Nutraceutical Tablet Samples and COAs: What a Brand Owner Should Check

Give the sample a written job

A sample should answer questions already set out in the brief. If your main concerns are tablet dimensions, coating, flavour or prepared-drink appearance, write those down before the sample arrives. Otherwise the review can turn into a general impression that nobody can reproduce.

Record which version of the formulation and packaging the sample represents. Keep a reference to the supplier, date and sample specification. If an ingredient, tablet profile or pack component changes later, ask whether the earlier approval still applies.

Know what a Certificate of Analysis can tell you

A Certificate of Analysis is a report against an identified material or batch and a set of specified tests. Start by checking the product or material identity, batch reference, dates, specification limits, reported results and the testing or issuing organisation. Ask the supplier to explain any field that does not match the project documents.

Do not read an ingredient COA as if it automatically described the finished tablets. Equally, do not assume that every report includes every test your market or customer requires. Agree the required documents and their availability before ordering, then check that the supplied records correspond to the agreed scope.

Keep artwork approval separate from sample acceptance

The sample may be acceptable while the label still needs work. Check nutrient quantities, units, serving instructions, tablet count, ingredient names and source-related statements against the approved product specification. A visually polished carton can still contain a specification mismatch.

Assign responsibility for the review. If a brand supplies artwork, the manufacturing brief should still say who is checking its consistency with the formula and what category or market review is required. Retain the approved version so an older file is not sent for printing by mistake.

Check the scope of the business documents

A company licence identifies a licensed business and its scope; it is not the same document as an individual formulation specification or a batch test report. Check the licence holder, premises, category and stated validity, then ask which product-specific documentation is applicable to the proposed order.

HAS HERBAL’s FSSAI Central Licence is 12223999000236, with validity shown to 16 May 2031. The premises are in Gudda, Mandal, Bhilwara, Rajasthan. This is useful manufacturer information, but buyers should still request the documents relevant to their chosen formula, packaging and destination market.

Approve a defined order, not an assumption

Before the purchase order, put the formula revision, sample acceptance, artwork revision, pack count, agreed reports, commercial terms and delivery destination in one project record. Identify any item still awaiting confirmation. That record makes a later change easier to assess.

MOQ, sample and production timings, and available quality documents are confirmed by HAS Herbal for each project. If your launch depends on a particular report or review, raise it in the first enquiry. It is easier to plan around a documented requirement than to discover it after packaging has been printed.

Sources and further reading

• FSSAI — Health supplements and nutraceuticals

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