Whether you're looking to launch a sleep drink, greens blend, or protein-plus powder, developing a custom powdered food supplement offers unique challenges — and some key considerations. Here's what to expect at each stage — including potential development costs.

1. Defining the Product Brief

Before engaging on your project, it’s essential to have clarity on:

• Target Function (e.g. Sports Nutrition, Sleep, Gut, Immunity)
• Audience (Adults, Menopausal, Active Lifestyle etc.)
• Daily Dose Format (Sachet, scoop, stick-pack)
• Key Ingredients (e.g. Magnesium Glycinate, Ashwagandha, whey protein, electrolytes)
• Desired Claims (e.g. “Contributes to psychological function” – EFSA-approved only)
• Natural vs. Flavoured Profile (e.g. Vanilla, Berry, Citrus)

We recommend including mandatory exclusions (e.g. sugar, maltodextrin, synthetics) and suitability goals (Vegan? No allergens?) from the outset.

2. Ingredient Compliance & Legal Checks

At Nutribl, all formulas are screened against UK legislation, including:

• UK Novel Food Catalogue
• Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003
• Annex II permitted vitamin/mineral forms
• MHRA Borderline Product Guidance (to avoid medicinal risk)

Ingredients that are standardised extracts (e.g. “20:1 Chamomile”) or synthetic amino acids (e.g. L-Theanine not from tea) are flagged as potential novel foods or medicinal risk — meaning they could block your product from legal sale.

Important: Just because something is “natural” or sold abroad doesn’t mean it’s legal in the UK.

3. Flavour System Development

Powders — especially those containing magnesium, amino acids or bitter botanicals — often need careful flavour balancing. Development includes:

• Taste masking (e.g. of Ashwagandha or Glycine)
• Natural sweeteners (e.g. Stevia, Monk Fruit)
• Acidity and pH balancing (e.g. Citric or Malic Acid)
• Sensory enhancements (e.g. natural berry, vanilla, honey lemon)

This phase is essential for consumer compliance and repeat purchase.

4. Solubility & Functional Testing

A beautiful flavour is worthless if the product doesn't dissolve well.

Common issues:

• Gritty texture (e.g. from magnesium forms)
• Layering/separation
• Foaming or clumping
• Poor flow in sachets or tubs

For custom formulas it is prudent to perform solubility trials, flowability testing, and hygroscopicity checks. These tests help ensure:

• Smooth mixing in cold/warm water
• Consistent scoop weight
• No caking over shelf life

5. Developments Costs: What You Might Need to Pay?

Development costs vary depending on your formula’s complexity and availability of required ingredients. Here’s a general breakdown for custom powder products on a per product basis:

6. Production Readiness: From Sample to Shelf

Once a flavour variant is approved and stability confirmed:

✔ Nutribl finalises label text and confirms claims compliance

✔ Client approves final specs and packaging artwork

✔ First production run scheduled (lead time: usually 6-10 weeks)

We then deliver a ready-for-market label with a full compliance report — ensuring legal defensibility and brand integrity.

Summary: What to Budget and Plan

Total NPD budget range: £1,000–£3,000+ depending on complexity

Product production budget: It is impossible to give an accurate assessment of cost for a product without knowing what is going in it. For custom formulas the MOQ is at least 200kg of powder and based on this you are likely looking at a further capital requirement of £6000 - £15000 depending on ingredients and packaging. This is additional to your development fees.

Factors that influence the production costs:

• Ingredient Complexity: Rare or branded ingredients can increase costs.
• Batch Size: Larger batches can reduce per-unit costs due to economies of scale.
• Testing Requirements: Additional testing or certifications adds to costs.
• Packaging Choices: Custom or premium packaging options are more expensive - pre-printed pouches or stick packs will severely impact this.
  • If you are considering stick packs which contain one serving - the packing MOQ is 50k units. As an example on a 5g serving this requires 250kg. Again, dependant on ingredients the powder is unlikely to cost less than £6000, plus the price of the packing materials and labour costs.

Want to Start Your Powder Project?

Please note: Due to the sheer volume of start up requests for custom formulas (and the level of time and resource required to deliver) we prioritise this service for our existing clients - those who have an established brand and proven sales record on stock products. If you are a new business we would recommend starting with our stock products - or we will require a New Product Development fee to begin work, if however the custom order is completed with Nutribl the NPD fee will be refunded. 

We can guide you from concept to scoop — ensuring your product is not only delicious and effective, but legally marketable in the UK.

The first step is to purchase our NPD development service, if having read this article you have a clear understanding of the process involved. Our NPD service for powders is £500 and can be ordered here. We will provide:

Formula Development (based on your brief)

Regulatory Audit

Marketing & Health Claim Utilisation

Advisory Labelling 

Finished Product Compliance Report

Once the formula is agreed we will quote and, if accepted, will schedule production with an expected lead time of 8-10 weeks.