Plant-Based vs. Animal-Based Capsules: Weighing Stability, Cost, and Clean Label Commitments

Gelatin or plant-based — the capsule shell itself is a small piece of a formulation, but it carries outsized implications for stability, cost, and brand identity. In this segment of the Peer Exchange, David Foreman continues his conversation with Irfan Qureshi of Metagenics and Hank Ramsey of Elevate Organic, this time zeroing in on how manufacturers decide between animal-derived and plant-based capsule materials.

Qureshi and Ramsey offer complementary perspectives: one works across both capsule types and can weigh the trade-offs formula by formula, while the other has built a brand around plant-based capsules as a non-negotiable standard. Their exchange traces how far the technology has come — plant-based capsules once ran poorly on high-speed lines and were prone to cracking, but manufacturing improvements have narrowed that gap considerably, even turning some of the old drawbacks into stability advantages for moisture-sensitive ingredients.

Viewers will come away with a grounded sense of what actually drives capsule material decisions in practice: the modest but real cost premium of plant-based capsules relative to a formula's total cost structure, the much steeper price jump that comes with certified organic capsules specifically, and how a brand's values can lock in a capsule strategy regardless of what the numbers say. It's a useful look at how technical constraints, supplier relationships, and brand commitments intersect long before a product ever reaches the shelf.

Transcript:
David Foreman: Obviously, the plant-based thing going on, we have animal when it comes to capsules. I think we all agree here that if I had to take a tablet or capsule, I think we'd all probably agree with the capsule. It's definitely easier going down, especially when you take handfuls at a clip like I do. So when you're deciding between animal and plant-based capsules, what's the primary technical or stability challenge you might or should be considering? Does that play a role here?

Irfan Qureshi: I would say, there are minor differences. I'm not sure how significant they are now. I know that, in the past, the plant-based capsules have been harder to run on higher-speed lines, for example. They were more brittle. I know that's changed recently. I think there's some pretty, pretty good plant-based capsules out there. So I think those considerations are less of a concern at this point. I would say that plant-based capsules probably actually add to stability as well in some cases. I think there's less moisture accumulation than gelatin. They're probably better for probiotics and enzymes, specifically. They're less sensitive to heat and humidity, so they do offer some stability advantages from that perspective.

And obviously, they're, at least from a consumer perspective, an important consideration for clean label, as Hank was alluding to. Is it animal-based or is it plant-based? And I think plant-based kind of wins out there from a clean label perspective. But having said that, there are still some cost differences that also have to be considered when you're looking at formulating with plant-based versus gelatin.

David Foreman: Can you give us a couple examples of those limitations, Hank? Because that's all you're working with, right? We just heard a couple right there, but what other things are you having to deal with? Because you've literally put yourself in that box.

Hank Ramsey: Yeah, yeah, for us, I mean, it's not an option, right? To Irfan’s point, it's really what runs better. I think the technology on plant-based caps has gotten a lot better, a lot quicker over the years, because he was right, they were cracking and brittle, and that technology…there weren't many manufacturers manufacturing plant-based for a long time. Irfan, you could probably think of the 2 or 3 who could, and we know who they are that do it, thank goodness. So there weren't a lot of options, but it's getting better quicker as that technology goes, and like I said, we don't really have the option to run those. When we come out with a formulation, whoever our contract manufacturer or formulator that's working with us on a particular formula, we have to rely on that relationship, and we have some pretty long-standing relationships with a formulator that kind of knows our MO and how we go to market, so we don't really experience much issues, because he knows kind of what we do there.

David Foreman: Irfan, you're working with both, so is there a significant difference in the cost from working with an animal versus, you know, a veg, so to speak?

Irfan Qureshi: Yeah, I would say the difference is significant, but, you know, what you're talking about is the cost of the capsules themselves, right? So, maybe there's a 25-30% premium in a HPMC capsule versus a gelatin capsule, but when you look at it from the overall perspective of what are the cost contributors to the formulation, it might be somewhat less important because obviously the bigger cost contributors are generally going to be your ingredients, your manufacturing as well as your packaging, right? So, in that light while there is a premium, in some cases, it's not significant. Now, it can be significant, again, if you have a formula that's a 6-a-day formula versus a 1-a-day, but I think those are some of the factors that we look at. So, the price is different, but In the overall scheme of things, I think it's probably doable.

Hank Ramsey: Yeah, I asked our manufacturer that specific question, and Irfan’s right, nickels and dimes difference to do that, but when you go to organic you're looking at 300% increase. I mean, you're still looking at pennies when we talk about the actual amount for the actual capsule, but it 300% increase to go to organic capsules, and that's where we just believe in that message and need that certification to get that organic capsule. We have to use it.