Dyna-Tabs, LLC plans to use convenient plastic packs of dissolvable strips to introduce more than 50 items that tap into wellness trends.

Makers of nutraceuticals and over-the-counter cold and flu remedies are introducing pocket-sized packaged strips to deliver drugs and vitamins. One recent example of the growing popularity of the packaged strips comes from Brooklyn, NY-based Dyna-Tabs.

The company has introduced a line of eight vitamin and dietary supplements in convenient plastic dispensing packs. Intended for active, on-the-go consumers, the ultra-thin hinged plastic dispensing packs contain 30 strips. The product formulations address wellness issues such as immune health or memory in flavors such as spearmint or kiwi-strawberry. The hinged vials are sold globally in blister-carded packs. In the United States, packs carry a suggested retail price of $2.99 to $3.49.

The dispensing packs keep the strips dry and fresh, according to Dyna-Tabs' Co-founder Harold Baum. He says, “In this format, consumers can achieve the results they want using small convenient packaging rather than bulky bottles.”

The dispensing packs are injection-molded in various colors that contrast with the strips' color. That same color also provides a barrier to sunlight, which can cause the strips to dry and become brittle. Graphics were developed by Design Edge to create “packaging that would be universally accepted at all outlets, from supermarkets to convenience stores to gas stations,” says Baum. Dyna-Tabs self-packages the strips using unspecified “high-tech” machinery.

Baum says the company plans to introduce more than 50 items that tap into wellness trends (as well as hair-care products) in “timed intervals so we don't confuse the market and buyers.” Dyna-Tabs also expects to change the hinged vials to a two-piece design with a sliding, reclosable cover by mid-2006.

By Rick Lingle, Technical Editor, Packaging World

Supplements generate healthy sales

More than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements, according to a recent Fact Sheet from the Council for Responsible Nutrition. It reports that the dietary supplement industry is a $20 billion business in the United States, and cites Food and Drug Administration figures that show there are 29,000 such products on the market.