What is involved in capsule filling?
Capsule filling in supplement manufacture is the process of evenly mixing a powder of ingredients and filling it into capsules. Here at G&G we are experts at excipient free capsule filling and have been innovating in the space for over half a century.
What sets G&G’s capsule filling service apart?
Filling HPMC capsules is the core of G&G’s business. Decades ago G&G became the very first supplement manufacturer to begin filling capsules without the use of excipients. Now armed with 60 years of history, we can claim to be among the very best at capsule filling.
Our capabilities
G&G employs 8 semi-automatic filling machines in our supplement manufacture cleanroom. Skilled encapsulators operate these machines, overseen by our lead encapsulator with over 20 years of experience. The capsule filling staff in turn are each veterans, and each expertly produce hundreds of thousands of capsules each day.
Our machines are almost never duplicated. Running all the same machine might make maintenance easy, but long experience has taught us that some machine designs handle certain powders better than others. By using a variety of capsule filling machines, we can ensure that we can pick the machine to fill your capsules that best suits your particular powder characteristics. Each operator sticks with their one machine throughout their career, learning it inside out over the years.
G&G can fill capsules with either your supplied ingredients, or G&G can supply the ingredients. We can fill organic capsules, halal, kosher, vegan and vegetarian. Capsules are available in a range of sizes and colours. Our low MOQ makes the capsule filling service realistic, even for small clients. We are happy to work with any customer, from the biggest established brands through to new startups.
How are capsules filled?
There are three methods for filling capsules:
- Manual capsule filling: By far the least used, this is done with hand powered machines and is the cheapest to get started with, but takes significantly longer than the other options. Manual filling is mostly used by individuals creating capsules for personal use, R&D projects, or very small production runs. It is less effective when used commercially since it takes so long to fill a significant number of capsules.
- Semi-automatic filling: This uses machines to speed up the manual process, but still requires human input for capsule separation and closing. Semi-automatic machines allow more speed than manual machines and more control than fully automatic machines. The biggest downside is that they require significant expertise to operate well.
- Fully automatic filling: This is for capsule filling on a large scale and all aspects of the process are done automatically. While the quantity of capsules filled is the highest with this method, there are limitations on what powders the machines can handle and excipients often have to be used to compensate.
Here at G&G we use semi-automatic machines as part of our Trufil® method. If you want to know more about the machinery and processes we use, read our blog on the subject.
Are all capsules the same?
There are three main materials that capsules are made out of in the supplement industry:
- Hard Gelatine Capsules: These are made from gelatine and are designed for filling with powders. They were traditionally the most commonly used capsule type, but have since been overtaken by HPMC
- HPMC Capsules: Made from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose(HPMC) these capsules have gained popularity because they are just as effective for powders as hard gelatine capsules, but can be used for vegan and kosher supplements.
- Soft Gelatine Capsules: Often referred to as softgels, these are more commonly used for oils and fat-soluble ingredients. Supplements like Omega 3 and astaxanthin are often delivered in a softgel format. While technically capsules, the filling process is entirely different.
- Other Capsules: There are some other materials such as pullulan that are used for capsule shells, but this is usually less common.
In addition to different materials, capsules also come in a variety of sizes from 000 (largest) to 5 (smallest). The most common sizes for dietary supplements is size 0 and size 00, so these are offered by G&G. We can also fill into size 4 capsules where a smaller capsule is required.
Quality Control
G&G’s capsule filling quality control is second to none. We are GMP certified by the MHRA. We are regularly inspected for quality and safety standards by a range of partners, including the FDA as part of the Foreign Suppliers verification program, local council, and HFMA. All capsule manufacturing includes a full QC service as standard, with weight checks, visual inspections, testing as required, polishing and metal detection.
As standard, capsules filled at G&G do not include excipients or flow agents such as magnesium stearate. We also avoid synthetic fillers. Filling the capsules without these excipients is a slower and more labour intensive process than automatic capsule filling. As such, G&G suits those products where quality is key, often manufacturing for a more discerning customer, who understands the need for a better class of filled capsule.
How we can help you
G&G’s experts can assist you in understanding what powders can be filled, what ingredients G&G is able to supply, and what the lead time is likely to be on your products. Then the filled capsules can be packed into your final retail packaging. Alternatively, G&G can supply capsules in bulk direct to you. To learn more about our capsule filling services get in touch with G&G now.
Back to What We Do