The supplement industry is a booming but competitive industry. If you’re a supplement brand or supplement manufacturer, each and every decision regarding how you formulate, create, market, and sell your products is important and should be well-thought-out, including your supplement packagingBlister packaging is one popular option for supplement packaging.

There are quite a few advantages of blister packaging for consumers and manufacturers and really not so many disadvantages. Advantages include increased security, freshness, extra convenience, easy dosing, and improved compliance among consumers, just to name a few. The only real disadvantage of blister packaging is that blister packs take a bit longer to produce. Considering the long list of advantages, however, we’d say blister packaging is often worth the wait. 

In this article, you’ll learn all about blister packaging. You’ll learn what blister packs are and about the different types of blister packs available for supplements. Then, you’ll learn about all of the advantages and disadvantages of using this type of supplement packaging so that you can decide whether or not blister packaging is a viable option for your target market. 

 

What is blister packaging?

A blister pack is made up of two separate parts. One part is a cavity or pocket molded to the shape of the supplement. The other part is the backing that keeps the supplement from falling out of the cavity. 

 

Blister Packaging Formation

 

Because of the many advantages of blister packaging for both manufacturers and consumers, blister packaging is often the preferred type of supplement packaging for capsules and tablets

 

Types of blister packaging 

There are many types of blister packs. The most common types include: 

  1. Plastic-paper: Plastic mold with paper backing.  
  2. Plastic-plastic: Plastic mold on both sides (usually opening like a clamshell)   
  3. Plastic-foil: Plastic mold with an aluminum foil backing. 
  4. Foil-foil: Aluminum foil mold with an aluminum foil backing. 

You may have noticed that not all types of blister packs mentioned above are commonly used for supplements. 

The most common types of blister packs used for supplements are plastic-foil and foil-foil. With plastic-foil blister packs, the cavity is made using a process called thermoforming – applying heat to mold the plastic. With foil-foil blister packs, the cavity is created by a process called cold pressing – pressing a stamp into the aluminum material to create the cavity.  

Plastic-foil is typically more common for supplements for a couple of reasons. The plastic allows consumers to see the exact size and shape of the pill inside, and plastic-foil blister packs are faster and easier to produce. That being said, foil-foil blister packs do have one important advantage: The use of aluminum offers a near-complete barrier for water and oxygen, which increases the shelf-life of the product. 

 

 

Foil-foil blister packaging made with cold pressing.

Foil-foil blister packaging made with cold pressing.

 

 

Plastic-foil blister packaging made with thermoforming

Plastic-foil blister packaging made with thermoforming.

 

 

 

Benefits of blister packaging for supplements 

Regardless of the type of blister packaging you chose, blister packaging has many benefits for supplement brands and consumers. Below, is a list of advantages of using blister packaging for your tablets and capsules.

 

1. Added protection 

While some capsules and tablets can withstand crashing and tumbling around in a plastic bottle (while in transit for example), others are more sensitive to movement and can break if not handled with care. Blister packs offer added protection for capsules, tablets, and softgels. The individual compartments keep the pills from crashing into each other and breaking apart.

 

2. Freshness 

Some supplement ingredients are highly sensitive to humidity and oxygen. With plastic bottle packaging, each time a consumer opens the bottle, the pills inside are exposed to both humidity and oxygen, decreasing their shelf-life. Blister packs offer a way for consumers to access their pills without exposing the rest of the pills in the bottle to potentially harmful factors. 

 

3. Convenience for travel 

Another great advantage of blister packs is that they’re very easy to travel with. Not only are they typically lighter than plastic bottles, but they are also typically easier to store in small spaces. Travelers can choose to travel with just one sheet of pills, for example, and leave the rest at home. Not to mention, the added protection of blister packs makes them ideal for traveling. 

 

4. Compliance 

One of the greatest advantages of blister packaging is that it’s very helpful for consumers to keep track of how many pills they have taken. It’s also easy to print days of the week on the aluminum backing of blister packs to help consumers make sure they’re taking their daily supplements. 

 

5. Transparency

Transparency is really important to some consumers. They want to see the exact size and shape of the tablet or capsule they’ll be taking every day. Blister packaging is one great way to show your consumers what your product looks like. You can also use the opportunity to get creative with colors and help your brand stand out. 

 

Disadvantages of blister packaging for supplements

As previously mentioned, there aren’t many disadvantages to using blister packaging for your supplements. In fact, there are only really two:

  1. It takes some additional time to produce cold-pressed, foil-foil blister packs. 
  2. Most blister packs come in cardboard boxes which aren’t always the most durable. 

 

Are you looking for a supplement manufacturer? 

If you’re looking for a supplement manufacturer, it’s a good idea to research their packaging capabilities. The way you choose to package your product could be the difference between success and failure, so you’ll want to choose a supplement manufacturer with many packaging options available. 

The best supplement manufacturers will also offer you advice in terms of packaging your supplement so you can make the right decision for your supplement, your brand, and your consumers. 

Generation Nutra offers many kinds of packaging options, including blister packs. Here are some additional benefits of building your supplement brand with Generation Nutra:

Thousands of raw materials to choose from so you can create unique and personalized formulas.

  1. Thousands of raw materials to choose from so you can create unique and personalized formulas.
  2. Advice in terms of formulation.
  3. Various supplement packaging formats to choose from so you can customize your product.
  4. A team of in-house graphic designers to help you with supplement label design.
  5. Advice and guidance to help you market and sell your product.

 

Are you looking for a supplement manufacturer? 

Ask Generation Nutra what we can do for you.

Contact us