AMYLOM Tailor-Made is our custom-formulated shell grade: the formula is built to a specific application rather than picked off a list. PT04 is one of those formulas. This clip is a continuous run of it on the line — encapsulation at the die rolls, capsules arriving on the conveyor, then tumble drying.
A custom formula on a starch-only base
PT04 is built on a starch-only base. There is no gelatin in it, which is expected of a plant-based softgel. The less common part: there is no carrageenan or gellan in it either. Most plant-based shells still need a second gelling agent to set the film, and carrageenan is the usual choice. This formula uses none — the gel network is carried by hydroxypropyl starch alone, which keeps the shell declaration about as clean as a softgel gets.
Worth being precise about what that claim covers: it belongs to this formula’s base, not to the Tailor-Made grade as a whole. Tailor-Made covers custom shell work built on either of our bases — the all-starch Clear base used here, or the Natural base, where carrageenan or gellan is part of the formula and not a concern for the product. Which base a formula starts from depends on what the product needs.
Why a steady run is the thing worth filming
Replacing gelatin is the well-trodden part of this work. Doing it without a second gelling agent is not. Those agents are in most formulas because they make a film set quickly and forgivingly; without one, the starch has to carry the whole gel network itself, and the window to encapsulate and dry cleanly gets narrower. Seam quality, capsule shape and drying behaviour all tighten up at once.
A custom formula has to hold up in production, not only on paper. Which is why the run itself is the evidence rather than the claim. In the clip the capsules form at the die rolls one after another and arrive on the belt uniform and clear, with no stop-start to clear misformed shells.
Where PT04 stands
PT04 is the current revision of a formula we keep iterating on. Each production run feeds the next round of adjustments, and this footage is what that iteration looks like at this point. Process figures for PT04 will follow in later videos in this series — the earlier clip on the pure-starch clear softgel covers the all-starch base this formula is built on.
AMYLOM (Amylom Biotechnology) manufactures plant-based softgels with gelatin-free hydroxypropyl starch shells, for supplements, cosmetics, and specialty formats. See our softgel capabilities or talk to our team about a custom shell formula.
