Stick Pack Powder Manufacturer for Custom Supplement Runs

Four vertical form-fill-seal lines run stick packs from 1g to 10g. Fill accuracy is held to +/- 2% on most powder blends, tighter on free-flowing ingredients. Each line runs at 40 to 60 strokes per minute, giving a daily ceiling near 180,000 sticks when all four are active. Changeover between SKUs takes 2 to 4 hours, including film roll swap, auger calibration and seal temperature checks. That matters if you plan several flavours under one brand.

Film options include standard PET/AL/PE for moisture barrier, clear PET/PE for visible powders, and compostable kraft-backed structures. Stick dimensions are typically 20mm x 90mm to 30mm x 120mm. Tear notches, perforations and rounded corners are standard. We run nitrogen flushing for oxygen-sensitive actives. Every lot gets a seal strength test at start, middle and end of run.

Stick packs work best with free-flowing powders: spray-dried extracts, maltodextrin carriers, crystalline amino acids, electrolyte blends, collagen peptides and instant coffee or tea bases. Sticky or hygroscopic ingredients need a carrier or granulation step before filling. We keep a humidity-controlled room at 35-45% RH for blending and filling. That prevents caking in the hopper and keeps fill weights stable across a 20,000-unit run.

Flavour systems are available as spray-dried powders or liquid-absorbed onto carriers. Common profiles include berry, citrus, vanilla, chocolate and unflavoured. Sweetener options cover stevia, monk fruit, sucralose and allulose. For sports and hydration sticks, we blend electrolytes with 2-6g of dextrose or maltodextrin. For beauty and wellness, collagen, biotin and vitamin C are common. We can also run vegan, halal -compliant formulas under segregated production.

Each production lot is tested for fill weight, seal integrity, moisture content and microbiological limits. We hold GMP, ISO 22000 and HACCP certification. Depending on your market, we can add halal or vegan documentation. Heavy metals and pesticide residue testing is available on request. Certificates of analysis ship with every lot. Retain samples are kept for 24 months. If you need stability data, we run accelerated studies at 40C/75% RH for 3 months.

Stick packs ship in food-grade cartons with desiccant where needed. Standard export cartons hold 1,000 to 2,000 sticks. We palletise to US and EU dimensions. Air freight samples go out in 3-5 days; sea freight to Los Angeles takes 18-24 days, to Rotterdam 28-32 days, to Jebel Ali 16-20 days. EUPHM handles export documents, including certificate of origin, health certificate and commercial invoice. We can also coordinate with your freight forwarder.

Every stick pack lot is tested against a written specification before release. Identity testing confirms the active ingredient by HPLC or FTIR, and potency is assayed to ensure the label claim is met within the agreed tolerance, typically 95-105% for vitamins and 90-110% for herbal extracts. Microbial testing covers total aerobic count, yeast and mould, E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus, with results reported in CFU/g. Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) are screened by ICP-MS, and where the formula includes a fibre or thickener, disintegration or dispersibility is checked in water at 25°C.

Testing happens at three points: incoming raw materials are quarantined until identity and COA review are complete, in-process checks verify fill weight every 30 minutes on each stick pack line, and finished goods are sampled from the first and last sticks of each batch. A batch record links the raw material lot numbers, machine settings, operator sign-offs and test results. Retention samples of every lot are kept for 24 months in a controlled stability room at 25°C/60% RH and 30°C/65% RH, with a 40°C/75% RH accelerated arm for 6 months where the client requests it.

The certificate of analysis (COA) issued with each lot lists the product name, batch number, manufacturing date, expiry date, tests performed, specification limits and results, plus the signature of the QC manager. It does not claim certifications that the site does not hold. If a client needs a COA formatted to their own template, that is agreed at the sample stage so the same fields are captured during production. Micro and heavy metal results are usually available within 5-7 working days of manufacture, and the COA is released only after all results are in specification.

Stick packs are run on vertical form-fill-seal lines with film widths from 40mm to 80mm and fill weights from 1g to 10g. Standard film structures are PET/AL/PE for a high moisture barrier, PET/PE for a clear or white finish, and kraft-paper laminates for a natural look. Each stick is printed with lot number and expiry date by thermal transfer or inkjet, and the code is verified by an inline vision system before cartoning. Sticks are packed into cartons of 10, 20 or 30 units, or into display boxes, with a maximum carton weight of 15kg for manual handling.

For retail, the outer carton or label must carry the elements required by the destination market. For the US, that means a statement of identity, net quantity in avoirdupois and metric, a supplement facts panel, ingredient list, allergen declaration, and the name and place of business of the distributor. The FDA does not pre-approve labels, so the brand owner is responsible for the final artwork. We provide a label review against a checklist, but we do not offer legal sign-off. Lot and expiry coding is applied to the primary stick and the outer carton, and cartons are marked with the batch number for traceability.

Cartons are packed into export-grade corrugated shippers, typically 12 or 24 cartons per shipper, and palletised to a maximum height of 1.8m including the pallet. Standard pallet footprints are 1200x1000mm and 1200x800mm, with stretch wrap and edge protectors. For Amazon FBA, we can apply FNSKU labels and poly-bag units where required, but the brand owner must supply the FNSKU data and confirm the prep category. We do not print Amazon-specific labels unless the artwork is supplied. Retail compliance for the EU requires the food supplement labelling rules of the destination country, including allergen and additive declarations.

The minimum order quantity for a custom stick pack run is 1,000 units per SKU where the formula and film are already approved. Sample production takes 7-10 working days from receipt of the signed formulation and artwork, and the sample is shipped by courier at the client's account. Mass production starts only after written sample approval and runs for 20-35 working days depending on film lead time, flavour availability and line scheduling. Repeat orders with the same specification typically fall at the lower end of that window.

Shipping is arranged by air or sea. Air freight from Shenzhen or Hong Kong to the US or EU takes 5-8 days door to door for 100-500kg, while sea freight to the US West Coast takes 18-25 days port to port and to Rotterdam 28-35 days. We quote EXW, FOB Shenzhen or Hong Kong, and DDP for most destinations. DDP pricing includes customs clearance and duty but excludes any destination taxes that the buyer is legally required to remit. Incoterms are stated on the invoice and are not varied after booking without a written amendment.

Each shipment is accompanied by a commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of analysis, material safety data sheet (MSDS) where the product contains a hazardous ingredient, and a free-sale certificate if the destination customs authority requires one. For plant-derived ingredients, a phytosanitary certificate can be arranged where the importing country asks for it, but it is not standard for finished supplements. Certificates of origin are available on request. We do not provide a certificate of free sale for markets where the product is not registered, and we do not issue any document that states an approval we do not hold.