Is a food supplement a medicine in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa? Which regulator, which class, and what a blister changes
No text we read says that a blister turns a supplement into a medicine in these four countries. The word blister does not appear in the five official texts we read from NAFDAC, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, FDA Ghana and SAHPRA. Status follows claims, composition and dose. In several of them the drug regulator handles supplements, which does not make them prescription medicines.
Read the article →Food supplement or medicine in Saudi Arabia? The SFDA's classification triggers and the products it has decided
The SFDA classifies a food supplement as a pharmaceutical product when it contains a medicinal herb, exceeds the daily limit in technical standard SFDA.FD 55, is intended to treat, prevent or diagnose a human disease, contains an active pharmaceutical ingredient, or is not intended for ingestion. Claims count as much as content. A blister is not on the list.
Read the article →What a Saudi customs clearance file asks of an exporter of supplements: invoice, certificates, samples
A Saudi food clearance file for a supplement shipment asks for a commercial invoice listing the products, quantities, expiry dates and batch numbers, plus a certificate of origin, a bill of lading, a marketing certificate from the country of origin and, if the carton shows a halal logo, proof behind it. Your importer files; we supply the batch documents.
Read the article →Egypt's ACI, Nigeria's PAAR and Kenya's KEBS inspection: what is filed before a supplement shipment sails
In Egypt the importer files; for Nigeria and Kenya your importer confirms who does. Egypt's Advanced Cargo Information (ACI) system needs the importer's declaration at least 48 hours before loading and gives back a 19 digit ACID number. Nigeria's Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) comes before the goods arrive. Kenya inspects at destination. We supply the batch documents those filings draw on.
Read the article →Pharmacy own brands: what Clicks reports, and what it means for a brand owner or distributor
Clicks, the South African pharmacy group, reports that private label and exclusive brands brought in R9.7bn in the year to 31 August 2025, which is 25.9% of sales and 30.6% in its front shop. For a supplement brand owner or distributor, that is the shelf an own brand competes on.
Read the article →Where does the margin sit between factory and shelf: retail or distribution?
In its year to 31 August 2025, Clicks Group, a listed South African pharmacy and distribution company, reported 35.3% of retail turnover as total income and 9.9% for its distribution arm. These are one company's figures in one market, for a whole range rather than supplements. They show how the links compare, not what you will earn.
Read the article →From ex-works price to the pharmacy shelf: a landed-cost sheet for an own-brand supplement
Landed cost is the ex-works price plus every step before the product sits on a shelf: freight, insurance, duty, VAT, border fees, the distributor and the pharmacy. Public tariff guides give VAT for all three and a duty floor for Saudi Arabia, Kenya and South Africa. For the UAE and Egypt we found no rates, so ask your broker.
Read the article →HS code for food supplements: heading 2106 or 3004, and how to get a binding answer
In the UK Trade Tariff, chapter 30 excludes food supplements, and a UK national note to chapter 21 sends measured doses such as capsules, tablets, pastilles and pills intended as food supplements to heading 2106. Whether the importing country's tariff has the same rule, your customs broker or importer confirms, and in the EU a binding decision can be requested.
Read the article →Which markets in the Gulf, the Levant and Africa buy the most European food preparations?
Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In 2025 the EU-27 exported EUR 350.8 million of food preparations under customs subheading 2106 90 to Saudi Arabia and EUR 233.2 million to the UAE; Algeria, South Africa, Morocco and Egypt follow at EUR 102 to 148 million. Read this as an indicator of how much moves, not as a supplement figure.
Read the article →Does a blister pack make a food supplement a medicine?
No. A blister does not decide whether a product is a food supplement or a medicine. The SFDA's borderline guidance, version 3.0, looks at purpose and claims, composition and levels, and format, and says format is not always the sole criterion; the word blister does not appear in it. EU law reaches the same place through presentation and function.
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