Vitamin supplement manufacturing is an important part of health supplement processing and production, and it is also one of the most important projects chosen by brand owners.

Learn about the process of producing vitamin supplements

Vitamin supplements are generally obtained from plant or animal products, or they can be synthesized through chemical reactions.

The lower-priced vitamin supplements on the market are generally synthetic because the raw materials are more readily available than natural vitamin supplements. However, there are no significant chemical differences between pure vitamins produced from plant or animal sources and synthetically produced vitamins.

Is the manufacturing process the same for every vitamin supplement?

No matter what type of vitamin you plan to produce, and whether you use chemical or natural raw materials, the process of producing vitamins is the same. For example, the production process for vitamin C supplements and vitamin D3 supplements will remain the same; the only differences are the raw materials used and the form of delivery – powder or tablet. However, the core process of making vitamins has not changed.

How are vitamin supplements produced?

There are 11 steps in the vitamin production process, and the raw materials will vary depending on the specific vitamin you want to produce.

1. Determine the formula

Identify the vitamins you want to introduce to the market. Depending on your approach, you can decide on appropriate dosages of raw ingredients and provide evidence-based supplements supported by appropriate structure and function claims.

2. Preliminary inspection

The second step is to procure quality raw materials and other ingredients from suppliers. These “other ingredients” include basic substances that perform different functions, such as binders, fillers, flow agents, etc., and vary depending on whether your finished product is a powder, tablet, or capsule.

High-quality, reliable raw material suppliers provide contract manufacturers with certificates of analysis—statements of material content and purity. Most multivitamin manufacturers inspect their raw materials themselves or send them to independent laboratories for analysis. If you use herbs to produce a natural vitamin supplement, you must sample it to determine its identity and potency, as well as any possible bacterial contamination, as well as heavy metal content.

3.Premix

The raw materials are generally processed into a fine powder, often already as a fine powder before arriving at the factory, and some vitamins are premixed with filler ingredients such as microcrystalline cellulose or maltodextrin to produce more uniform particles, thus simplifying subsequent processing steps. When using a new ingredient, lab technicians may produce test batches to determine whether premixing is required.

4. Wet granulation

For vitamin tablets, particle size plays an important role in determining how well the formula will perform in a tablet press. If the raw vitamins from the dispenser are ground to a size suitable for tableting, a wet granulation step is not required. Alternatively, fine vitamin powders are mixed with different cellulose granules, moistened, and dried in a dryer. After drying, formula may become lumpy. In this case, the powder needs to be run through a mill to ensure it is the right size. The grinder forces them into a small hole to achieve the desired particle size.

5.Weigh and mix

The vitamin ingredients are weighed on a scale as soon as they are prepared. In the recipe batch record, the required weight of each ingredient is listed. Once weighed, place the ingredients in a blender and blend for about 15-30 minutes. Samples are then taken from different sides of the mixer and inspected to ensure even distribution and proportions of all ingredients. When running large batches, the first three or four tanks in the mixer are inspected and then re-inspected periodically.

6.Packaging

Once the batch in the mixer is approved, the mixture is transferred to the encapsulating machine and placed into a hopper. Initially, a test batch goes through the encapsulating machine to ensure the capsules are of appropriate and consistent weight. The finished vitamin mixture is then compressed into tablets, sometimes coated, or enclosed in preformed gelatin capsules, depending on the brand owner's specifications. You can even visually inspect your vitamin capsules for tears or dents. If the test shows no errors, the entire batch is run.

7. Polishing and inspection

The vitamin capsule is then circulated over the belt through a series of soft brushes. These brushes remove excess dust or vitamin powder from the outside of the capsules. After polishing, the capsule is poured onto an examination table with a rotating rod belt. Rotary tables can be 2-4 feet (0.6-1.2m) in diameter. The vitamin falls into the groove between the rods and rotates as the rod turns, allowing the inspector to see all sides of the vitamin. Capsules that are too long, split, dented or otherwise defective will be discarded.

8. Tablet pressing

A rotary table with holes on the outer edge accommodates molds of the desired tablet shape (oval, round, triangular, animal, etc.). As long as the appropriate mold is installed, you can choose the shape. Vitamin powder from the filling station fills the mold, and when the table rotates, the filled mold moves into the punch press. When the two halves of the punch meet, 4-10 tons (3.6-9 metric tons) of pressure is exerted on the vitamin powder and the vitamin powder is compressed into dense tablets. The number of tablets produced per minute is determined by the rotation speed of the table. Once compressed, the tablets are sprayed onto a vibrating belt to remove any loose dust.

9.Coating

Solid tablets are removed from the tableting area and placed into the coating pan, which is a wide rotating disk surrounded by 1-6 spray guns operated by a pump. These pumps spray a coating on the tablets as they rotate in the pot.

10. Packaging and labeling

In the packaging area, coated vitamin tablets pass through a row of machines. The machine can calculate the number of capsules or tablets required per bottle. The capsules or tablets are dropped into bottles and passed to the next machine for sealing, capping, labeling and shrink wrapping. Each bottle is labeled with its contents, recommended use information and expiry date. These finished bottles are then packed into boxes and ready for shipping.

11.Quality control

Quality checks are performed at many stages of the vitamin production process to ensure the highest quality supplements are produced. All vitamin tablet or capsule ingredients are checked for identity and potency before use.