Is a vitamin better for you if it comes in a sachet - and costs 16x more than a pill? Experts reveal surprising risk of trendy supplement pouches

With two-thirds of Britons now taking vitamin supplements in a bid to boost their health, it is little surprise that more options than ever are springing up on shelves.Where once there was just a chalky tablet helped down with a glass of water, there are now gummies, gels and even sprays offering new ways to get your daily dose.Yet one emerging trend is proving to be among the priciest of the lot: vitamin sachets.These little packets have been popping up in health food shops, gyms and supermarkets, promising everything from more energy to stronger immunity and glowing skin.Some contain powder, while others are filled with pre-mixed liquid or gel, designed to be squeezed straight into the mouth or added to a drink – often in tempting flavours such as berry, citrus and tropical fruit.And a Daily Mail analysis has found that a single dose sachet can cost up to 16 times as much as its tablet equivalent.It comes amid a growing market for vitamins and supplements, an industry believed to be worth around £1billion in the UK alone – a figure expected to continue rising.So, with wellness companies cashing in, are these glossy sachets really any better for you than a standard pill? Around two-thirds of Britons now take vitamin supplements in a bid to boost their healthAre vitamin supplements necessary? Before getting into the ins and outs of how vitamin sachets and pills compare, it is important to note that, for most people, supplements are not necessary. The NHS says most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need by eating a varied and balanced diet – though some may require supplements, if, for example, they have deficiencies.Worryingly, a survey by Bupa this week found nearly half of UK adults are spending £120 a year on supplements advertised by social media influencers. Commenting on the findings, Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, deputy national medical director at NHS England, said: 'Unqualified wellness influencers should not be setting the agenda for people's health.'There is a lot of misinformation online, with supplements being promoted as essential to good health or as treatments for specific conditions without good evidence.'For most people a healthy, balanced diet provides the nutrients they need, although some groups are advised to take supplements such as folic acid during pregnancy and vitamin D in the winter months.'Some supplements may be harmful or interact with either over-the-counter or prescribed medicines, so before taking any, check NHS advice or speak to a healthcare professional, particularly if you have any health conditions.'How do vitamin sachets work compared to pills? For those looking for supplements and wondering whether to buy a traditional vitamin pill or a sachet, there is an obvious question: does it make any difference?The answer largely comes down to two things, their absorption and bioavailability.Absorption is the name for the process when a nutrient passes from the digestive system into the bloodstream.Bioavailability, meanwhile, is the term for how much is then available for the body to use.And this is where vitamin pills and sachets differ.A tablet must first break down in the digestive system before its contents can dissolve and become available for absorption.Powder sachet vitamins, meanwhile, are dissolved in water before they are consumed, while liquid sachets already contain the vitamin in a dissolved form.This means the vitamin may become available for absorption sooner.However, this does not necessarily mean that more of the nutrient will ultimately be absorbed by the body.Vitamin C provides a good example of this.Dr Hisham Al-Obaidi, associate professor in pharmaceutics and translational drug delivery at the University of Reading, tells the Daily Mail that the difference between taking this vitamin in pill or sachet form is likely to be minimal.This is because vitamin C is already highly water-soluble, meaning it dissolves quickly before being absorbed by the body.'It is mainly when drugs have a problem dissolving that it may be helpful to take them as liquids,' Dr Al-Obaidi says.Of the 13 essential vitamins, nine are water-soluble: vitamin C and the eight B vitamins. The remaining four – vitamins A, D, E and K – are fat-soluble, meaning they dissolve in fats and oils rather than water.Experts say there is not yet enough evidence to determine which vitamins, if any, are absorbed more easily when taken in liquid form rather than as pills. Are you getting more for your money? With sachets often carrying a hefty price premium, another question is what exactly shoppers are getting for the extra money. This warrants particular scrutiny after the Daily Mail found that a liquid vitamin C product sold by a popular British retailer costs £24.99 for 14 sachets containing 1,000mg of the vitamin each. That works out at £1.79 per dose.By comparison, 120 own-brand vitamin C tablets containing the same 1,000mg dose cost £13.39 at the same shop – equivalent to just 11p per pill.That means consumers are paying around 16 times as much for the same dose.The more expensive product does, however, say that its vitamin C is absorbed 'four times better' than 'regular vitamin C' because of its 'liposomal delivery'.Liposomal delivery means the vitamin is packaged inside tiny fat-based structures, which are designed to help deliver it through the digestive system.The brand's claim comes from a trial of just 24 adults, which found its vitamin C resulted in almost four times as much of it being found in the blood after 48 hours.However, it was compared with another liquid vitamin C, rather than a pill. Furthermore, the study was sponsored by the brand and the report is labelled as a draft.Dr Al-Obaidi says: 'There is unlikely to be a meaningful difference in the overall absorption between a standard liquid sachet and a pill.'For this reason, there is generally little reason to pay significantly more for liquid vitamin C purely on the basis of better absorption.' David Beckham is the co-founder of IM8, a health supplement brand that sells sachets Do sachets contain anything pills don't? While vitamin pills and sachets provide the same form and dose of vitamins, liquid sachets often contain far more ingredients.The tablet contains the vitamin alongside a handful of ingredients mainly used to make, shape and coat the pill.The sachet, meanwhile, contains additives such as water, oils, flavourings, colouring and sugar, which Dr Al-Obaidi warns that consumers should be aware of.In the aforementioned vitamin C liquid sachet, for example, an important addition is phosphatidylcholine, a type of fat used to create the product's 'liposomal' formula.For shoppers, the fruity flavours, bright packaging and ease of consumption may make sachets more appealing.But the additional ingredients may offer little benefit, and in the case of sugar, may make them worse than the pills.Do the 'energy', 'immunity' and 'glowing skin' claims stack up? Alongside providing vitamins essential for keeping our bodies healthy, many sachets promise more energy, a stronger immune system and even healthier, glowing skin. There is some science behind these claims – but the benefits largely come from the vitamins themselves, rather than the sachet specifically.For example, Harvard Health has highlighted vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D among the nutrients the body needs to help turn food into energy and keep energy levels up. Vitamin B12 is naturally found in foods including meat, milk, eggs and cheese, while vitamin D can be obtained from foods including oily fish. Other experts have highlighted vitamin C's role in boosting energy, as it has been found to reduce fatigue.And when it comes to vitamins' role in the immune system, the British Heart Foundation says vitamins A, B6, B12, C and D all play a part.However, the experts caution: 'This doesn't mean that you need to be taking supplements - and some vitamin supplements can be harmful if taken in large doses.'Instead, focus on getting these nutrients from a healthy, varied diet including fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, dairy products or fortified alternatives, and meat, fish or plant proteins like pulses.'There is also evidence that several vitamins are important for healthy skin. A 2024 review by researchers in Poland looked at examining 14 vitamins, nutrients and other supplements and their possible effects on skin health.They found that vitamin C helps the body produce collagen and protect the skin from damage, while vitamin A is involved in maintaining skin tissue and cell repair.Vitamin E helps protect cells from damage, while vitamin D plays a role in the skin's protective barrier, thus keeping it healthy.What other benefits do sachets have, and who should actually buy them?Although the cost of a sachet may be difficult to justify for the average person, there are some people who may be far more comfortable with liquid or powdered vitamins.The most obvious are those who struggle to swallow tablets.This can include some children and older adults, as well as people with dysphagia – the medical term for difficulty swallowing, which can have a range of causes such as stroke. People with a dry mouth, sensitive gag reflex or anxiety about choking may also find swallowing difficult and prefer a vitamin they can drink instead.Sachets can also be more appealing to those who simply dislike the taste or texture of pills.But for people who have no such problems, Dr Al-Obaidi says the decision may ultimately come down to convenience and price. 'Pills are generally cheaper and easier to carry around,' he says.'For most people, if the vitamin and dose are the same, the choice will largely depend on their personal preference and cost.'