Ingredient library: every ingredient we formulate with
British VitaTech builds custom formulas for wellness brands from supplement ingredients that are legal in each target market, sourced from approved suppliers with a certificate of analysis or specification and tested by accredited partner laboratories.
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Supplement ingredients, specified by form and grade
As a contract manufacturer for wellness brands, we formulate with the supplement ingredients your markets allow, from vitamins and minerals to botanicals, live cultures and branded actives, and make every product in Leicester. Each ingredient is specified by form and grade and documented from approved supplier to finished batch, with testing set per product and market. We regard two ingredients with the same name on the label as different materials until the specification proves otherwise.
Take magnesium. Fully reacted magnesium bisglycinate is about 14% magnesium by weight; magnesium oxide is about 60%. Delivering 375 mg of magnesium, the nutrient reference value on GB and EU labels, takes roughly 2.7 g of bisglycinate but about 0.6 g of oxide. The first suits a powder, a stick pack or three or more size 00 capsules, each holding just under 1 ml; the second fits in one capsule when a dense grade is used. The form decides the format before a single sample is made.
The same holds across the library. Folate comes as folic acid or a methylfolate salt; omega-3 as triglyceride or ethyl ester oil; botanicals as whole-herb powders or extracts standardised to a marker compound; live cultures as named strains whose count matters at the end of shelf life, not at manufacture. Grade matters as much as form. Particle size, density and purity decide how a powder flows into a capsule, disperses in a drink or sets in a gummy.
Our approach and the science behind it
How we source supplement raw materials
Every ingredient comes from an approved supplier with its certificate of analysis or specification, and we book it in against supplier and lot. Our traceability chain links that lot to the recipe, the batch and its dispatch, so we can trace any batch from supplier lot to customer in seconds. Suppliers are approved before any material is used and reviewed every year under our quality system. A specification sets what an ingredient must meet: identity, assay, contaminant limits, microbiology, particle size and allergen status. Allergens are kept in sealed, separated storage and handled in defined zones with yellow-coded equipment, under our allergen management plan. Origin and production route matter too, because the route can change an ingredient's legal status.
Identity and purity testing
Identity testing answers one question: is this the ingredient on the certificate? Purity testing answers the next: what else is in it? We set identity and other testing per product and market, and run it through accredited partner laboratories. For botanicals, a standard identity method is a chromatographic fingerprint by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), set out in the European Pharmacopoeia and the United States Pharmacopeia, often backed by HPLC assay of marker compounds.
Purity covers heavy metals by ICP-MS against the EU limits for food supplements: 3.0 mg/kg for lead, 1.0 mg/kg for cadmium (3.0 mg/kg for seaweed-based products) and 0.10 mg/kg for mercury (Regulation (EU) 2023/915, as of October 2026). It also covers pesticide residues, microbiology and, for oils, oxidation. For US dietary supplements, FDA's manufacturing rule requires an identity test on each lot of every dietary ingredient before use, so we write that testing into the specification from the start. Every finished batch is then tested by accredited partner laboratories as part of every order, as our supplement testing and batch release page explains.
Supply resilience and dual sourcing
Supply is concentrated and exposed to climate. China accounts for nearly 80% of global vitamin production, and often only two or three countries make each vitamin (dsm-firmenich vitamin market update, December 2025). Fish oil, cocoa and many botanicals swing with weather events such as El Niño. We plan supply resilience for each project, for example by qualifying a second source for critical ingredients against the same specification during development. Dual sourcing and buffer stock cost more than a single supplier; they are also what keeps a product on shelf when one source fails.
Fermentation-made ingredients
A growing share of new ingredients is made by fermentation: algal DHA, vitamin K2 (MK-7), human milk oligosaccharides, ergothioneine and, next, precision-fermented proteins such as lactoferrin. In the EU and GB, a fermentation-made version of a familiar ingredient can count as a novel food in its own right, so we check the exact source and process, not just the name.
Branded and clinically studied ingredients
Branded ingredients arrive with a specification, a safety dossier and, often, published human trials. The evidence applies to your product only at the form and dose studied, so we match both, compare what each trial measured with the claims your markets allow, and confirm the licence terms for using the brand on pack. A trial result is not an authorised claim. The trade-off is dependence on a single supplier, so we assess the supply position before building a product around one.
Methods, data and partners
These are the analytical methods behind ingredient specifications. Which tests apply, and how often, is set per product and market, by ingredient, supplier history and risk.
| What we check | Typical method | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical identity | HPTLC fingerprint; HPLC marker profile | Exposes substitution with other species and spiking with marker compounds |
| Identity of vitamins, minerals and amino acids | Infrared spectroscopy; classical chemistry | Confirms the salt or form, which sets the elemental dose |
| Assay | HPLC, UV spectrophotometry, titration | Confirms the amount on the label |
| Heavy metals | ICP-MS | Lead, cadmium and mercury against legal limits; arsenic against the specification |
| Microbiology | Total viable count, yeasts and moulds, pathogens such as Salmonella | Food safety, critical for botanicals and powders |
| Live cultures | Plate count or flow cytometry; genome sequencing for strain identity | The right strain at the stated count through shelf life |
| Oils | Peroxide and anisidine values | Oxidation causes fishy odour and taste |
| Pesticide residues | GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS multi-residue screens | Compliance with maximum residue levels |
We run this testing through accredited partner laboratories. Three retained samples from every batch are kept for shelf life plus one year, so any result can be checked again. Every ingredient goes into products made in our Leicester facility, which is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered.
Supplement ingredients A to Z: examples by format and category
This supplement ingredients list covers the ingredients brands ask us for most. We formulate with any ingredient that is legal in your markets, so ask if yours is not here. Uses describe the formulas each ingredient appears in, not health claims, and formats are those it suits, as set out in our supplement formats overview. Individual ingredient pages will follow, each linked from its home category in our supplement categories overview.
A to C
- Akkermansia (pasteurised): gut and metabolic formulas; capsules. An authorised novel food in the EU.
- Apple cider vinegar: weight management formulas; gummies, capsules.
- Ashwagandha (root extract): sleep, stress and mood formulas; capsules, gummies, powders. Regulation-dependent.
- Astaxanthin: healthy ageing and eye formulas; softgels, capsules.
- B vitamins, including B12 and methylfolate: energy, women's health and everyday formulas; every format.
- Berberine: metabolic formulas; capsules. Regulation-dependent.
- Beetroot (nitrate): sports formulas; powders, shots.
- Biotin: hair, skin and nail formulas; gummies, capsules.
- Caffeine: energy and focus formulas; pouches, powders, capsules.
- Calcium: bone formulas, often with vitamins D and K2; tablets, powders.
- CBD (isolate): only for products linked to a novel food application on the FSA public list; liquids, capsules. Regulation-dependent.
- Choline and citicoline: cognitive health formulas; capsules, powders.
- Chromium: metabolic formulas; capsules, tablets.
- Coenzyme Q10: healthy ageing and heart formulas; softgels, capsules.
- Collagen peptides: beauty, joint and bone formulas; powders, sachets, liquids.
- Colostrum: gut formulas; powders, capsules.
- Creatine monohydrate: sports, healthy ageing and women's formulas; powders, stick packs, capsules, gummies.
D to H
- Digestive enzymes: gut formulas; capsules.
- Electrolytes: hydration and sports formulas; powders, stick packs, effervescent tablets.
- Ergothioneine: healthy ageing formulas; capsules.
- Fibre and prebiotics (inulin, psyllium, resistant dextrin): gut and metabolic formulas; powders, stick packs, gummies.
- Functional mushrooms (lion's mane, reishi, cordyceps): cognitive and energy formulas; powders, capsules, and lion's mane and reishi coffee blends. UK and EU cordyceps supplements use Cordyceps sinensis or Samsoniella hepiali.
- GABA: sleep and calm formulas; capsules, gummies. Status varies by market.
- Ginseng: energy and cognitive formulas; capsules, liquids.
- Glucosamine: joint formulas; tablets, capsules, powders.
- Glycine: sleep formulas; powders, capsules.
- Green tea extract: energy and metabolic formulas; capsules. Regulation-dependent.
- HMB: sports and healthy ageing formulas; capsules, powders.
- Human milk oligosaccharides: gut formulas; powders, capsules.
- Hyaluronic acid: beauty and joint formulas; capsules, liquids.
I to M
- Inositol: women's health formulas; powders, sachets.
- Iron (bisglycinate): women's health and everyday formulas; capsules, gummies, liquids.
- L-theanine: calm and focus formulas; capsules, gummies, pouches, drinks.
- Lactoferrin: gut and everyday formulas; capsules, powders.
- Lutein and zeaxanthin: eye formulas; softgels, capsules.
- Magnesium (bisglycinate, citrate, malate, oxide): sleep, stress, sports and women's formulas; capsules, powders, gummies, liquids.
- Melatonin: sleep formulas for markets that allow it as a supplement; gummies, tablets, oral sprays. Regulation-dependent.
- Multivitamin and mineral premixes: everyday and life-stage formulas; every format.
N to R
- NMN and other NAD precursors: healthy ageing formulas; capsules, powders. Regulation-dependent.
- Omega-3 (fish, krill and algal oils): heart, brain and eye formulas; softgels, liquids, gummies.
- Phosphatidylserine: cognitive health formulas; capsules, softgels.
- Polyphenols (cacao flavanols, pomegranate, grape, pine bark): healthy ageing formulas; capsules, powders.
- Postbiotics: gut formulas; capsules, powders.
- Probiotics (defined strains): gut and women's formulas; capsules, powders, sachets.
- Protein (whey, plant and collagen): sports and healthy ageing formulas; powders, drinks, bars.
- Rhodiola: stress and energy formulas; capsules.
S to Z
- Saffron: mood formulas; capsules, gummies.
- Selenium: everyday, hair and nail formulas; capsules.
- Shilajit: herbal formulas; capsules. Status varies by market.
- Taurine: energy and sports formulas; powders, drinks.
- Turmeric and curcumin: joint and everyday formulas; capsules, liquids.
- Urolithin A: healthy ageing and muscle formulas; capsules, powders. Status varies by market.
- Vitamin C: everyday, immune and beauty formulas; every format.
- Vitamin D3, including vegan D3: everyday, bone and immune formulas; drops, gummies, sprays, softgels.
- Vitamin K2 (MK-7): bone formulas with vitamin D3; softgels, capsules, drops.
- Zinc: everyday, immune, skin and hair formulas; capsules, gummies, effervescent tablets.
How it fits the development process
Ingredient work starts before the first bench sample and runs through to scale-up.
- Status check. We check each ingredient for each market: novel food status and permitted vitamin and mineral forms in GB and the EU, and the new dietary ingredient and GRAS routes in the US.
- Specification and supplier approval. We set the form, grade and test limits, approve the supplier and plan supply resilience, such as a qualified second source for a critical ingredient.
- Bench formulation. Our R&D team builds the formula, with flavour development and taste masking from the first sample.
- Stability and scale-up. Stability data confirm overages and shelf life, and the production specification fixes the ingredient you approved.
Our research and development team leads every step. R&D is a paid stage that can be included with an order of the right size. Your formula is yours. For one UK pouch brand, a client since 2023, our R&D team developed four distinct formulas and proposes updates when ingredients improve or market conditions shift.
Status by market for regulation-dependent ingredients
Six ingredients are sold under different rules in each market. As of October 2026:
| Ingredient | Where it can be sold | How we formulate it |
|---|---|---|
| Ashwagandha | Food supplements in GB and the US. In the EU, national rules apply, and Denmark bans it. | Root extract with a declared withanolide content, for the markets that allow it |
| Berberine | GB and EU: plant extracts in food supplements. US: dietary supplements. | Standardised plant extracts for GB and EU formulas; berberine hydrochloride for US formulas |
| Green tea extract | EU: less than 800 mg of EGCG in a daily portion, with warnings on pack. GB and US: no limit specific to it. | Daily EGCG set below 800 mg for EU products and confirmed in batch testing |
| Melatonin | A prescription-only medicine in the UK; a dietary supplement in the US; national rules apply in each EU country. | For markets that sell it as a supplement, never for UK sale |
| NMN | US: dietary supplements, with a new dietary ingredient notification. GB and EU: not yet authorised as a novel food. | US formulas only |
| CBD | GB: only products linked to a novel food application on the FSA public list. US: excluded from dietary supplements. | Isolate, only for products on the FSA public list |
Each of these ingredients will carry a dated "where it can be sold" panel on its own page, and our regulation watch page will track them every quarter. Start your project.
References: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, nutrient reference values (2011); Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on contaminants in food (2023); FDA dietary supplement manufacturing rule, 21 CFR 111.75 (2007); dsm-firmenich vitamin market update (2025); Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods (2015); Regulation (EU) 2022/2340 on green tea extracts (2022); FDA response letters on NMN (2025); Food Standards Agency, CBD novel food applications (2026).
Where this is going
To 2030
Up: dual sourcing and larger buffers become standard
To 2036
Up: climate shocks keep supply resilience a priority
What to watch
Cost of buffers and duplicated supply
Questions brands ask
Which supplement ingredients can you work with?
Any ingredient that is legal in the markets you sell in, in the form and grade your formula needs. Our A to Z list shows the ingredients brands ask for most, from vitamins and minerals to botanicals, live cultures and newer actives. If an ingredient is novel or restricted in one of your markets, we tell you before formulation and propose a compliant alternative.
How do you check an ingredient is what the supplier says it is?
Every ingredient comes from an approved supplier with its certificate of analysis or specification, and we book it in against supplier and lot. Identity and other testing is set per product and market and run through accredited partner laboratories: HPTLC fingerprints for botanicals, spectroscopy or classical chemistry for vitamins and minerals, and strain identity and viable counts for live cultures. For US dietary supplements, FDA's manufacturing rule requires an identity test on every lot of each dietary ingredient.
Can you use branded, clinically studied ingredients?
Yes. We source branded ingredients through their suppliers, formulate at the form and dose used in the published trials, and check the licence terms for using the brand on pack. We also compare what each trial measured with the claims your markets allow, because a trial result is not an authorised claim. Each delivery is booked in against its supplier lot and certificate of analysis, like every other ingredient.
How do you protect supply if an ingredient runs short?
We plan supply resilience for each project, for example by qualifying a second source for critical ingredients against the same specification during development. Concentrated or climate-exposed materials, such as vitamins, fish oil and some botanicals, need the most planning, because a shortage at one supplier can stop a product. Dual sourcing costs more than a single supplier, so we weigh it with you ingredient by ingredient.
Do you use fermentation-made ingredients?
Yes, where they are authorised in your markets. Fermentation now makes ingredients such as algal DHA, vitamin K2, human milk oligosaccharides and ergothioneine, and precision-fermented proteins such as lactoferrin are next. In the EU and GB, a fermentation-made version of a familiar ingredient can need its own novel food authorisation, so we check the exact source and process and fix both in the ingredient specification.
How do you check whether an ingredient can be sold in the UK, EU or US?
We check every ingredient before formulation: novel food status and the permitted vitamin and mineral forms in GB and the EU, and the new dietary ingredient and GRAS routes in the US. Six ingredients, berberine, green tea extract, ashwagandha, melatonin, NMN and CBD, are sold under different rules in each market: as of October 2026, for example, melatonin is prescription-only in the UK but a dietary supplement in the US.
Start your project
Tell us what you want to make. Every project starts with a conversation about your product, your customers and your markets.