AMYLOM Clear is the pure-starch grade of our plant-based softgel shell: the gel network is built from plant starch alone, with no carrageenan, gellan, or animal gelatin doing the gelling. This clip follows a batch through the line — encapsulation, tumble drying, then a handful of the finished capsules — so you can see the shell that pure-starch chemistry produces.
An all-starch shell
Most plant-based softgel shells lean on a second gelling agent to set the film — carrageenan and gellan are the usual ones, and some formulas reach for polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). AMYLOM Clear adds none of them: no carrageenan, no gellan, no PVA. The shell sets on hydroxypropyl starch on its own, which is what keeps the label short and the sourcing clean for buyers who screen for those ingredients.
Why pure starch is harder to run
Taking the other gelling agents out is the hard part. They are there because they make a gel set quickly and forgivingly; without them the starch has to carry the whole gel network itself, which leaves a narrower window to encapsulate and dry cleanly. Getting a pure-starch shell to form a clean seam and dry without sticking or distorting is a process problem as much as a recipe one. The batch in this clip runs at a 1:3.1 gel yield — one kilo of starch cooks into 3.1 kilos of the gel mass the shell is made from — and comes off the drying stage clear and uniform, which is the point of showing it rather than just claiming it.
Where Clear fits
The pure-starch grade is built for products where shell clarity and carrageenan-free sourcing are the deciding factors — color cosmetics, skincare, and premium clean-label supplements. For formats where carrageenan is not a concern, AMYLOM Natural is the everyday plant-based grade; Clear is the one to ask for when the shell itself has to read as clean.
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 pure-starch softgel project.
