| Route | Where the formula comes from | Can other brands buy it? | Sample | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White label (ready-made formula) | The plant's list: more than 500 ready-made formulas in production across its formats, new ones added every month | Yes | The existing product | From 4 weeks |
| Private label (formula developed for your brand) | Developed from your brief | It is developed for your brand; further terms confirmed for your formula | A project of its own: a sample developed to your brief, then approved by you | From 4 weeks |
| Contract manufacturing (a formula you bring) | You send it with your brief | Confirmed for your formula | Confirmed for your formula | Confirmed for your formula |
On every route your name, logo and label design are on the pack. The factory prints the pack. Nothing is produced before you approve the sample and the label.
What is the difference between white label and private label?
White label means putting your label on a formula the factory already makes. Private label means having a formula developed from your brief. On both routes the factory makes the product and prints your name on the pack. The difference is where the formula comes from and who else can buy it.
The market uses the two words loosely. Google's search suggestions in the United States and the United Kingdom on 22 October 2026 offer both "white label effervescent tablets" and "private label effervescent tablets". So buyers type either word for the same tablet. This article uses the words as FIZZPHARMA does. Whatever a supplier calls its offer, ask the same two questions: where does the formula come from, and can another brand buy it?
What does contract manufacturing mean, and how is it different from private label?
Contract manufacturing means a factory makes a product to another company's order; white label and private label describe two ways of filling that order. The first term says who makes the product. The other two say where the formula comes from.
So the choice is never contract manufacturing against private label. FIZZPHARMA is a contract manufacturer. All three routes run through the same six steps: brief, sample, label, production, quality, delivery. The steps are on how a private label order works. Spanish-language buyers in Latin America search for contract manufacturing with the word maquila.
The third route is the narrowest sense of contract manufacturing: the brand brings the formula and the factory produces it. The first two routes add a formula to the service.
White label effervescent tablets: what do I get, and what does it cost me?
You get a formula that is already in production, a sample of the finished product, and a start with no development stage. The cost is that the same formula is open to other brands. Your product stands apart through the brand, the label, the range and the way you sell it.
The ready-made list includes single vitamins, vitamin and mineral combinations, and electrolyte formulas. Examples are vitamin C 1000 mg, vitamin C with zinc, multivitamins, magnesium with vitamin B6 and calcium with vitamin D3. The effervescent tablet is 4 g and comes 20 to a plastic tube with a desiccant cap, with your brand printed on the tube. The full list is on ready-made effervescent formulas.
White label fits when the list already covers your formula. If you need another dose of an ingredient, that is private label.
When is a formula developed for my brand the right route?
Choose a formula developed for your brand when the dose, the combination of ingredients or the flavour you need is not on the ready-made list. FIZZPHARMA develops a sample from your brief, you approve the sample and then the label, and production follows. The formula is developed for your brand, and further terms are given in our reply.
The cost is time before production and a point after which every change means a new sample. The sample is a project of its own, so settle the amounts first and the label second. Production takes the same time as for white label, from 4 weeks for tablets and sachets. The extra time sits before production, not inside it.
For drink cubes the same route covers a flavour of your own. Ready-made flavours cover any berry or fruit, and a flavour of your own, or a drink to your formula, can be developed. Each flavour counts as a product of its own for the minimum. See drink cubes under your brand.
Can I bring a formula I already have to a contract manufacturer?
Send the formula with your brief, and FIZZPHARMA's reply gives the sample terms. For drink cubes, a drink made to your formula is one of the options.
On this route you already know the formula. The brief names the formula, the format, the country of sale and the quantity. The sample is the first thing to settle, and the reply sets it out for your format.
What does the brand get on each route: name, label, formula?
On every route the pack carries your brand's name, logo and label design. The formula differs. A ready-made formula is open to other brands. A formula developed to your brief is developed for your brand. For a formula you bring, the terms are given in our reply. On all three routes, your importer holds the registration in the country of sale.
| Item | On all three routes |
|---|---|
| Brand name and logo | Your brand's |
| Label and pack design | Prepared with you, or supplied by you; you approve it before printing |
| Printing | At the factory: tube, carton, pouch, sachet |
| Registration in the country of sale | Held by your importer |
| Packaging of your own | On request |
For sale in the EU, Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 makes one party responsible for the food information. That is the operator under whose name or business name the food is marketed. If that operator is not established in the Union, it is the importer into the Union market. Decide early whose name goes on the pack. FIZZPHARMA prepares the artwork to the label rules that your importer confirms. So name the country of sale in the brief before the artwork is laid out.
How do the routes differ in time, minimum order (MOQ) and risk?
The routes differ before production, not in it. Production is from 4 weeks for tablets and sachets, on a ready-made formula and on a formula developed for your brand. Transport and customs come on top. For a formula you bring, the time is confirmed in our reply. What changes is the formula stage.
| Stage | White label | Private label | A formula you bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reply to your brief | Within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, on every route | ||
| Formula stage | None: pick from the list | Sample developed to your brief | Confirmed for your formula |
| Production (tablets and sachets) | From 4 weeks | From 4 weeks | Confirmed for your formula |
| Your two approvals | Sample first, label second; nothing is produced before both | ||
| Change to the formula after the sample is approved | A new sample, which you approve again | ||
| Shelf life | 24 months as the standard; the least stable ingredient sets it and the CoA of each batch confirms it | ||
| Minimum order | Low, counted as the format requires; the figure for your route is confirmed in the first reply | ||
How the minimum is counted follows the format:
- tubes for effervescent tablets;
- kilograms of finished blend for sachets and powders;
- cubes and boxes per product for drink cubes;
- litres for syrups.
A repeat order carries the same minimum as the first, so a small launch does not raise the bar for the next order. The formats are compared on minimum order and lead time.
Which documents come with each route?
The documents are the same on all three routes. Each batch leaves with a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) and a specification, issued after laboratory control at the factory. Copies of the site's ISO 22000, GMP and HACCP certificates, with their numbers, go to clients on request. The route changes the formula, not the paper.
Three more papers are arranged when your market asks:
- Halal. The certificate covers a batch of your product, not the whole factory. Either a certifying company visits the site, or an auditor attends the production run.
- Export papers. A Certificate of Free Sale and a Certificate of Manufacture, with apostille and consular legalisation for countries that require it.
- Outside laboratory test. On request, an accredited third-party laboratory tests for banned substances and issues the report in your brand's name.
Your importer files the registration with the specification, the CoA and the site certificates from FIZZPHARMA. The papers are described on certificates and CoA.
Which route fits my situation?
Match your situation to the route and read its cost.
- A launch with the fewest steps before production. White label. The cost is that the formula is open to other brands.
- A dose or combination that is not on the list. A formula developed for your brand. The cost is a sample stage before production and a new sample for any change after approval.
- A formula you already have. Contract manufacturing of the formula you bring. Send it with the brief; the reply gives the sample terms and confirms the production time.
- A market that asks for halal. Any route. Order the certificate with the first batch, since it covers that batch only. You choose between two ways to certify: a visit by a certifying company or an auditor at production.
Name the route in the brief, and the reply states the minimum and the production time for it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between white label and private label?
White label is a ready-made formula from the factory's list, sold under your label. Private label is a formula developed for your brand from your brief. At FIZZPHARMA a ready-made formula is open to other brands, while a formula developed to your brief is developed for your brand. Production is from 4 weeks on both.
Is white label the same as private label?
The market uses both words loosely, so check the two questions behind them: where the formula comes from, and whether another brand can buy it. For FIZZPHARMA, white label means a ready-made formula and private label means a formula developed for your brand.
Can another brand buy the same white label formula?
Yes. A ready-made formula from the FIZZPHARMA list is open to other brands as well. The plant's list holds more than 500 ready-made formulas in production across its formats, with new ones added every month. To have a formula developed for your brand, send a brief; FIZZPHARMA gives the further terms in its reply.
What is contract manufacturing in supplements and drink mixes?
It is a factory making a product to another company's order. Contract manufacturing says who makes the product; white label and private label say where the formula comes from. FIZZPHARMA is a contract manufacturer: the formula is ready-made, developed for your brand, or sent by you with the brief.
Can I bring a formula I already have to FIZZPHARMA?
Send it with your brief, and FIZZPHARMA's reply gives the sample terms. For drink cubes, a drink made to your formula is one of the options. Nothing is produced before you approve the sample and the label.
How long does each route take?
FIZZPHARMA produces effervescent tablets and sachets from 4 weeks on a ready-made formula and on a formula developed for your brand. Transport and customs come on top. The extra time of a formula developed for your brand sits before production, in the sample stage. For a formula you bring, the production time is confirmed in the reply.
Is the minimum order (MOQ) different for white label and private label?
The minimum is low on every format. It follows the format: tubes for tablets, kilograms for sachets and powders, cubes and boxes per product for drink cubes. FIZZPHARMA gives the figure for your route and format in its reply, and a repeat order carries the same minimum as the first.
Who owns the formula, and whose name is on the pack?
The pack carries your brand's name, logo and label design on every route. For the formula, a ready-made one is open to other brands and one developed to your brief is developed for your brand. FIZZPHARMA gives any further terms in its reply. FIZZPHARMA prints the tube, carton, pouch or sachet at the factory, and only after you approve the artwork.
Which documents come with each route?
The same on all three. Every FIZZPHARMA batch has a CoA and a specification, and copies of the site's ISO 22000, GMP and HACCP certificates go to clients on request. A halal certificate for the batch, export papers and a banned-substances test by an outside laboratory are arranged where the market asks for them.
Who files the registration in the country of sale?
Your importer holds the registration, whichever route you choose. FIZZPHARMA supplies the specification, the CoA and the site certificates for the importer's file. Ask the importer for its list of papers and the label rules before the artwork is final.
Read more
- Ready-made formulas with composition per tablet: ready-made effervescent formulas
- The six steps of an order: how a private label order works
- Units and lead times for every format: minimum order and lead time
- Batch papers and site certificates: certificates and CoA
- Tablets, cubes and sachets side by side: effervescent formats
- Tablet in a tube: effervescent tablets in tubes
- Cubes, each in its own blister: drink cubes under your brand
- Sachets of 4–12 g: powder sachets for private label
- Electrolyte formulas: electrolyte effervescent tablets and powders
- The launch in steps: how to start an electrolyte brand
Send the format, the route and the country of sale through the contact page; FIZZPHARMA replies within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.