News

Vegetarian Softgels

With more and more people transitioning to vegetarian and vegan diets, it is important for the industry to respond to this move. What was once viewed as a “trend” or “fad”is now becoming a reality, and this means it’s up to industry leaders to ensure that products meet the demands of this demographic. So what does the increasing population of vegetarians and vegans mean for softgels and supplements?

In short, this growing demand requires the industry to refine manufacturing and testing mechanisms to ensure that our clients can continue to provide top quality softgels to consumers.

We at Captek have been working hard to test, develop and produce vegetarian softgels that meet client demands. In the early years it was a challenge to find a vegetarian soft gel that could be guaranteed to be leak-proof and affordable. There were often issues with affordability, performance and the physical abilities of these new softgels – but thanks to the constant vegetarian consumer demand, companies like us were forced to get back into our labs and work with our experts to provide a softgel that works for everyone concerned.

Because gelatin is not an option in plant-based diets, this mainstay in softgel formulations could not be used. The first and most obvious option was to move to a starch-based softgel – while this initially appeared to be the solution, these softgels did not stand up to testing and quality assurance.

In the mid-2000s things changed with the advancement of research into carageenan. Carageenan is a naturally occurring carbohydrate that is extracted from red seaweed. It is frequently used in soy milks, almond milks, and in vegetarian and vegan cooking as a thickening agent. Researchers discovered that carageenan can be combined with modified starch, water, and glycerin to create a vegetarian softgel that meets the needs of supplement providers and vegetarian and vegan consumers.

Just as the advancements have come in our manufacturing and testing of these vegetarian softgels, we’re seeing the market size and demand continue to grow. There is no “fad”or “trend”now with vegetarian and vegan consumers – these folks demand that we give them top-level products that meet their dietary and lifestyle needs.

We’re proud to be delivering these softgels to our clients who can in-turn respond to this growing demographic of consumers. Be sure to visit our product pages to learn more about Captek and our leading vegetarian softgels.