Custom beverage & supplements formulation
When it comes to beverage & supplement formulations, the sky being the limit is honestly a more precise metaphor than “limitations apply”.
Since 2013, AMATA has been bottling various beverages at our facilities in Bulgaria—the most affordable EU market. From 2016 and onwards, some of the recipe-building shifted from being contracted via third-parties, to us doing it in-house. This was made possible by our branching out into more complex beverages, some of which started to feature functional ingredients, such as minerals and vitamins, at around that time.
As they say, “You learn best by doing“. And so, we ended up hiring local talent and incorporating their know-how and work into a new category of proficiency for our company. Fast-forward to today, and we can say that we have the confidence to not just formulate for our own lines of drinks, but to also share that expertise with Private Label clients.
And that’s precisely where most of our clients start: the recipe. Whether it’s a specific functional ingredient they see driving sales, or a cocktail of bioactive compounds, they’re usually set on a few key components. Other times, they rely on our already developed recipe book and just tweak here-and-there.
Whatever your formulation goals are, we can help make them happen
This isn’t boasting. We’re confident we can provide value because we understand our limits and know when to seek outside council from a specialized formulations developer. The key benefit of working with AMATA on this front is that past real-world projects have clearly indicated that we have access to the same quality of third-party expertise, but at much better cost. We seek to pass on those savings to our clients to make our service more enticing.
This is crucial, as some start-ups underestimate just how many of the factors leading up to a final product can ramp up the cost of entry, especially in Western markets. This is why parts of AMATA are specifically set-up to handle smaller orders with minimal penalty on per product cost. Starting small is prudent, and we’ll help you out—if we’re both lucky, “small” will be just a phase.
Our approach to this is in marked contrast to the majority of rival Private Label manufacturers—we seek to profit from your product selling at volume, and not by siphoning your budget before you’ve even started by gouging you on per unit price. This makes it possible for our clients to try confidently, and yes, to sometimes fail, but without it leading to financial ruin.
Key considerations when thinking about beverage & supplement formulation
So what is there to consider before taking the next step and contacting us? Find below a few of the crucial factors pertaining to formulation—but don’t worry, for the most part, we will take care of these on your behalf!
- Target market—who’s your client?
Understanding this will serve a jolt to your imagination and help you expand, build upon, and fine-tune your concept! - Health trends—are you going after a certain niche?
From Vitamins, Minerals, Mushrooms, Nootropics, CBD, Protein, Collagen, through Pre- and Pro-biotics, to essential amino-acids and even traditional herbals, there’s never been more potentially underserved niches! Over the past 8 years, we’ve been nurturing relationships with ingredients manufacturers in order to be able to cater to even the most exotic requests. - Allergens, dietary restrictions—something you’re hard-set on leaving out of the formula?
Are you looking to cater to certain dietary restrictions, such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, Kosher or Halal? What about Organic? Diabetes-friendly products? It’s a long list! - Bioavailability—did you know that very serious science has gone into most elements required for humans to not just survive, but thrive?
This is how we know certain compounds, such as Magnesium Lactate, have superior bioavailability (i.e. the portion of the elemental Magnesium that the body can access) to other common Magnesium forms!
This is a tricky subject, as certain compounds have specific physicochemical properties and, therefore, requirements when interacting with other ingredients, but the benefits are real and confirmed by science. We like obsessing over this stuff, even if it’s not always practical—sometimes it’s better to just add more of a less bioavailable compound that is more abundant and affordable. Other times, adding more is not the way forward, as most good-for-you ingredients do tend to have a rather unpleasant taste that you may want to mask so they’re more palatable.
We’ll share our knowledge with you. - Formula stability—your stuff is no good if it spoils on the shelves!
This is why serious consideration goes into ensuring that your formula is not just packed with scientifically-tested, healthy ingredients, but also can stand the trials of storage, transit, and yes, sitting on a shelf until your product is picked up! This is especially important for premium products, so beware complacent vendors that just blurt out “it’ll be fiiiine” and then carry on. Being told it’ll be fine and knowing all is good are different things.
I want to stress the importance of this. Your first showing on the shelves is critical. It’s hard to recover if your product spoils. - Preservatives—often misunderstood compounds, crucial for allowing our abundance of great products at fair prices.
Most powdered preparations can side-step the preservatives requirement, but this is much harder achieved in liquid formulations, such as in beverages. Thankfully, due to the pioneering and patented work of one our key partners, ViCAP Systems, we can offer preservatives-free formulas for those looking for one! - Sweeteners—not all created equal.
Let’s face it: sugar gets a bad rap. Not because it’s so problematic on its own, but because we simply consume too much of it! This is why authoritative bodies, like the American Heart Association, recommends no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day for men, and 25 grams for woment (9 and 6 teaspoons, respectively).
Similar considerations apply to synthetic sweeteners, especially those that are super-potent, such as Acesulfame K, Aspartame, Saccharine. The science may say that they’re safe, but if consumers disagree (right or wrong), then you have limited options.
Thankfully, nature provides! From Stevia, through Monk Fruit extracts, Erythritol, and Yacon Syrup, all the way to Agave Nectar and Allulose, a solution exists—it’s just a matter of cost, MOQs, and formula integration. - Marketing potential—the EFSA and FDA allow certain claims to be printed on product labels.
The list is rather long, but not huge, so knowing what ingredients have been scientifically evaluated for these authoritative bodies to allow health claims can help make your product stand out. At AMATA, we have a proven track-record of capitalizing on this opportunity!
I even wrote two articles specifically on the topic, which you can check out here: EU claims | US claims. - Lab testing—so that you can sleep easy!
Common formulations are well-understood. However, if you’re looking for something a bit more “out there”, various lab tests have been developed to save you all the possible grief common when novices launch physically- and biologically-complex formulations. That’s where science comes in.Microbial, pH, water activity, accelerated stability testing, these are just a few of the optional tools at disposal when you need them.
If you’ve gotten this far, congrats on your attention-span, that’s impressive! And nice on us for hopefully having been thorough and sufficiently descriptive.
Now that you’ve got the basics covered, perhaps it’s time to shoot us a message? Whether it’s Text, Viber, WhatsApp, E-mail or a call, that’s fine—feel free to pick the least personally existential dread-y way to get in touch and we’ll oblige.