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

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.

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 and sachets

Powder supplement manufacturing, managed: probiotic, greens, protein, collagen, creatine and electrolyte powders in tubs, pouches, stick packs and sachets.

Gummies

Gummy supplement manufacturing, managed: pectin or gelatin, sugar-free, centre-filled or coated gummies, as TGA-listed medicines or foods.

Liquids

Liquid supplement manufacturing, managed: vitamin drops, herbal tinctures, shots, syrups and oral sprays, as TGA-listed medicines or foods.

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.
Gummies. Pectin, gelatin, sugar-free and centre-filled or coated gummies, and why a vitamin gummy is made as a listed medicine.
Powders and sachets. Probiotic, greens, protein, collagen and performance powders, the pack that suits each, and where the line between a listed medicine and a food falls for a powder.
Liquids. Drops, tinctures, shots, syrups and oral sprays, why vitamin D drops are usually listed medicines, and the preservative and packaging rules that weigh more on liquids.
Creams and serums. Topicals on the cosmetics pathway or as TGA-listed medicines, on the skincare page.

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 fish oil and krill oil (omega-3 guide)	Oxidation, which the stability program has to cover
Chewables	Customers who won't swallow a capsule	Taste and texture over the whole shelf life
Gummies	A daily format customers look forward to, when taste drives repeat purchase	Added vitamins or minerals make it a listed medicine: a general food can't carry them in confectionery. Taste and texture over the shelf life
Powders in a tub or pouch	Large serves, such as probiotics, electrolytes and performance powders	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	Precise or adjustable doses: drops, tinctures, shots, syrups and oral sprays	Stability and taste are the hardest to hold in a liquid, and a water-based multidose liquid has to pass a preservative test

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.