Bespoke women's health supplement manufacturing

Women's supplements for each life stage, from cycle years to midlife

Each custom supplement we develop and make as a women's health supplement manufacturer is built for premium brands and a defined life stage: the cycle years, pre-conception and pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause, and midlife. We make capsules, tablets, gummies, liquids, powders, sachets and stick packs in our Leicester facility, from formulation to finished product, for the UK, EU and US. Every formula is built on nutrients that carry authorised claims, at the levels the register requires: at least 2.1 mg of iron in the daily dose for the iron claims, and at least 400 µg of folic acid per daily portion for the folic acid claim. Each batch comes with a certificate of analysis.

Private label women's vitamins sell the same catalogue formula to many brands. A bespoke formula gives you the life stage, actives and doses you choose, the evidence behind your claims and control of your supply. Your formula is yours.

Cycle years, pregnancy and menopause ranges, each with its own risks

Brands now plan women's health ranges by life stage, each with its own nutrients, claims and risks. BCG puts unmet longevity demand from women in perimenopause and menopause at an estimated 350 billion US dollars, and finds that women's interest in long-term health typically starts in their mid-30s (BCG, 2026).

• The cycle years. Iron, vitamin B6, magnesium and other B vitamins for energy and everyday wellbeing, built on authorised claims. Cycle and hormone-balance products are a focus of UK advertising enforcement, so every word follows the register.
• Pre-conception and pregnancy. Folic acid, iodine and vitamin D formulas, where the authorised claims and their conditions set the dose. The folic acid claim for women of child-bearing age needs at least 400 µg of folic acid per daily portion.
• Perimenopause and menopause. Midlife formulas built on calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, protein and creatine, with botanicals chosen market by market. Two reduction of disease risk claims name post-menopausal women, one for calcium and one for calcium with vitamin D. Our menopause supplement manufacturing page covers them in depth.
• Midlife and healthy ageing. The NHS puts women's iron needs at 14.8 mg a day from 19 to 49 and 8.7 mg a day from 50, so a formula for women over 50 can carry less iron and put the weight on bone, muscle and energy. These products sit alongside our healthy ageing supplement manufacturing range.

Iron, folate and B6 from a women's health supplement manufacturer

We specify every active by form, grade and dose, and every supplier passes our approval process before any material is used. Pages on prenatal and fertility, intimate health, hormone balance and iron supplements will join our supplement categories.

Iron

Iron carries authorised claims including "Iron contributes to normal formation of red blood cells and haemoglobin" and "Iron contributes to normal oxygen transport in the body", for any product that is at least a source of iron: 2.1 mg, 15% of the 14 mg reference value, in the daily dose. We choose between ferrous bisglycinate, ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulphate and ferric pyrophosphate for taste, colour and format. Iron salts taste metallic, partly through smell: the intensity of ferrous sulphate fell when tasters' noses were blocked (Lawless and colleagues, Chemical Senses, 2005). So iron liquids and gummies go through our flavour development and taste masking work.

Calcium and tea polyphenols reduce non-haem iron absorption and vitamin C increases it, so we keep iron apart from high-dose calcium. The NHS says 17 mg or less a day of iron from supplements is unlikely to cause any harm, and EFSA set a safe level of intake of 40 mg a day for adults, as the data could not support an upper level (EFSA, 2024). US iron supplements in solid forms, gummies included, must carry FDA's accidental overdose warning.

Folate and folic acid

Folate is the vitamin, folic acid is its synthetic form, and calcium L-methylfolate is another permitted form. The register separates them. "Folate contributes to maternal tissue growth during pregnancy" applies to any product that is at least a source of folate: 30 µg, 15% of the 200 µg reference value. The reduction of disease risk claim is narrower: it covers supplemental folic acid and maternal folate status, and it names folic acid, not folate.

That claim may be used only for food supplements that provide at least 400 µg of folic acid per daily portion. The consumer must be told that the target population is women of child-bearing age and that "the beneficial effect is obtained with a supplemental folic acid daily intake of 400 µg for at least one month before and up to three months after conception", in GB and the EU alike. Brands receive the exact authorised wording at label review. A methylfolate formula cannot carry it. EFSA's upper level for folic acid is 1,000 µg a day for adults, including during pregnancy and lactation (EFSA, 2023).

Vitamin B6, iodine and hormone-related formulas

Hormone-related formulas rest on two authorised claims in particular: "Vitamin B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity" and "Iodine contributes to the normal production of thyroid hormones and normal thyroid function". Each needs only a source level, such as 0.21 mg of vitamin B6, 15% of its 1.4 mg reference value. Higher doses add risk, not claims. EFSA set an upper level for vitamin B6 of 12 mg a day for adults (EFSA, 2023), and the NHS advises no more than 10 mg a day from supplements unless a doctor advises otherwise.

In the UK, hormone-balance wording that is not on the register is an unauthorised health claim, so copy stays with these two claims. Zinc's fertility claim, "Zinc contributes to normal fertility and reproduction", says nothing about hormones, and copy cannot add it.

Shatavari, inositol and DIM

Three actives sit at the edge of the category. As of October 2026, none carries an authorised claim in GB or the EU.

• Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus root) is an Ayurvedic botanical.
• Inositol, usually myo-inositol and sometimes D-chiro-inositol, appears in cycle and hormone-balance formulas at gram doses.
• DIM (3,3'-diindolylmethane) forms in the stomach from indole-3-carbinol, a compound in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables.

We screen all three for novel food status in-house against the public registers, and we confirm each one's status for each target market before formulation. The claims then come from the nutrients beside them.

Capsules, gummies, liquids or powders for each nutrient

• Capsules carry iron, folic acid, B vitamins and botanical extracts with no taste work, and are GMP certified. Tablets, also made in-house, suit dense multi-nutrient and calcium formulas. See capsule and tablet manufacturing.
• Gummies build a daily habit for folic acid, vitamin D and vitamin B6, and are GMP certified, with an active assay on every batch. Heat, acid and water limit what a gummy carries, so gram doses such as calcium don't fit. See gummy manufacturing.
• Liquids deliver iron, B vitamins and vitamin D in a measured dose and are GMP certified. They need the most flavour work, because dissolved iron salts taste at full strength. See liquid supplement manufacturing.
• Powders, sachets and stick packs carry gram doses of magnesium, collagen, protein and creatine, and are made in Leicester. See powder supplement manufacturing.

We make every format in our Leicester facility, which is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered. BRCGS implementation under way, certification expected in early 2027. Packs follow the format: HDPE bottles with induction seals and desiccants, or blisters, for capsules and tablets; bottles, jars or high-barrier pouches for gummies; amber glass for vitamin D and other light-sensitive liquids; and tubs, sachets or stick packs for powders.

Three controls for folic acid, vitamin D and botanicals

Every formula runs through our development stages: brief, evidence review, formulation, bench samples, blind sensory panels, a pilot batch on production equipment, stability in the final pack, and scale-up. Each stage leaves a record you keep. Women's health formulas add three controls of their own.

• Microgram nutrients. Folic acid, vitamin D and vitamin B12 go in at microgram doses, so we pre-blend them with part of the filler and check blend uniformity before filling.
• Overages from data. Folic acid and vitamin D can lose potency over shelf life, especially in gummies and liquids, so we set overages from measured loss rates and keep every dose inside its upper level.
• Botanical identity. Shatavari and other botanical extracts are specified by plant part and marker compounds, and their identity is confirmed against an authenticated reference.

Label verification on every batch is the critical control point in our HACCP plan, and our allergen management plan, with yellow colour coding, controls allergens such as soy and milk from goods-in to label.

Vitamin, mineral and heavy metal tests on every batch

Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025) as part of every order and released by quality control against its specification; see our testing and batch release page. The panel covers vitamins by HPLC or LC-MS, iron, calcium and other minerals by ICP-OES, heavy metals by ICP-MS and microbiology, with an active assay on every gummy batch as standard. Every batch comes with a certificate of analysis and a batch release confirmation, and development adds the formula, the specification with its test methods, stability data and a claims review for each market.

Iron, folate and calcium claims, and the menopause claims to avoid

Claims follow the register, not the research. The table sets out the position as of October 2026, from the GB nutrition and health claims register, the EU register and US law.

One formula can serve all three markets when it is built for them from the start, with label copy written separately for each. Start your project with your life stage and target markets, and we build the formula and the claims plan together.

Three points changing what women's health brands can sell and claim

As of October 2026, these are the points that change what women's health brands can make, sell and claim. We review each line every quarter, and our regulation watch tracks the detail.

• UK advertising. The ASA treats claims that a supplement relieves menopause or cycle-related symptoms as claims to treat disease, so copy stays with authorised nutrient claims.
• Folic acid in UK flour. Non-wholemeal wheat flour carries added folic acid from December 2026; the supplement claim still rests on a supplemental 400 µg a day.
• EU vitamin and mineral limits. EU maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements are under review, so we keep vitamin B6 and other doses in EU formulas ready to step down.

References: Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 (2012); Commission Regulation (EU) No 1135/2014 (2014); EFSA, overview of tolerable upper intake levels (2025); US FDA, final rule on structure/function claims for dietary supplements (2000); Commission Regulation (EU) No 1228/2014 (2014); CAP, AdviceOnline: Healthcare: The menopause (2026); McKinsey Health Institute, Closing the women's health gap (2024); DHSC, Renewed Women's Health Strategy for England (2026).