Bespoke postbiotic and butyrate supplement manufacturing
British VitaTech is a postbiotic manufacturer that develops and makes custom inactivated strain and butyrate supplements for brands worldwide, from formulation to finished product, and the brand owns the formula.
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Inactivated strains, fermentates and butyrate, in gummies and capsules
Premium wellness brands can have custom postbiotic and butyrate supplements made in our UK facility, where we work as a postbiotic manufacturer on gummies, drinks and shots, capsules, powders and stick packs. Every postbiotic formula starts from a characterised preparation with its own human evidence: an inactivated strain, a fermentate or a lysate, specified by strain, inactivation method and total cell count, and dosed at the level its trials used. Butyrate formulas use sodium, calcium or magnesium butyrate. You receive the specification, a certificate of analysis for every batch and the stability report. Postbiotics sit within our gut health supplement manufacturing range, beside live cultures on our probiotic supplement manufacturing page.
In 2021 a panel of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) defined a postbiotic as "a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host" (Salminen and colleagues, 2021).
The ISAPP definition sets the grade. A postbiotic comes from microorganisms characterised before inactivation, deliberately inactivated by a defined process and shown to benefit the target host in controlled studies, and its safety cannot be presumed solely from that of the live strain (Salminen and colleagues, 2021). Probiotics do not become postbiotics just by inactivation (Vinderola and colleagues, 2023).
- Inactivated strains. Lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria and other strains inactivated by heat or another defined process, supplied as dried powders standardised by cell count. We hold the producer's characterisation and safety file for each.
- Fermentates and lysates. Fermentates carry the inactivated cells with their metabolites; lysates break the cells open. Filtrates without cell components do not qualify.
- Pasteurised Akkermansia. An inactivated gut bacterium with its own EU novel food authorisation, covered on our Akkermansia supplement manufacturing page.
Butyrate and tributyrin
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that gut bacteria make by fermenting fibre, and the cells lining the colon use it as a major energy source (Roediger, 1980). On its own it is not a postbiotic: the ISAPP panel said purified metabolites should carry their chemical names, such as butyric acid. As a butyrate supplement manufacturer, we work with sodium, calcium and magnesium butyrate, with fat-microencapsulated and enteric coated grades made to delay release, and, for US formulas, with tributyrin, the triester of glycerol and butyric acid, which digestive lipases split to release butyrate. Fibre is the indirect route: gut bacteria turn inulin and resistant starch into short-chain fatty acids, so we pair fibres with postbiotics in powders and stick packs.
Counting every cell when none of them is alive
Trial doses counted in total cells
The right dose is the one the preparation's own trials used, because evidence does not transfer between strains or inactivation methods. Colony forming units (CFU) count only live cells, so a postbiotic is dosed and specified by total cell count, and we set fill weights from each lot's certified count. For scale, the EU allows pasteurised Akkermansia at up to 34 billion cells a day for adults.
Absorption: why the butyrate form matters
In a small randomised crossover study in 10 men, each product delivering 786 mg of butyric acid, sodium and lysine butyrate reached peak blood levels about 20 minutes after a dose, while tributyrin peaked at about 50 minutes, at lower levels (La Monica and colleagues, 2025). Unprotected salts are absorbed early, so formulas meant to release butyrate later use enteric coated or fat-microencapsulated grades, and we confirm the release profile by dissolution testing. Human evidence on oral butyrate is still early, so labels state the form and its butyrate content rather than an effect.
Stability: why postbiotics travel well
Live probiotics lose count to heat, water and oxygen. Inactivated cells have no viability to lose, so long shelf lives are readily achieved (Salminen and colleagues, 2021), with no cold chain and no overage for die-off. What still needs protecting is the preparation itself: cell structure and identifying markers, moisture uptake in hygroscopic blends and, for butyrate, odour. We check cell count and markers at release and at the end of shelf life. Butyric acid has a rancid odour and tributyrin a bitter taste, so these formulas go through our flavour and taste masking work.
Postbiotic gummies and drinks that live cultures could not survive
Because nothing has to stay alive, postbiotics open formats that live cultures cannot use. We make every format in our UK facility, which is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI.
- Postbiotic gummies. Cooking and depositing kill most lactic acid bacteria, while an inactivated preparation goes into the mass as a standardised powder and is counted after processing. Gummies are GMP certified and get an active assay on every batch as standard. See gummy manufacturing.
- Drinks and shots. Heat processing and ambient storage cost an inactivated preparation no viability; we keep the cells suspended and confirm the count in the finished drink. Liquids are GMP certified. See functional drink manufacturing.
- Capsules. The reference format for butyrate, in acid-resistant shells or with enteric coating, and for strains at higher counts. Capsules are GMP certified. See capsule manufacturing.
- Powders and stick packs. Blends that pair an inactivated strain with a gram dose of fibre, sealed in high-barrier film. See powder supplement manufacturing.
Butyrate dispensed apart, so its odour stays out of other products
Development starts from your brief: we choose the preparation with its producer, set the dose from its trials, run pilot batches in your format, check taste and odour, and start stability before full production. R&D is a paid stage that can be included with an order of the right size. Specialist producers ferment the characterised strain, harvest and inactivate the cells by a validated process, then dry and standardise the powder by cell count, and every supplier passes our approval process before any material is used. Production runs in six steps:
- Goods-in. Each lot arrives with a certificate of analysis: identity, total cell count and confirmation that no viable cells remain.
- Dispensing. Fill weights are set from each lot's certified cell count. Butyrate salts are dispensed in a closed, extracted area, so their odour stays out of other products.
- Blending. The preparation is blended with dry excipients or fibre in a set order for a uniform mix.
- Forming. Capsules are filled; for gummies, the preparation enters the mass at the point set in development before depositing and coating.
- Packing. Products are sealed in high-barrier packs: bottles or blisters for capsules, pouches or bottles for gummies, foil laminate for stick packs, with desiccant where the format needs it.
- Label check and release. Labels are verified on every batch, the critical control point in our HACCP plan.
The critical steps are cell count uniformity, moisture control, odour segregation and allergen control: culture media and carriers can bring milk or soy, which our allergen management plan, with yellow colour coding, controls from goods-in to label. Each product type has its own HACCP study, reviewed every year.
Postbiotic on a label: usable in the US, a claim risk in GB and the EU
What a brand can sell and say, as of October 2026. We confirm the status of every preparation and butyrate form in each of your markets before a formula is fixed.
| Market | Inactivated strains | Butyrate and tributyrin |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | Permitted where the preparation is not a novel food or is authorised in GB. Pasteurised Akkermansia is not authorised there. | No health claim is authorised for butyrate, and tributyrin is not authorised in GB. |
| European Union | Permitted where the preparation was used to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 or is authorised, as pasteurised Akkermansia is for food supplements. Status turns on the strain, the process and its history of use, even for strains with a long safety record. | Tributyrin is a novel food without EU authorisation. No health claim is authorised for butyrate. |
| United States | Sold as dietary ingredients, with no separate category for postbiotics. A strain new to the market needs a new dietary ingredient notification to FDA unless it is already in the food supply unaltered. | Tributyrin and butyric acid are generally recognised as safe (GRAS) as flavourings, and supplement use at active doses follows the dietary ingredient rules. |
What the label names instead of postbiotic
GB advertising rules and the European Commission regard "probiotic" as a health claim, and none is authorised for supplements. "Postbiotic" carries the same risk, because its definition includes a health benefit, so labels use what the law allows, and never "live cultures" for an inactivated preparation:
- The preparation named by species, strain and process, such as "heat-treated" or "pasteurised", with the amount per daily portion in numerical form, as food supplement law requires.
- Authorised claims from added nutrients, such as "Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system", at the register's conditions of use, and fibre claims where the dose supports them.
- In the US, "postbiotic" on the label and structure and function claims backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence, notified to FDA and carrying its standard disclaimer. The label declares weight and, where useful, total cells, never CFU for dead cells.
Our claims and regulation page sets out the wording rules by market, and we check every label against them at artwork stage, before printing.
Why a postbiotic manufacturer fixes its own counting method
Ask how the manufacturer proves the cells are inactivated, and how it counts them. There is no internationally agreed method for enumerating inactivated preparations (Ali-Haneef and colleagues, 2026), so our specification fixes the method for each one. Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025) as part of every order, as our testing and batch release page explains.
- Inactivation: a plate count showing no viable cells above the limit of detection, the test the EU specification for pasteurised Akkermansia sets at fewer than 10 CFU per gram.
- Count: total cells by flow cytometry, which the ISAPP panel describes as an emerging alternative to plate counting.
- Identity: species and strain from the producer's characterisation file, with genome data where held.
- Butyrate content by gas chromatography, and the release profile of coated grades.
- Moisture, water activity and microbiology, including Salmonella, Listeria, yeasts and moulds, and stability checks to the end of shelf life.
You receive the documents buyers and marketplaces ask for: a certificate of analysis and batch release confirmation for every batch, the product specification with its test methods, the stability report and the ingredient documents for each market.
Quality control releases every batch against its specification, and nothing is dispatched without quality control sign-off. We keep three retained samples per batch for shelf life plus one year, and a full mock recall, forward and backward with mass balance, runs in seconds. We are ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered. BRCGS implementation under way, certification expected in early 2027. Your formula is yours, including its specification and test plan. Start your project with your preparation, format and markets, and we build the formula around them.
References: Salminen and colleagues, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2021); Vinderola and colleagues, Frontiers in Pharmacology (2023); Ali-Haneef and colleagues, Foods (2026); La Monica and colleagues, Journal of Exercise and Nutrition (2025); Roediger, Gut (1980); European Commission, novel food status consultation on tributyrin (2024); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/168 (2022); 21 CFR 184.1903, tributyrin (1989).
Where it can be sold
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UK
Permitted with conditionsAs of October 2026, inactivated strains can be used in food supplements in Great Britain where the preparation is not a novel food or is authorised there, and pasteurised Akkermansia is not authorised.
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EU
Permitted with conditionsAs of October 2026, inactivated strains can be used where the preparation was used to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 or is authorised, as pasteurised Akkermansia is, while tributyrin is a novel food without authorisation.
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US
Permitted with conditionsAs of October 2026, inactivated strains are sold in dietary supplements, and a strain new to the market needs a new dietary ingredient notification to FDA unless it is already in the food supply unaltered.
Where this is going
To 2030
Up strongly: postbiotic science and format stability (gummies, drinks) drive launches
To 2036
Up: a mainstream microbiome category alongside probiotics
What to watch
Loose definitions and varied regulatory status of heat-killed strains
Questions brands ask
What is a postbiotic?
A postbiotic is "a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host", as an ISAPP panel defined it in 2021. It must come from characterised microorganisms, deliberately inactivated by a defined process, with benefit shown in controlled studies in the target host. A probiotic that dies on the shelf does not automatically qualify, and purified metabolites such as butyrate are called by their chemical names instead.
Can a supplement label say "postbiotic" or "probiotic"?
Not as a claim in GB or the EU. GB advertising rules and the European Commission regard "probiotic" as a health claim, and as of October 2026 none is authorised for supplements. "Postbiotic" carries the same risk, because its definition includes a health benefit. Labels name the species, strain and process, give the amount and take claims from added nutrients, and we check them at artwork stage. In the US, "postbiotic" appears on labels with substantiated structure and function claims.
Do heat-killed strains need novel food authorisation?
Sometimes, as of October 2026. In GB and the EU, a preparation needs authorisation unless it was consumed to a significant degree before 15 May 1997, and the answer turns on the strain, the process and the history of use. In the US, a strain new to the market needs a new dietary ingredient notification unless it is already in the food supply unaltered. We confirm the status of each preparation in each of your markets before a formula is fixed.
Why use postbiotics in gummies and drinks?
Because nothing has to stay alive. Gummy cooking and drink processing kill most live lactic acid bacteria, while an inactivated preparation goes in as a standardised powder, with no cold chain and no overage for die-off. We confirm the total cell count in the finished product and at the end of shelf life. Gummies and liquids are GMP certified under our BSI HACCP and GMP scope, and gummies get an active assay on every batch as standard.
Which butyrate form should a brand choose?
It depends on the market and on where the butyrate needs to go. In a small crossover study, sodium and lysine butyrate peaked in blood about 20 minutes after a dose, and tributyrin at about 50 minutes, at lower levels. Unprotected salts are absorbed early, so formulas meant to release butyrate later use enteric coated or fat-microencapsulated grades. Tributyrin goes into US formulas, as it is a novel food without EU authorisation. Every form needs odour and taste masking.
How do you test a postbiotic supplement?
We test inactivation, count and identity on every batch. A plate count confirms no viable cells above the limit of detection, flow cytometry counts total cells, and the producer's file confirms species and strain. Butyrate content is measured by gas chromatography. Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025) as part of every order, and quality control releases it against its specification before dispatch.
Do you make private label postbiotic supplements?
We develop bespoke postbiotic supplements rather than relabelling stock blends. Private label puts your logo on a catalogue formula; a bespoke formula lets you choose the preparation, dose, format and claims for each market, with the specification and test plan behind it. R&D is a paid stage that can be included with an order of the right size, and your formula is yours, including its specification and stability data.