Effervescent Tablet, Capsule or Powder: Which Format for a New Supplement Brand?

*Calculated as 1,000 g divided by the unit mass. Product only, packaging not included. Your formula sets the final figures.

Effervescent tablet or capsule: how much fits in one unit?

A 4 g FIZZPHARMA effervescent tablet carries a serving that would take several large capsules. A capsule's fill in grams is the volume of its shell multiplied by the bulk density of the blend. So the exact count depends on your formula and on the shell you choose.

The real figure moves with your blend: the same shell holds fewer grams of a lower-density powder. FIZZPHARMA's standard tablet weighs 4 g. It suits a formula whose mass per unit is counted in grams. The capsule suits a fill that fits the shell. The comparison is about the mass of a unit, not its content of any one ingredient.

The price of the tablet is the pack. Its acid and bicarbonate react as soon as water reaches them, from a glass or from damp air. So it goes only into a closed tube.

Effervescent tablet or powder: what changes in packing and moisture?

The tablet needs a closed tube with a desiccant cap. A powder can take a sachet, a zip-lock bag or a jar. FIZZPHARMA's sachet carries an aluminium foil layer between the paper and the sealable film. The brand is printed on the paper, so the sachet is its own label.

Choose the powder pack by how the dose is taken:

1. One dose sealed alone: the sachet, 4–12 g. It suits a dose that needs no scoop, travels in a bag or is sold as a course. Its price is a higher cost per serving than a jar.
2. A dose scooped from a larger pack: the zip-lock bag or jar, from 300 kg of finished blend. Its price is the scoop and the larger pack.
3. A dose above 12 g: the doy-pack (stand-up zip-lock bag), which moves out of the sachet range.

The tablet and the sachet therefore answer different questions. The tube protects a reactive tablet, and the foil layer protects a single powder dose. More on the tube and its cap is on effervescent tube packaging.

Tablet, capsule or powder: what changes for weight in the parcel?

By product weight alone, the mass of a unit fixes the count per kilogram. That is 250 tablets, 83–250 sachets or about 33 servings of a 30 g scoop. A capsule is counted by its fill, which follows the density of the blend. These are calculations on product only.

A tube of 20 tablets carries 80 g of product. A sachet at the top of the range carries 12 g. A 450 g bag holds 15 servings of 30 g. Count your servings per order from these masses before you compare freight. Delivery is worldwide, EXW by default, with FCA or DAP on agreement.

What sets the minimum order and the lead time for each format?

The minimum follows the format. For tablets it is low and counted in tubes. For sachets and for powders in bags or jars it is 300 kg of finished blend. Production of tablets and sachets takes from 4 weeks. Nothing is produced before you approve the sample and the label.

Freight and customs come on top of production time. A repeat order carries the same minimum as the first. The full picture is on minimum order and lead time. The tablet is described in effervescent tablets in tubes.

How long does each format keep?

The standard shelf life at FIZZPHARMA is 24 months for tablets, sachets and powders alike. The least stable ingredient in the formula sets it, and the certificate of analysis (CoA) of each batch confirms it. It is a standard, agreed for your formula.

For a tablet the tube is part of that answer. The desiccant cap keeps the moisture that gets in away from the tablets. For a sachet the foil layer does the same job. Dispatch, transit and customs use up part of the 24 months before the goods reach a shelf. So plan the run backwards from the sale date.

Which format suits a new supplement brand?

Match your constraint to the format. A small first run with a serving size measured in grams points to the tablet. One measured portion points to the sachet. A scooped daily serving points to the bag or jar. The situation removes choices before taste does:

1. Your formula is counted in grams per unit and you want a small first run. Choose the effervescent tablet in a tube: low minimum, from 4 weeks. Its cost is the tube and the discipline around moisture.
2. Your dose is one measured powder portion for travel or a course. Choose the sachet: 4–12 g, from 300 kg. Its cost is a higher cost per serving than a jar.
3. Your customer scoops a daily serving at home. Choose the bag or jar: 450, 900 or 1,800 g, from 300 kg. Its cost is the scoop and the larger pack.
4. Your fill fits a standard capsule shell. The capsule is the reference to compare against. Its cost, set out above, is the count of shells once the fill is measured in grams.

The formats themselves are compared column by column in the effervescent formats hub.

Do the labelling rules change with the format?

What the label must say follows the composition, not the shape. In the EU a tablet, a capsule or a powder sachet can each be a food supplement under Directive 2002/46/EC. Any health claim on the pack needs authorisation under Regulation (EC) 1924/2006. Confirm the category for your formula with your legal adviser.

The sorbitol base of the effervescent tablet may add one rule. Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, Annex III, point 2.4, requires a laxative-effect warning on a food with more than 10% added polyols. Whether it applies depends on the polyol share in your tablet. FIZZPHARMA prepares the label artwork with you, and you approve it before printing. Your importer confirms the rules of the country of sale.

FAQ

Where to go next

Compare every FIZZPHARMA format on the effervescent formats hub. Read the format pages for effervescent tablets in tubes and powder sachets. Check minimum order and lead time. Send the format you have in mind through the contact page. FIZZPHARMA replies within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.