Buyer questions · Flavour and sweetener

Can I have a custom flavour or a sugar-free effervescent product?

Flavour is chosen per product at Pharma Manufacture: its 26+ ready-made effervescent formulas come with several taste options each, and a drink cube is developed with you down to how strong the flavour is and how fast the cube dissolves. Whether a given formula can go without sugar is settled per formula with our R&D team, because the sweetener changes the blend, the label and the claim you may print.

By form

Flavour and sweetener options by form

Can you develop a flavour that only my brand has?

On drink cubes this is the normal route. We develop the drink with you from the concept: what goes in, how strong the flavour is, how quickly the cube dissolves and what the water looks like afterwards. For sports nutrition powders, a custom flavour is part of custom formula work with our R&D team. For effervescent tablets, the flavour variants available for a specific formula are agreed with our sales team before the quote.

Can effervescent tablets and drink cubes be sugar-free?

Start from the label. “Sugar-free” on a pack is a nutrition claim under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, and the product may carry it only with no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g or 100 ml. “No added sugars” is a different claim: no added mono- or disaccharides and no other ingredient used for its sweetness. A product made with sweeteners also says “with sweetener(s)” on the label under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. So the question for your formula is whether the sweetener system brings it under that line without changing the taste or the fizz you want.

Tell us at the start that the product must be sugar-free, and for which market. It changes the sweetener, the flavour balance and the label text, and it is cheaper to decide before the formula is calculated than after artwork is printed.

How the pack keeps an effervescent product dry

Effervescent blends react with moisture, so the pack is part of the product. Tablets go into plastic tubes with a moisture-absorbing cap that protects them from moisture; the shelf life itself is set per product. Each drink cube is sealed in its own blister, so a pack is opened one serving at a time and the remaining cubes stay closed. The press takes effervescent tablets up to 25 mm in diameter.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about flavours and sugar-free formulas

What flavours are available for effervescent tablets?

Pharma Manufacture offers several taste options across its effervescent range, and the variants for a specific formula, such as Vitamin C 1000mg or Kids Multivitamins, are confirmed by our sales team when you ask about that formula.

Can I sell drink cubes in different flavours in one pack?

Yes. Pharma Manufacture builds the outer packaging around how the product sells, including a multipack of different flavours that reaches the shelf as one pack.

What are your syrups sweetened with?

Liquid sorbitol as standard, or another base without sugar if the formula or the market calls for it. Whether the syrup can be labelled “sugar-free” is confirmed per formula against the 0.5 g per 100 ml limit.

Can a sports nutrition powder have its own flavour?

Yes. Most ready-made powder formulas come in several flavours, and Pharma Manufacture’s R&D team can develop a custom powder with a specific taste profile.

How is the off-taste of minerals handled in a liquid?

In Pharma Manufacture’s liquid formulas malic acid covers most of the off-taste that minerals and some actives leave behind, and the flavour is chosen after that, per formula.