DOSAGE FORMATS & DELIVERY
FORMAT VS TECHNOLOGY
ESTABLISHED FORMATS
Hard capsules.
Flexible, economical and forgiving of most powders. The limit is fill volume, which caps the dose per unit and drives capsule count.
Tablets.
The highest payload per unit and the lowest cost at scale. The trade-offs are compression behaviour, disintegration, and size once the dose gets large.
Softgels.
The natural home for oils and oil-soluble actives. Shell compatibility, fill migration and heat sensitivity decide what can go in.
Powders, stick packs and sachets.
The answer for large doses such as protein, creatine and electrolytes. Flowability, moisture uptake and dissolution in the glass become the problems.
Liquids and shots.
Fast to take and easy to flavour. Water activity, preservation and the stability of actives in solution set the shelf life.
Gummies and chewables.
Popular and forgiving on taste, with low payload and real stability challenges, particularly for heat-sensitive and moisture-sensitive actives.
EMERGING FORMATS
These formats are appearing in new launches. Each one solves a real problem, and each one has a limit the marketing rarely mentions.
Single-dose powders poured directly onto the tongue, no water needed. The appeal is convenience and speed. The challenges are taste, because nothing masks it on the way down, mouthfeel, and moisture: a powder built to dissolve in saliva also wants to absorb humidity from the air, so packaging carries a lot of the stability work. Dose per serving is limited by what is comfortable in the mouth.
Thin strips that dissolve on the tongue. Films suit low-dose actives only, because the payload per strip is small. Dose uniformity across a cast film, moisture control and stability are the technical work. Positioning matters too: a film intended to be swallowed and one intended for absorption through the mouth lining can sit in different regulatory categories.
The next step beyond gummies: higher payloads, and in some systems the ability to carry oils. Water activity, texture over shelf life and ingredient interactions decide whether a demanding formula holds up. Manufacturer payload and stability claims should be verified against your actual formula, not taken from the platform brochure.
Squeezable, single-serve gels, already familiar from collagen and energy products. They sit close to food, which is exactly why classification needs deciding early: depending on the ingredients, levels and claims, the same product can fall under different frameworks in different markets. Preservation and microbial stability are the formulation core.
An old format getting renewed attention. The central technical question is delivered dose: chewing releases only part of what is in the gum, and how much depends on the active, the gum base and how long it is chewed. That has to be measured, not assumed. Where an active is intended to be absorbed in the mouth, the product can move toward drug territory.
The fastest-moving format in the category and the least settled in regulation. Route of administration, release, tolerability and eligibility by market all need deciding together.
Caps that hold a powder separately and release it into a liquid at the moment of use. They can protect sensitive actives that do not survive in solution. The questions are whether separation provides a demonstrable stability benefit for your formula, whether the full dose actually releases and mixes, and whether cap and bottle are compatible.
WHAT WE DO
Dose feasibility for the format at the intended serving.
Stability and packaging assessment, including moisture and oxygen exposure.
Sensory and taste-masking requirements.
Manufacturer capability and qualification for the format.
Regulatory classification of the format in each target market.
Claims assessment, including any claim tied to absorption or speed.
Prototype and pilot planning.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the best supplement format for a high dose?
Usually a powder, stick pack or tablet. Capsules, gummies and films run out of room quickly, and a dose that needs six gummies a day is rarely a product people keep buying.
Are melt powders and oral films absorbed faster?
Can changing the format change the regulatory classification?
Can a manufacturer’s platform data support my claims?
Send us the concept, the intended format and the target markets. We will assess dose, stability, sensory and classification side by side before anything is committed.