Your own formula | The size of the dose is known once the sample exists | Time: sample development comes before production. Risk: the sample may show a size without tooling in place |
| Tablets or capsules for a first order to test the market | A ready-made formula in stock packaging is the smallest start | Run: from 100 units, against 500 bottles per product for your own formula |
| A bottle first, a blister later | The blister minimum applies, with new artwork for the carton and the lidding foil | Risk: a regulator that wants stability data in the pack you sell; ask your importer before you switch |
Questions buyers ask about minimum orders
What is the minimum order for supplements in blisters?
For tablets and capsules, from 2,000 cartons printed for your brand, at least 4,000 blisters, on a ready-made formula or your own. Each carton holds 1 to 4 blisters.
How does the number of blisters per carton change the run?
With 2, 3 or 4 blisters per carton, 2,000 cartons hold 4,000, 6,000 or 8,000 blisters. For one blister per carton, ask us with your project.
Which tablet and capsule sizes keep the standard blister minimum?
The sizes with blister tooling in place, listed on blister packing; another size starts from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters, on terms agreed per project.
Can I order supplements without a minimum?
No. Every format has a minimum, set in cartons and blisters, units, bottles, tubes, kilograms or litres. For tablets and capsules the smallest start is a ready-made formula from 100 units in stock packaging, against 500 bottles per product for a formula of your own. Effervescent tablets have a low minimum order.
What is the minimum for powders, sachets and sports nutrition?
From 300 kg for each of the three, counted by weight.
What are the minimums for syrups, oils and effervescent tablets?
Syrups: from 100 L. Oils: from 20 L. Effervescent tablets: a low minimum order, by tube count.
What is the minimum for softgels?
Softgels from a ready-made formula start from 100 units in stock packaging, the same as ready-made tablets and capsules. For a softgel formula of your own, ask with your project. For softgels in blisters, send the size with the enquiry.
Can I start with bottles and switch to blisters later?
Tablets and capsules go into both bottles and blisters at the plant, each pack with its own minimum. A later blister run starts from 2,000 cartons, at least 4,000 blisters, for a tablet or capsule that fits the tooling in place, or from 25,000 cartons or 50,000 blisters for another size, with carton and foil artwork approved before print. If your market ties stability data to the pack, ask your importer before you switch.
Can I see a sample before I commit to a run?
Yes. A ready-made formula is sampled from the existing product, and a formula of your own is developed into a sample first.
Read more
Lead times · Blister packing · Blister artwork guide · White label supplements · Private label supplements · Manufacturing · Export documents · Quality and batch documents
Ask about your quantity
Tell us the format, whether the formula is ready-made or your own, the pack and the quantity for the first run: cartons and blisters per carton for a blister, units for a ready-made formula, bottles for your own, tubes, kilograms or litres for other formats. If your tablet, capsule or softgel already exists, add its size. We reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
Request a quote → Email sales@hyperpharm.eu