Capsule or tablet: which is better?

Neither in general. Capsules suit most powders and extracts and are quicker to develop. Tablets hold more in one unit and can be coated, but the blend has to compress. The dose decides most often: if a day's dose won't fit in two or three capsules, a tablet or a powder is usually the better call.

Can a powder be a listed medicine?

Yes. The Belly Solution's travel gut-health powder is a TGA-listed medicine. A powder can also be a food, depending on its ingredients and its claims. See medicine, food or cosmetic?

What is the minimum order for a new format?

3,000 finished retail packs per batch. Some packs also carry their own minimum from the packaging supplier: single-serve sachets, for example, typically need around 150,000 sachets. We set out both in the quote. See managed manufacturing.

Formats

Product formats, from formula to delivery

We develop products in the common wellness formats, capsules, tablets, chewables and softgels, powders, sachets, liquids and oils, creams and serums, and manage their manufacture through cGMP partners matched to the format, the volume and the margin, from the first formula to delivery at your warehouse. Each format page covers what we build in it, the pathway questions it raises and examples from our records.

Format

Capsules, tablets and softgels

Capsules, tablets, chewables and softgels developed and made for your brand: formula, evidence, TGA listing, stability and managed cGMP manufacturing.

Powders, sachets and liquids

Probiotic, electrolyte, greens and performance powders in tubs, pouches and sachets, plus liquids and oils: developed, made compliant and manufactured.

In short

The format follows the formula, the dose and the customer: how much has to go into one serve, how it tastes, and how and where it will be taken.
A format doesn't decide the pathway. A capsule isn't always a medicine, and a powder can be a listed medicine or a food.
Trials prove the format before a production order does. Two of our projects changed format mid-project, after trials showed the first format wouldn't hold.

How the format is chosen

The format follows the formula, the dose and the customer, and sometimes the production line decides. A format doesn't settle the pathway, either: a capsule isn't always a medicine, and a powder can be a listed medicine or a food, so the pathway is settled at the brief, before the formula. Creams, serums and sunscreens are covered on the skincare page, on the cosmetics pathway or as TGA-listed medicines.

What each format page covers

Capsules, tablets and softgels. When a capsule, a tablet, a chewable or a softgel is the right call, from a single-ingredient formula to complex herbal blends of 13 or more ingredients, with the packs and the stability programs behind the shelf life on the label.
Powders, sachets and liquids. Probiotic, electrolyte, greens and performance powders in tubs, pouches and single-serve sachets, plus liquids and oil blends, and where the line between a listed medicine and a food falls for a powder.

Formats at a glance

Format	Suits	Watch for
Capsules	Powders and extracts at moderate doses; quick to develop	How much fits in one capsule; under TGO 116, a capsule over 24.1 mm long or 9.5 mm wide needs a large dosage form warning on a listed medicine
Tablets	Higher doses in one unit; coatings that mask taste	The blend has to compress; large tablet warnings apply above set sizes
Softgels	Oils, such as omega-3s and vitamin D in oil	Oxidation, which the stability program has to cover
Chewables	Customers who won't swallow a capsule	Taste and texture over the whole shelf life
Powders in a tub or pouch	Large serves, such as greens, protein, electrolytes and probiotics	Taste, how well it mixes, and moisture
Sachets	Single serves, on the go, sampling and trial packs	More packaging per serve, and each sachet's label
Liquids and oils	Drops and shots	Stability and taste are the hardest to hold in a liquid

When the format changes mid-project

Trials decide. An eye-health formula kept failing in encapsulation because the ingredient mix was too wet, so it moved to a direct-compression tablet. A prenatal started as a liquid drop, wasn't stable and couldn't have its taste masked, so it became a two-a-day chewable. Finding that out in trials, not in production, is the point of the format stage.

Manufacturing, managed

Take Friday Off is not a contract manufacturer. We match the product to cGMP manufacturing partners by format, volume and margin, carry the specification, packaging and labelling, and manage release testing, imports and freight through to your warehouse or 3PL. For a listed medicine, every partner holds the TGA manufacturing licence or GMP clearance its step needs. See managed manufacturing.

Questions

: Neither in general. Capsules suit most powders and extracts and are quicker to develop. Tablets hold more in one unit and can be coated, but the blend has to compress. The dose decides most often: if a day's dose won't fit in two or three capsules, a tablet or a powder is usually the better call.
: Yes. The Belly Solution's travel gut-health powder is a TGA-listed medicine. A powder can also be a food, depending on its ingredients and its claims. See medicine, food or cosmetic?
: 3,000 finished retail packs per batch. Some packs also carry their own minimum from the packaging supplier: single-serve sachets, for example, typically need around 150,000 sachets. We set out both in the quote. See managed manufacturing.