Nutraceuticals World (NW): Overall, what role does packaging play in a user’s experience with a product?
Chad Tyler, Director of Sales, Pharmaworks: Packaging plays a critical role in the user experience. From marketing all the way to the effectiveness of the treatment, blister packs have several advantages.
NW: How do blister packs compare to other packaging formats like bottles, jars, packets, etc.?
Tyler: Blister packs really stand out in three categories: Protection, Product, and Patient. We like to refer to these as the 3Ps and they should be considered when deciding on a packaging solution for your products. There is a lot to unpack here, so bear with me. If you really want to dig into details we have a whitepaper all about the 3Ps that compares blister packs with bottles.
Protection, Child Safety & Anti-Counterfeit Technology: Starting with protection, child safety is at the top of the list. Studies have shown that blister packaging outperforms child-resistant (CR) bottles. Blisters are about 65% more effective in preventing child access. A comment we hear from consumers all the time is just how hard it is, even for adults, to open blister packs. Those are the child-resistant features working at their best. Also with the blister pack, separate doses are loaded into a single sealed cavity so consumers have to open each blister cavity separately to access its contents.
Then there is counterfeit prevention. Track and Trace technology integrated with blister packaging applications can trace an individual dose of the product back to a single blister cavity. That visibility provides high precision if a review or audit is required in the future. It also gives the manufacturer and end-user a means to verify and confirm if their product is authentic.
Product, Quality & Integrity. Packaging must also protect the product from environmental factors such as moisture, light, oxygen, or chemical migration. Exposure to the environment can negatively impact product chemical assay and reduce efficacy. Blister packages are typically made of thermoformed plastics or cold-form aluminum and foil, film, or paperboard backing (what we call lidding) so they can protect against all those contaminants. It all ensures the quality of your product until the end-user tears open a blister pack.
Patient Adherence to Dosage & Schedule: Last but definitely not least, consider the patient or end-user. Medications and supplements all come with instructions that should be followed. When we refer to adherence we are talking about taking the correct dosages, the timing of that dose, and taking it in a suitable way—like when directions say to drink a full glass of water when taking a medication. All these types of information and instructions can be printed directly on the blister pack.
NW: Are there ingredients that might lend themselves to blister packs more so than others?
Tyler: Probiotics are an excellent candidate for blister packs due to their sealing capabilities and better stability profile. We also have clients that are placing powder or granules in blister packs, making it the preferred packaging for people on the go.
NW: Can you tell us about the blister machinery you offer and the value it offers to nutraceutical product developers?
Tyler: Pharmaworks is the USA’s leading blister machine manufacturer. Innovation, flexibility, and dependability are at the core of all our blister packaging solutions. In fact, we recently released the new TF1 blister machine which is ideal for nutraceutical product developers. It is perfect for low-volume applications and start-ups. Built with simplicity in mind, the TF1 is an entry-level machine that requires minimal training and maintenance. We identified a need in the nutraceutical sector for a practical and easy-to-use blister machine, which is why we developed the TF1.
As a whole, we provide turn-key packaging solutions including multiple blister machine models, cartoners, feeding, or product handling equipment, bulk product inspection systems and other vision inspection technology, third-party blister machine and cartoner rebuilds and upgrades, and finally tooling and change parts for all those pieces of equipment.
NW: Personalized nutrition is an evolving marketplace. How might blister packs apply here?
Tyler: This is a great point, let’s start with describing the product feeding or product handling capabilities that Pharmaworks provides. The heartbeat of many packaging operations, including blister packaging, is the product handling solution.
Pharmaworks has decades of experience when it comes to feeding and product handling solutions. We have many standard feeding and product handling solutions like flood feeders, dedicated tube style feeders, and pick & place feeders, but have also developed many custom solutions over the years.
In fact, we are working on several projects helping our clients to place several combinations of products into a single container. This concept of placing multiple products in a single blister pack meets that personalized nutrition movement we are seeing in the marketplace and allows the end-user to have a personalized single package for dosing. All of it is achieved with automation and online vision inspection technology, and reduces the dependency on manual labor and human inspection.
Chad Tyler, Director of Sales, Pharmaworks: Packaging plays a critical role in the user experience. From marketing all the way to the effectiveness of the treatment, blister packs have several advantages.
NW: How do blister packs compare to other packaging formats like bottles, jars, packets, etc.?
Tyler: Blister packs really stand out in three categories: Protection, Product, and Patient. We like to refer to these as the 3Ps and they should be considered when deciding on a packaging solution for your products. There is a lot to unpack here, so bear with me. If you really want to dig into details we have a whitepaper all about the 3Ps that compares blister packs with bottles.
Protection, Child Safety & Anti-Counterfeit Technology: Starting with protection, child safety is at the top of the list. Studies have shown that blister packaging outperforms child-resistant (CR) bottles. Blisters are about 65% more effective in preventing child access. A comment we hear from consumers all the time is just how hard it is, even for adults, to open blister packs. Those are the child-resistant features working at their best. Also with the blister pack, separate doses are loaded into a single sealed cavity so consumers have to open each blister cavity separately to access its contents.
Then there is counterfeit prevention. Track and Trace technology integrated with blister packaging applications can trace an individual dose of the product back to a single blister cavity. That visibility provides high precision if a review or audit is required in the future. It also gives the manufacturer and end-user a means to verify and confirm if their product is authentic.
Product, Quality & Integrity. Packaging must also protect the product from environmental factors such as moisture, light, oxygen, or chemical migration. Exposure to the environment can negatively impact product chemical assay and reduce efficacy. Blister packages are typically made of thermoformed plastics or cold-form aluminum and foil, film, or paperboard backing (what we call lidding) so they can protect against all those contaminants. It all ensures the quality of your product until the end-user tears open a blister pack.
Patient Adherence to Dosage & Schedule: Last but definitely not least, consider the patient or end-user. Medications and supplements all come with instructions that should be followed. When we refer to adherence we are talking about taking the correct dosages, the timing of that dose, and taking it in a suitable way—like when directions say to drink a full glass of water when taking a medication. All these types of information and instructions can be printed directly on the blister pack.
NW: Are there ingredients that might lend themselves to blister packs more so than others?
Tyler: Probiotics are an excellent candidate for blister packs due to their sealing capabilities and better stability profile. We also have clients that are placing powder or granules in blister packs, making it the preferred packaging for people on the go.
Pharmaworks TF1 Blister Machine
NW: Can you tell us about the blister machinery you offer and the value it offers to nutraceutical product developers?
Tyler: Pharmaworks is the USA’s leading blister machine manufacturer. Innovation, flexibility, and dependability are at the core of all our blister packaging solutions. In fact, we recently released the new TF1 blister machine which is ideal for nutraceutical product developers. It is perfect for low-volume applications and start-ups. Built with simplicity in mind, the TF1 is an entry-level machine that requires minimal training and maintenance. We identified a need in the nutraceutical sector for a practical and easy-to-use blister machine, which is why we developed the TF1.
As a whole, we provide turn-key packaging solutions including multiple blister machine models, cartoners, feeding, or product handling equipment, bulk product inspection systems and other vision inspection technology, third-party blister machine and cartoner rebuilds and upgrades, and finally tooling and change parts for all those pieces of equipment.
Pharmaworks FA1 Pick & Place Feeder for Capsules, Tablets and More
NW: Personalized nutrition is an evolving marketplace. How might blister packs apply here?
Tyler: This is a great point, let’s start with describing the product feeding or product handling capabilities that Pharmaworks provides. The heartbeat of many packaging operations, including blister packaging, is the product handling solution.
Pharmaworks has decades of experience when it comes to feeding and product handling solutions. We have many standard feeding and product handling solutions like flood feeders, dedicated tube style feeders, and pick & place feeders, but have also developed many custom solutions over the years.
In fact, we are working on several projects helping our clients to place several combinations of products into a single container. This concept of placing multiple products in a single blister pack meets that personalized nutrition movement we are seeing in the marketplace and allows the end-user to have a personalized single package for dosing. All of it is achieved with automation and online vision inspection technology, and reduces the dependency on manual labor and human inspection.
Pharmaworks VIS Vision Inspection and Counting System for Tablets, Capsules and More
