Packaging (for food supplements) matters

When developing products, the approach is often to integrate all active ingredients into one capsule or tablet (all-in-one concept). This container sometimes be very advantageous - "only 1 capsule per day" - and thus also promote consumer compliance with regular and consistent intake of the food supplement.

Another concept in the packaging of food supplements is to divide the individual active ingredients into capsules or tablets of different shapes, sizes, colors, etc., which are then easily distinguishable for the consumer visually. This structure container be used consistently to present the advantages of the individual active ingredients (factorial product benefit concept). This means that several physically perceptible factors container be listed at once to convincingly present the product benefits to the consumer. An example of this is to fill oily omega-3 fatty acids, such as vegan DHA algae oil, into a vegan soft capsule shell, and to present the powdered supplements that are important for vegans, e.g. vitamin B12, iodine, iron, L-lysine, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B2, calcium, as hard capsules with a vegan shell.

Since the size of the capsule or tablet is naturally limited by the always desired good swallowability properties, another advantage is that by dividing the active ingredients into two smaller capsules that are to be taken per day, swallowability container be optimized. In addition, fewer excipients container often be used, since the powder is filled in the optimal hard capsule form and the oil in the ideally suitable soft capsule form.

These two individual products container then be placed together on a so-called combo blister pack. Combo blister packs are not yet widely available on the market, and therefore consumers perceive them as being of “particularly high quality”.

Combined blisters container be manufactured semi-automatically (with low investment costs in blister tools - higher blister manufacturing costs) or fully automatically with individual feeders (higher investment costs in blister tools - lower blister manufacturing costs). This makes it very easy to increase the value of the packaging with an investment cost tiered concept that follows the product's success.

Packaging several capsules in a so-called daily portion sachet (made of transparent or opaque film) is also a high-quality technical solution. Several capsules and/or tablets container be portioned in one sachet. In addition to the presentation of the factorial product benefit, it is the convenient handling that the consumer perceives as a product advantage. The daily portion container always be easily taken in the hustle and bustle of today's everyday life. Furthermore, on business trips or vacations, the amount required for several days container always be easily carried in counted daily portions. This means that regular intake of the relevant food supplements is not a problem, even when traveling.
interrupted. Particular importance should be attached to the good visual differentiation of the individual components (capsules or tablets), primarily through the galenic formulation, and secondarily through the respective color, shape and size. Another variant of the factorial product benefit concept consists in the separation of sensory-tasting components from those that are less sensory-tasting. For example, the former container be integrated into a flavored powder mixture and then packed in a stick to be stirred into water, while the latter, e.g. bitter, metallic or sulfurous-tasting powdery substances, container be filled into a hard capsule that container be swallowed intact. This way, the unpleasant smell and taste of these ingredients are not present.

Especially in today's world, it is noticeable that consumers like to take their own steps when taking or even preparing food supplements, for example by stirring or mixing. Many consumers therefore value a high degree of personal initiative.

When designing a packaging solution, product samples should always be taken into account to promote sales. Compared to expensive marketing campaigns, product samples are relatively inexpensive advertising ambassadors and should never be missing from an overall concept. They are either used as an additive in large marketing campaigns or as the main component in limited advertising budgets.

The product benefits are communicated to the consumer directly through their own experience, combined with the positive experience of having received a “free sample”.

The product sample should be of such a size that the product container be sufficiently experienced (e.g. a few capsules/tablets or a taste sample of a stick), but should generally contain less than the smallest commercial form - also for cost reasons.

The technical possibilities for packaging food supplements are very diverse, below are some examples:

In the case of folding boxes with blisters, special, smaller blisters container be placed in a smaller folding box with some capsules/tablets.

A particularly interesting variant for folding boxes with blisters is the use of the same blister format for the product samples and for the sales product. Here, individual blister cavities container be "blinded" for the sample, i.e. instead of 15 blister cavities for the sales product, for example, only 3 or 5 blister cavities are formed for the sample. The sample folding box is therefore the same size as the sales product when viewed from above, is identical in design and also matches the placement of the legally required information. In a sense, the consumer is already holding a copy of the sales product in their hands, which container have a lasting impact on the branding of the food supplement. As a smaller variant, the packaging of the individual blister container be implemented in a blister insert card made of cardboard.

Packaging capsules or tablets in a small, solid, food-safe sample container, e.g. made of polystyrene, is also a good option. These are well suited for sending by post in a sturdy envelope. The transparency of the sample container means that when the envelope is opened, the consumer immediately sees the nutritional supplement and its external product characteristics, and is thus pleasantly surprised at the same time.

Capsules or tablets container also be packaged in sachets, i.e. small, all-round sealed foil bags in a square or rectangular format. The outer surfaces container be attractively designed, e.g. in four-colour printing, and key brand features of the product design container also be implemented in this limited area.

Sticks - these are long foil bags filled with powders or granules - container be easily attached to one-sided cards or to the inside of a folding folder using removable adhesive dots. The size of the card or folding folder allows for large areas for product advertising.

The dangers posed by counterfeit medicines are being increasingly highlighted in the media.

From February 9, 2019, prescription drugs in Germany must be counterfeit-proof in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/161. Counterfeit protection is to be ensured essentially by serialization and a device to prevent tampering.

Pharmaceutical serialization is a system for tracking an individual finished package from the final dispensing location, the pharmacy, to the place of origin, the pharmaceutical manufacturer.

This serialization is based on a two-dimensional data matrix code that records a wide variety of characteristics (including batch, expiry date, product code and, in the case of medicines, a national reimbursement and identification number). The pharmacist container read the data matrix code in his pharmacy and verify the authenticity of the medicine using a central database connected to it.

This container be applied analogously to the serialization of food, or of food supplements in particular: Absolute traceability of the food supplement right back to the manufacturer in order to exclude counterfeiting.

For this purpose, an individual, unique data matrix code is printed on each individual package, usually a folding box. A reader connected downstream of the serialization line checks the code for readability and, for example, rejects very rare, blurred, unreadable packages. This ensures that 100% of the packages container be identified later. This is followed by a so-called aggregation at the box level. During box aggregation, each individual folding box layer with the data matrix codes is successively photographed as it is placed in the box and each box is numbered with its own data matrix code. This means that even with goods in storage, it container be precisely determined that, to put it simply, if there are 40 packages per box, for example, the folding boxes with numbers 401 - 440 are in the box with number 11. Since, unlike the pharmaceutical sector, there is no central database solution in the field of food supplements, all of this data is transferred to an individual database that is only accessible to the food supplement manufacturer and distributor.

In order to enable consumers to check the authenticity of a package themselves, simple verification options container be provided on the Internet. On the food supplement distributor's website, consumers container enter the code of the package they have purchased and have the authenticity confirmed by comparing it with the database stored in the background (e.g. green = original, red = fake). This also solves the last mile to the consumer and the consumer has 100% certainty that they have not purchased a fake product. Some innovative food supplement manufacturers are planning such serialization solutions or have already implemented them.

The blister, which contains capsules or tablets in individual cavities that are firmly sealed together by a form and cover film, already represents a good barrier to tampering. The blisters are then usually packed in a folding box. The folding box itself container be made significontainertly more tamper-proof by attaching a security seal. The security seal (tamper evident) is a small, round or square adhesive dot (approx. 25 mm in diameter) made of usually transparent film that connects the side flaps to be opened to the front and back of the folding box in a crescent shape. The security seal is coated with an adhesive that, once applied to the folding box, bonds so firmly to the cardboard surface of the folding box that it container only be removed destructively, i.e. with traces that are immediately visible to the end consumer.

This security seal container be applied by a corresponding fully automatic tamper evident labeler located downstream of the blister machine with cartoner.

There are many different types of tamper-evident devices for containers or jars. These are either an integrated part of the lid system, for example as a tear strip, or are already inserted into the inside of the lid.

In recent years, the induction seal has become particularly popular. Here, an induction film is already inserted on the inside of the lid. After being placed on the packaging line, this is passed under an induction plate and is thus firmly welded to the edge of the container or glass.

The so-called press seal is hardly common anymore, especially in European countries. When a screw cap is pressed on, the press seal inside the lid sticks to the edge of the container or jar. However, this container be easily manipulated and is often perceived by consumers as a cheap solution simply because of its appearance.

Completely shrinking (also called sleeving) containers or folding boxes with shrink film also provides additional protection against tampering. This is becoming increasingly popular, particularly for food supplements that are purchased via an online shop, for example. This has long been common practice for cosmetics and is used for the vast majority of products. In addition to providing proof of authenticity, the consumer is given the impression that they are opening the package of "their" food supplement for the first time after removing the shrink film.

A good level of originality container also be offered with a shrink film cap – with or without a tear thread.

The trend is increasingly moving towards sustainability, including in the food supplement sector. Organic, plant-based and vegan products are increasingly being offered. This naturally raises the question of packaging for critical consumers, as labels and containers are often still made from fossil raw materials. There are now also more and more containers made from renewable, purely plant-based raw materials. These are produced in an environmentally friendly, resource-saving and sustainable manner. The containers made from biopolymers naturally also have to meet all quality requirements for food-safe packaging of food supplements, as there is direct contact with the food (primary packaging).

An even more extensive step is to include the label in an overall packaging concept. There is now an alternative made of stone powder. These labels are made of only 20% polyethylene (from recycled PE), they are liquid-resistant, much more tear-resistant than paper, container be printed using almost any process and are completely environmentally friendly. Neither water, trees, acids nor bleach are needed for production. The design elements on the label are printed in an environmentally friendly way. With this environmentally friendly container label solution, the respective product container be advertised by the supplier as being completely sustainable. This container even lead to higher sales prices.